WNBA Off-Season

[Bigboote]

Let the free agent games begin!

That wouldn’t seem to make Dallas any more attractive a landing place for Paige.

 

[cancontent]

That wouldn’t seem to make Dallas any more attractive a landing place for Paige.

Maybe not, but who out of the top 4, heck even top 5 picks are? They all have question marks when it comes to attractiveness. Not to mention, we don't know how things will play out with free agency.

 

[bballnut90]

Reddit seems to think Satou's headed to the Liberty. Oregon reunion with her/Nyara/Sabrina all there. If the Liberty plan to resign Stewart, I don't know how they afford both her and Satou unless they're okay taking massive paycuts and they load the roster with rookies. They could go with an all time tall lineup of:
C-Jones, 6'6
F-Stewart, 6'4
F-Sabally, 6'4
G-Fiebich, 6'4
G-Ionescu, 5'11

 

[Dillon77]

Maybe not, but who out of the top 4, heck even top 5 picks are? They all have question marks when it comes to attractiveness. Not to mention, we don't know how things will play out with free agency.

Plus, you've got the unsettled CBA coming around in 2026. Whomever "gets" the elder Sabally sister is undoubtedly only getting her for a year, so they're going to ok with being in a "win right now" situation to give up someone/something once the Wings first core, then trade her.

Depending on how Miller and Wings handle this, Bueckers and Miles -- both of whom have the options to return to college campuses in '25-'26 -- would also seem to have options. Reminds me of a bit of what Carson Beck is doing with Georgia/pros/portal in collegiate football.

Couple dimensions of chess coming up here.

 

[cancontent]

Reddit seems to think Satou's headed to the Liberty. Oregon reunion with her/Nyara/Sabrina all there. If the Liberty plan to resign Stewart, I don't know how they afford both her and Satou unless they're okay taking massive paycuts and they load the roster with rookies. They could go with an all time tall lineup of:
C-Jones, 6'6
F-Stewart, 6'4
F-Sabally, 6'4
G-Fiebich, 6'4
G-Ionescu, 5'11

The juggling of contracts to accomplish this would be amazing to see in the background. I may not always understand the actual machinations of salary caps, etc., but I find this type of stuff interesting.

 

[bballnut90]

Plus, you've got the unsettled CBA coming around in 2026. Whomever "gets" the elder Sabally sister is undoubtedly only getting her for a year, so they're going to ok with being in a "win right now" situation to give up someone/something once the Wings first core, then trade her.

Depending on how Miller and Wings handle this, Bueckers and Miles -- both of whom have the options to return to college campuses in '25-'26 -- would also seem to have options. Reminds me of a bit of what Carson Beck is doing with Georgia/pros/portal in collegiate football.

Couple dimensions of chess coming up here.

Not to mention, you also have Flau'jae Johnson and Lauren Betts both draft eligible this year should they declare early. This draft has potential to be very strong if a lot of these players declare, but it could also flip a u and be very weak if everyone decides to come back for a 4th/5th/6th year.

 

[packwrap]

That wouldn’t seem to make Dallas any more attractive a landing place for Paige.

Well it does open the power forward slot now where Paige likes to play and block shots.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Plum has been cored by the Aces. I didn't really understand why so many seemed to think she would be leaving...especially to Golden State. Yeah the HC is a former assistant w/ Aces, but why go from a team that has been in the Championship race for at least the last 4 years to a brand new franchise?

 

[maccca3232]

Plum has been cored by the Aces. I didn't really understand why so many seemed to think she would be leaving...especially to Golden State.

Being cored by a team doesn't equate to playing with them the next season.

Although Satou Sabally has already announced she has played her last game for Dallas, she will likely still be cored by them.

The core means they can't leave a free agent but they can still be traded (or sit out e.g. Della Donne last season).

 

[nwhoopfan]

Being cored by a team doesn't equate to playing with them the next season.

Although Satou Sabally has already announced she has played her last game for Dallas, she will likely still be cored by them.

The core means they can't leave a free agent but they can still be traded (or sit out e.g. Della Donne last season).

Apples and oranges though. I haven't seen any declaration from Plum that she is leaving or even any hint as far as I can tell. Until I see otherwise, I think LV intends to resign Plum and she intends to stay there.

 

[TheFarmFan]

Apples and oranges though. I haven't seen any declaration from Plum that she is leaving or even any hint as far as I can tell. Until I see otherwise, I think LV intends to resign Plum and she intends to stay there.

Only one gap in your logic - if she wanted to resign, why core her? She could've signed months ago. I've heard rumblings on WNBA reddit that she's open to leaving, and crazy as it sounds, WNBA reddit is actually pretty informed. (I guess WNBA reddit is the apex of the Nerd Niche hierarchy?)

 

[nwhoopfan]

The possibility exists I'm dead wrong. I have seen it noted that the Aces simply can't bring back everyone from last year, so some choices have to be made.

 

[cancontent]

This is big news considering how long Griner has been in Phoenix.

 

[cancontent]

Toronto Tempo enters the chat to say they've got their popcorn.

 

[azfan]

This is big news considering how long Griner has been in Phoenix.

More big news as the GOAT s preparing to make her announcement. I would guess it's a foregone conclusion that it's retirement which BG certainly would have been aware of and may have informed her decision

 

[cancontent]

 

[cancontent]

Some more insight on what the Sky may be up to.

 

[cancontent]

 

[cancontent]

The plot thickens around the Jewell Lloyd situation. Some more trade talk rumours that now include Plum as a potential piece of the puzzle. It will be interesting to see what actually happens with all the smoke from all these rumours clears.

 

[GamecockFam]

The plot thickens around the Jewell Lloyd situation. Some more trade talk rumours that now include Plum as a potential piece of the puzzle. It will be interesting to see what actually happens with all the smoke from all these rumours clears.

I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of these rumors are going around right now. One aspect of Unrivaled that I didn't think about (until it was mentioned by Sue Bird) is that these women are basically stuck together in Miami for 2+ months and that is a recipe for a lot of recruiting amongst the players for the next WNBA season. I could see these kinds of deals being pushed by the players while in Miami.

 

[Rowdy831]

Free Agency must be difficult this year with a new CBA on the horizon. What would the player benefit be of signing a long term deal this year when the pay cap is likely to go way up? On the other hand why would a team put too much eggs in any 1 year contract basket knowing the CBA is right around the corner?

I guess a team could put in a clause that the player would be eligible for an increase equal to the percentage of increase the team gets in the new CBA for CAP space. All I know is the league needs some quality players to infuse some more interest and I am hoping the players like Paige and Azzi can provide a bit of it.

 

[cancontent]

I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of these rumors are going around right now. One aspect of Unrivaled that I didn't think about (until it was mentioned by Sue Bird) is that these women are basically stuck together in Miami for 2+ months and that is a recipe for a lot of recruiting amongst the players for the next WNBA season. I could see these kinds of deals being pushed by the players while in Miami.

Not to mention WNBA front office staff will likely be on hand too. I recall seeing Hammon and Fargas in the audience last weekend.