2023-24 WNBA Offseason Guides: Las Vegas Aces
In the final offseason guide, we detail where the back-to-back champs sit heading into the offseason, and what they can do to help their efforts to threepeat
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Previously published 2023-24 Offseason Guides:
Seattle Storm
Phoenix Mercury
Indiana Fever
Los Angeles Sparks
Chicago Sky
Washington Mystics
Atlanta Dream
Minnesota Lynx
Dallas Wings
Connecticut Sun
New York Liberty
2023 record: 34-6, defeated Chicago 2-0 in first-round, defeated Dallas 3-0 in semifinals, defeated New York 3-1 in Finals
2024 draft picks: The Aces don't have a first-round pick in 2024 after sending it to Los Angeles in the Dearica Hamby trade, but ultimately only moved down from No. 12 to No. 16 in that deal as they got LA's second-rounder in return. They also own Washington's second-rounder (No. 18) from the Amanda Zahui B. trade, and still hold their own second- and third-round picks.
Free agents: Riquna Williams (UFA), Candace Parker (uncoreable UFA), Kiah Stokes (UFA), Sydney Colson (UFA), Cayla George (RFA)
Under contract: Kelsey Plum, A'ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young, Alysha Clark, Kierstan Bell
2023 performance: On the court, just about perfect. A'ja Wilson got even better, easily could've won MVP, then significantly outperformed the player who did win it while earning Finals MVP; Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young and Kelsey Plum remain a petrifying perimeter trio; Candace Parker and Alysha Clark were both excellent additions, signed on below-market deals, albeit Parker's season was cut short by injury; and Kiah Stokes once again filled in smoothly when needed to play a significant role in the paint. While a slight drop in their dominance in the second half of the regular season pushed them down to third all-time in net rating, this remained one of the best teams the league had ever seen. Of course, they topped it off a couple of days ago by closing out the Finals in dramatic fashion despite injuries to key players, becoming the first team to win back-to-back WNBA championships in over 20 years.
Off the court, it wasn't quite so spotless. The season began with head coach Becky Hammon being suspended for two games for violating league and team Respect in the Workplace policies, and the franchise being stripped of their 2025 first-round pick for violating league rules regarding impermissible player benefits in regards to Dearica Hamby. That mess continues to roll on with Hamby recently filing a discrimination lawsuit against the team. Riquna Williams was on the roster all season long but never played, firstly due to a reported back injury, then after being arrested and charged in regards to a domestic battery incident. She was barred from the team after the arrest and never returned even after the charges were dropped.
With most of their key players already under contract to return, the Aces will hope to make yet another run at a championship - but ideally with less off-court drama along the way.
Offseason finances: Scarily for other teams around the league, the Aces have the cap space to make some moves this offseason. Wilson, Plum, Gray, Young and Clark are all signed, none of them for more than $200,000, which leaves an unusual amount of room for a team that's already so loaded. If they keep the six currently under contract, they would have $512,585 for the remaining five or six roster spots. They could, for example, fill three of those with base minimum deals ($64,154 each) and have $320,123 remaining for two players. That's potentially a max deal ($208,219) and another mid-range veteran.
Of course, that's without taking into account their own free agents. Most people expected this to be Candace Parker's final season, but that was before she got injured and missed much of it. She might want to come back for another year (and especially if she's willing to sign cheaply again, the Aces may well be very interested). Kiah Stokes could also require more than the $81,000 she was on this year to retain, although we've seen many times that players tend to sign in Las Vegas for less than could be on offer elsewhere. That fact could obviously also be of benefit in shopping on the free agent market. If winning a ring is your priority ahead of cash, where better to go than the team that won it all in both the last two seasons?
Offseason priorities: Even before the eventual second championship, Becky Hammon achieved something remarkable this year. She brought back a roster that had won a ring the year before, and convinced them to play even harder the following season. Pat Riley's "disease of more" didn't affect this group at all, and especially at the defensive end they improved on their 2022 season. Now she has to pull off that trick again. It seems unlikely that any of those 'core four' pieces are going to be traded, so they'll all be coming back again. Keeping them focussed on a prize that they've already won twice will be another tricky task.
In terms of roster-building, the moves will be significantly affected by elements we don't yet know. Firstly, how serious are the injuries to Gray and Stokes that kept them out of Game 4 of the Finals? Some lip readers thought they saw Gray say the word "pop" on the bench after her injury in Game 3, which could mean an Achilles tear. That can be a 12-month injury, which could put her 2024 season (and 2024 Olympic Games participation) in jeopardy. We know even less about Stokes. There's also the question of whether Parker wants to play on, or head off into retirement.
If Gray's injury is serious, more of that cap space could be directed towards a lead guard. They already need some kind of reliable backup on the perimeter - Williams seems unlikely to return, Bell is still largely unproven, and Hammon rarely wants to play Colson even if they bring her back again. But if Gray's questionable for 2024, maybe you go from looking in the "reliable rotation player" pool to players who'd expect to start like Jordin Canada, Natasha Cloud or even Skylar Diggins-Smith.
Then they obviously need options alongside Wilson inside. Parker and Stokes may be the first options, but if Parker retires and/or Stokes walks away, they can go shopping. The same star names I've mentioned for other teams - Jonquel Jones, Elena Delle Donne, Brionna Jones, Brittney Griner, Nneka Ogwumike - are genuine possibilities, given Vegas's cap space. But even if they end up in the next tier down, Clark showed this year how useful strong role players can be to this core. A deeper bench that could offer more rest for their key players and mean less panic when one of them gets injured would also be decidedly helpful. Even if this year's plan gave us an exciting and dramatic conclusion that played out in the Aces' favor.
Future assets: The Aces no longer possess a first-round pick in 2025, due to the aforementioned punishment for the Hamby mess. They do have an extra second-rounder coming that year from Washington, again as part of the Zahui B. trade.
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I keep asking this question and no one is answering it. What compensation are teams like the Aces and Liberty giving to their top players who sign for much less than they are qualified to receive? No way are they signing for less money and not being compensated in some way which allows the team to circumvent the salary cap. If they are allowed to continue to do this and other teams aren't because the WNBA (and media) aren't being transparent, this does a great dis-service to the other teams and the league. What's the story?
Oh shut up. while you’re speculating and wondering and supposing.. nba teams/players have done this for years… surely, surely you’re aware of the fact that Gary Payton (Sr of course) and Karl Malone both took less money to go to the Lakers to chase a championship? Lebron, Wade, and Bosh did it in Miami, Ohtani just recently signed a lucrative but weird deferral contract to help the dodgers keep and bring in more talent, Mahomes just recently took less money to help his team retain & recruit good players,Durant took a multi million dollar pay cut to sign with the Warriors… but. Surely you’re already aware of all that.. surely. It just doesn’t fit the narrative you’re trying to tell. That’s why you’re being ignored. Maybe you’re just a troll, a dummy…. Maybe you work for one of the other wnba teams, just trying to tear the Aces down with these totally unsubstantiated innuendos, since obviously, your wnba team employer can’t beat them on the court.. smh… why don’t you just move to Australia… ponder, and speculate on how high kangaroos jump. Be transparent out there in the outback.