WNBA Off-Season

[JellyBean]

The LA Sparks giving up the #2 pick is wild, but I like it. It is a fair trade for all. Plum probably wanted out of Vegas. Loyd wanted out of Seattle. Seattle got the #2 pick. Well for Seattle we really won't know for sure until players make their announcements of staying in college or going pro but I think they are going to be happy with their #2 in the long run. New spaces for those two. A change of settings is always good for the soul. New beginnings.

 

[GCKSFN4L]

The LA Sparks giving up the #2 pick is wild, but I like it. It is a fair trade for all. Plum probably wanted out of Vegas. Loyd wanted out of Seattle. Seattle got the #2 pick. Well for Seattle we really won't know for sure until players make their announcements of staying in college or going pro but I think they are going to be happy with their #2 in the long run. New spaces for those two. A change of settings is always good for the soul. New beginnings.

Also worth noting that Seattle also has Vegas 1st round pick for 2026. Giving them 3 first round picks for next year. They have a lot of leverage to work with even if their #2 pick isn't their perfect choice.

 

[packwrap]

The possibility of the first pick being involved in a trade went down imo. Seattle can’t put together the same kind of packages that Los Angeles was able to put together.

Now Seattle, the Mystics and the Valkyries could all put nice packages together for the #1 pick.

LA may be looking to get 3 yrs from Plum. Will be a new CBA, but no reason to think Plum would not resign in LA.

Core then Plum, Brink and Howard. They now need a good defensive guard.

 

[azfan]

And considering the track record of Bibbs since joining Dallas in 2019, how many has he burned with his decision making?

Considering how this team has been mismanaged since their Tulsa days, I'm confused at how the ire towards this franchise seems directed at certain players more so than the front office.

Does it excuse Diggins-Smith 100%? No, but let's try look at the entire picture.

Of course not...

No one would.

Her behavior was, is and will be always inexcusable

 

[cancontent]

Of course not...

No one would.

Her behavior was, is and will be always inexcusable

Maybe from your perspective. However to me, if Unrivaled was willing to recruit her to their league, that says something. They could have left her out and opted for other guards, like Kia Nurse but they didn't.

 

[sivad40]

 

[ConnMotors]

In the thread I said in the beginning that Seattle should consider trading Skylar Diggins and the #2 pick to Dallas for the overall First Pick. Mano if you mentioned that Sky would not want to be a part of returning to that team. That’s a reasonable assumption. Looking at the Storm roster there isn’t much. However there is a nice young player in Ezi Magbegor. She is young and stands 6’4”. And she was an all-star last season. Don’t forget that Satou Sabally wants out of Dallas. The Wings will need to come up with a trade of their own soon. As much as I am not a Skylar fan if Paige can make it to Seattle it would be a great place for her to start her career. Hopefully as a part owner Sue Bird can make this a reality.

 

[cancontent]

Whoa.

 

[Geew1992]

Whoa.

It will be interesting to see who Phoenix gives up

 

[ConnMotors]

Hopefully not Griner….

 

[Dillon77]

Hopefully not Griner….

Griner is a free agent, so she couldn't be traded by Phoenix management.

 

[azfan]

It will be interesting to see who Phoenix gives up

Ikr... Has to be either Copper or Cloud and Cunningham.

Thomas must have really committed a crime against humanity against the front office of the Sun to be cast into the unforgiving Siberia that is at Footprint arena. Her partner Bonner had some very good years in Phoenix.

 

[Dillon77]

It will be interesting to see who Phoenix gives up

Gosh. who do they even have under contract of comparable value? With Griner a free agent and DT a ???, the only person I can think of in a straight up trade is Copper, but Phoenix would have no one to play with Thomas.

So, I'm thinking it's Connecticut that wants to have zounds of money with Thomas, Bonner and Jones off the books. They could accept Phoenix's 1st round pick (#12, because they'll have a rookie contract to stretch out) and maybe get Rebecca "Spider" Allen back to play stretch forward for them. Or Sophie Cunningham, in which case you might see Carrington -- a restricted free agent -- be dangled as trade bait.

Since they hired the Belgian national coach, I still think they'll go after players he knows: try to sign Emma Meesemmann (sp?) and trade for Julie Allemand. Just a thought....

 

[Dillon77]

Ikr... Has to be either Copper or Cloud and Cunningham.

Thomas must have really committed a crime against humanity against the front office of the Sun to be cast into the unforgiving Siberia that is at Footprint arena. Her partner Bonner had some very good years in Phoenix.

Conn. cored Thomas, so they'd have her one more year. Rather than run the whole "good ol' crew" back, they've decided to go in a different direction with the new coach. My gut is they're freeing up money....lots of it.

 

[hoopsdiva]

Conn. cored Thomas, so they'd have her one more year. Rather than run the whole "good ol' crew" back, they've decided to go in a different direction with the new coach. My gut is they're freeing up money....lots of it.

I wonder if Bonner will also be heading to Phoenix. I haven't seen anything that they are formally a packaged deal but it wouldn't surprise me (assuming DB doesn't retire).

 

[Dillon77]

I wonder if Bonner will also be heading to Phoenix. I haven't seen anything that they are formally a packaged deal but it wouldn't surprise me (assuming DB doesn't retire).

It's a tad odd to see only one end of a trade announced (unless one side just leaked it). Really want to see who/what comes back to Connecticut....

 

[hoopsdiva]

It's a tad odd to see only one end of a trade announced (unless one side just leaked it). Really want to see who/what comes back to Connecticut....

I love my Connecticut Sun, but realistically it's hard for us to attract and retain top tier talent, given the lack of quality facilities and our location out in the boonies. I've been astonished at how long we've managed to stay near the top of the standings.

 

[azfan]

It's a tad odd to see only one end of a trade announced (unless one side just leaked it). Really want to see who/what comes back to Connecticut....

Maybe you don't. Not a whole lot in Phoenix that would be worthwhile. Of the alternatives I speculated earlier the "best" fit might be Cloud and Cunningham.... Leading to lots of interesting practices with the back court

 

[azfan]

I wonder if Bonner will also be heading to Phoenix. I haven't seen anything that they are formally a packaged deal but it wouldn't surprise me (assuming DB doesn't retire).

Oh............
No............

In that instance I'd have more regrettable memories than Willie Mays at the end

 

[azfan]

. They could accept Phoenix's 1st round pick (#12, because they'll have a rookie contract to stretch out) and maybe get Rebecca "Spider" Allen back to play stretch forward for them. Or Sophie Cunningham, in which case you might see Carrington -- a restricted free agent -- be dangled as trade bait.

Since they hired the Belgian national coach, I still think they'll go after players he knows: try to sign Emma Meesemmann (sp?) and trade for Julie Allemand. Just a thought....

Careful....... I love her game but she has a bad back.

 

[ConnMotors]

When the Miracle left Orlando, Hartford wanted them to play there. Even though our capital city is not New York or Los Angeles it is a way better place than Uncasville or Montville if you want to do something on off nights. Plus the airport is closer. With what seems that every major city wanting a franchise now where does this leave the Sun. The current teams are updating their facilities. Will the Mohegan tribe do the same? I doubt it. Team average attendance is annually in the lower quarter. With the WNBA giving the Liberty the championship last season the Connecticut Sun becomes the longest league team without a championship. Even though they have come close. We all know that players don’t want to come to Connecticut to play. There isn’t anything here. The can’t even spend time playing in the casino because they are employees. The New London Day wrote an article about this a while back. Will the league force the team to sell or relocate at some point? Is that possible? I really don’t have that answer. However, can the NBA offer the tribe a G-League team for the tribe to move the Sun?

 

[azfan]

When the Miracle left Orlando, Hartford wanted them to play there. Even though our capital city is not New York or Los Angeles it is a way better place than Uncasville or Montville if you want to do something on off nights. Plus the airport is closer. With what seems that every major city wanting a franchise now where does this leave the Sun. The current teams are updating their facilities. Will the Mohegan tribe do the same? I doubt it. Team average attendance is annually in the lower quarter. With the WNBA giving the Liberty the championship last season the Connecticut Sun becomes the longest league team without a championship. Even though they have come close. We all know that players don’t want to come to Connecticut to play. There isn’t anything here. The can’t even spend time playing in the casino because they are employees. The New London Day wrote an article about this a while back. Will the league force the team to sell or relocate at some point? Is that possible? I really don’t have that answer. However, can the NBA offer the tribe a G-League team for the tribe to move the Sun?

Thank you for your post. I had no idea about the history of this franchise or the ownership which is reminiscent of a community that owns an NFL franchise in Green Bay.

Who Are Connecticut Sun’s Owners, the Mohegan Tribe? All About Their Net Worth, NLL Links, and More

Explore the rich history and net worth of the Mohegan Tribe, which proudly owns the WNBA's Connecticut Sun.

www.essentiallysports.com

In fact, the tribal owners created history in the WNBA by making the Connecticut Sun the first-ever profitable team in the league’s history in 2007

So this dilemma is an intriguing one. From one perspective you have a unique ownership group that really reflects the WNBA drive for diversity and inclusivity. The article above implies that the tribe has been relatively successful in managing their assets and is fiscally sound.

That being the case your critique of recent times reflects the long drought suffered by Green Bay after the Lombardi/Star years. That franchise struggled with organizational difficulties before they were able to put in place a Management group that understood the ownership structure, the challenges imposed by that structure and how to accommodate those challenges in order to be successful.

I see no reason why this couldn't be duplicated with the current Connecticut Sun ownership.

My advice would be to look to the Phoenix Mercury and do the exact opposite.

 

[Geew1992]

 

[nwhoopfan]

If DT doesn't retire...could be interesting to see who asserts themself as THE alpha in Phoenix. AT has certainly been that in Connecticut for the majority of her career.

 

[12au]

Seems like a great trade for PHX. They land a 32-yr old and a 26-yr old for two 32-yr olds plus the 12th pick (a meager one IMO).