2024-25 WNBA Offseason Guides: Los Angeles Sparks

Our team-by-team breakdowns of where everyone in the WNBA stands heading into 2025 begins with the first team eliminated from playoff contention

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Los Angeles Sparks forward Rickea Jackson (2). Photo credit: Chris Poss

2024 record: Currently 7-30, eliminated from playoff contention last Friday at 7-27.

2025 draft picks: Hold all their own 2025 picks, plus an extra third-rounder from Chicago via the trade that gave up last year's No. 8 to acquire Li Yueru and Julie Allemand.

Free agents: Kia Nurse (unrestricted free agent), Aari McDonald (restricted free agent), Li Yueru (reserved), plus Crystal Dangerfield and Odyssey Sims are on hardship contracts and therefore automatically become unrestricted free agents.

Under contract: Dearica Hamby, Azurá Stevens, Stephanie Talbot, Rae Burrell, Layshia Clarendon, Lexie Brown, Julie Allemand, Cameron Brink, Rickea Jackson, Zia Cooke.

2024 performance: In terms of results, once again, obviously not great. They have the worst record in the league, were the first team eliminated from playoff contention, and offensive/defensive rating pegs them as among the bottom-three teams in the league at both ends of the floor. There were some mitigating circumstances. They lost rookie Cameron Brink, the No. 2 overall pick, to a torn ACL after 15 games; Azurá Stevens started the season hurt and only returned just before the Olympic break; Lexie Brown continues to battle Crohn's disease and has both played well below her capabilities and missed half the season entirely; and other injuries and illnesses have taken Aari McDonald, Layshia Clarendon and Stephanie Talbot out at various points. It's been something of a MASH unit in LA this year.

However, this team was never really intended to contend this year. Maybe they didn't want to be this bad, but I wrote in my Opening Day Roster Breakdowns that "the ideal scenario probably culminates in Paige Bueckers standing on a stage holding a Sparks jersey next April," and I stand by that. Viewed through that lens, 2024 hasn't been a disaster for LA. Obviously Brink's injury hurt, but Rickea Jackson stepped forward as the season progressed and has shown real potential to become a star. Further removed from her second pregnancy, Dearica Hamby stepped up and had the most complete season of her career at the age of 30 (and signed an extension to stick around for next year as well). Li Yueru, still only 25, has shown some signs of becoming a useful WNBA player. So the Sparks have some pieces to build around, and locked in the top spot in the two-year standings that decide the odds for that Bueckers lottery (likely giving them a 44.2% chance at the No. 1 overall pick, barring the league doing something strange and introducing Golden State into the mix). Not everything went exactly according to plan but from a long-term perspective 2024 wasn't a complete failure.

Offseason finances: The Sparks already have 10 players under contract for 2025, which is unusually high for a team heading into the preceding offseason. Assuming they want to re-sign Li and McDonald, that would take them to 12 before even considering rookies or adding anyone via free agency. Six of the 10 are on non-guaranteed contracts (plus we don't know if Allemand will show up and they'll likely lose one via the Valkyries expansion draft), so they're hardly locked in to this group, but it does indicate that they actually like a lot of these pieces despite this year's results. After the current 10 they have $345,930 remaining in cap space, more than enough to do some shopping in free agency if they want to dip into the pool (the regular max for next year is $214,466). This is going to be a strange year for free agency because virtually every player has been avoiding signing beyond 2025, expecting the salary scale to take a leap upwards once the new broadcast deal and likely new Collective Bargaining Agreement come into effect. That could mean a lot of one-year deals for 2025, and presumably the top available players will look to teams that have shown more signs of immediate title contention than LA. The Sparks may feel that a lot of their 'free agent' work was already done by signing Hamby, Talbot and Stevens to extensions during the season.

Offseason priorities: The first part will be praying to every available deity that they get some lottery luck and it hands them the No. 1 overall pick, which will presumably be Bueckers. If that works out, they may mostly sit on their hands in the offseason and spend 2025 looking at how good the core of Bueckers, Jackson and Brink can be, while trying to decide who else they would like to have around for the long-term. With such a large proportion of the league likely to become free agents after the 2025 season, the only true long-term planning teams can do is with players under rookie-scale contracts that mean they'll be around beyond that year.

However, an important factor is that Los Angeles no longer own their 2026 first-round pick. They gave it up in the deal that added the No. 4 overall pick that became Rickea Jackson (while also taking on Kia Nurse to help Seattle create cap space). That means there's no value to LA in being bad again in 2025. So, especially if they miss out on the No. 1 pick, don't be surprised if they at least try to chase some big fish in free agency. Theoretical unrestricted free agent options like Breanna Stewart, Alyssa Thomas, Satou Sabally, Kelsey Plum and Kelsey Mitchell may well find themselves cored by their current teams, but possibilities often open up once the negotiating begins. The bright lights of Hollywood are often an appealing draw to players looking for greener grass than their current situation. The frontcourt looks a little crowded with Hamby, Stevens and hopefully the returning Brink, so the priority would likely be adding real scoring threats in the backcourt, but when you're bottom of the standings you can make room for any star-level talent that wants to join the program.

One side-note on retaining their own players: there's some debate about what Li Yueru's status will be. A rookie-scale player playing out their third season who has their fourth-year option declined by their team typically becomes an unrestricted free agent. However, Li has only played two seasons in the league, and therefore can be argued not to have the required years for that status. My information is that she's expected to become reserved, meaning LA would retain her exclusive negotiating rights (and the basic fact that they declined their cheap option year on a promising 24-year-old 6-foot-7 center suggests they're confident that will be the case). But it's one situation worth keeping an eye on, because it depends on exactly how the league read their own rules.

Future assets: As mentioned above, LA no longer have their 2026 first-round pick (but do still hold their second- and third-rounders). They also have the draft rights to Shaneice Swain, an Australian guard taken No. 14 overall in 2023 who's still only 20 and might not be ready for the WNBA yet. But they'll be keeping an eye on whether she can step up in the WNBL during the offseason. The only other meaningful rights they have to players who weren't around this season are to Belgian point guard Julie Allemand, who was suspended for this season and missed the Olympics as well due to injury. Already under contract for 2025, she could actually be a nice addition if she's healthy and ready to play next year.

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