2024-25 WNBA Offseason Guides: Seattle Storm
The latest in our series detailing where each WNBA team stands heading into the offseason and beyond, this time covering the Seattle Storm
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Previously published 2024-25 Offseason Guides:
Los Angeles Sparks
Dallas Wings
Chicago Sky
Washington Mystics
Atlanta Dream
2024 record: 25-15, No. 5 seed, lost 2-0 to Las Vegas in the first round.
2025 draft picks: Unlike most teams this year, details of Seattle's 2025 draft picks are incredibly straightforward. They still have all their own picks, with just a third-rounder to augment the collection, from Washington for Jade Melbourne just before this season.
Free agents: Nneka Ogwumike (uncoreable unrestricted free agent), Mercedes Russell (unrestricted free agent), Sami Whitcomb (unrestricted free agent), Victoria Vivians (unrestricted free agent), Joyner Holmes (unrestricted free agent), Gabby Williams (unrestricted free agent).
Under contract for 2025: Jewell Loyd, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Ezi Magbegor, Jordan Horston, Nika Mühl.
2024 performance: Ultimately, 2024 has to be considered a significant disappointment for the Seattle Storm. Despite finishing with a reasonably positive 25-15 record and being one of the league's five 'good' teams for most of the season - whether judged by record or by net rating - that isn't up to the levels they will have been expecting. When you sign Skylar Diggins-Smith and Nneka Ogwumike as free agents to join Jewell Loyd and Ezi Magbegor as your 'big four', jumping you immediately out of a rebuilding youth movement, the target is a championship. Not a first-round exit in a sweep.
None of those four stars missed more than three games over the course of the regular season, so they don't have the same excuses of injury or a lack of time to build chemistry like some other teams around the league. But despite Diggins-Smith and Ogwumike seeming to slide into their roles relatively smoothly, and there being some impressive performances along the way, things never seemed to entirely 'click' this year in Seattle. Apart from Ogwumike, the entire squad shot poorly from beyond the arc, which in the modern game can make it very hard to score when you face good defensive teams. Loyd in particular had a horrible year from outside, with just the third season by anyone in league history taking more than five threes per game while shooting below 28% (and both DeWanna Bonner and Kia Nurse - the other two - were on bad teams that needed somebody to keep shooting). As the season wore on, it became increasingly evident that they were a clear fifth place among those five good teams, and it was going to take some real breaks - or shooting breakouts - to change that around. None arrived, so their season ended much sooner than they would've wanted.
Offseason finances: Despite three of their stars being under contract for 2025, the Storm have some significant work to do in the offseason. They only have five total players signed, leaving $712,377 in cap space, but a lot of roster spots to fill. Ogwumike only signed for one year, and cannot be cored because she already reached the limit of years played under a core contract during her days in Los Angeles. She seemed to enjoy her time in Seattle but played so well that she'll once again have plenty of suitors (likely including a new one in Golden State). Then there's Gabby Williams, who re-signed with the Storm after an impressive Olympic Games with France. She could be cored, but the supermax qualifying offer that comes with that designation would likely be an overpay for a player who's good, but still has limitations at the WNBA level. There were also reports before she signed that one of her requirements was that she not be cored by whichever team she signed with, allowing her to become a true unrestricted free agent again. So her return might also not be a certainty.
That $712,377 also isn't quite as much as it may at first appear. If, hypothetically, they cored Williams and she simply signed the $249,244 supermax qualifying offer (or they just gave her the supermax anyway), and then filled four roster spots with base minimum salaries ($66,079 each), there would only be $198,817 left for Ogwumike - less than her salary this year, and a significant tick down from the regular max salary of $214,466. That's without even considering bringing back key reserves like Mercedes Russell and Sami Whitcomb, or doing any shopping in free agency, or leaving extra room for their first-round pick. Obviously they'd hope to get Williams for less than the supermax, and maybe have some goodwill banked with Ogwumike, but that's an illustration of how quickly that cap space can get swallowed up if they want to keep shopping in the star-end of the market.
Offseason priorities: This is becoming a repetitive refrain - and two teams have already made bold decisions - but firstly the Storm have to decide if Noelle Quinn is still the head coach they want to take them forward. She's been in charge for essentially four years now after taking over from Dan Hughes early in the 2021 season. She's never looked like a bad coach, but her teams also never seem to perform beyond expectations. They've done about what you'd expect, at best. That means they were pretty good when Breanna Stewart was around (but without making the Finals either season, albeit with the excuse of a Stewart injury one year and the Aces buzzsaw the next), were dreadful for a year when she left, and then this year's good-but-not-good-enough. Does that keep Quinn in the job? Loyd's brutal shooting numbers this year have to fall at Quinn's feet to at least a certain extent. Loyd's a much better shooter when set and square to the basket but continued to take far too many attempts when off-balance or leaning. Some of that's down to the shots she gets within the system, and maybe even continuing to let her fire away so much despite all the misses. Maybe a different coach with a change of system could craft some improved shooting even without overhauling the playing personnel. But the Storm front office may feel Quinn is doing the best with what she had and just needs some more breaks.
On the playing side, Jordan Horston's improvements this season mean that they actually have someone who was looking pretty solid on the wing even before Williams arrived to take her starting spot. She still needs to work on her jump shot and range, but if Williams doesn't return they likely have their third perimeter starter already in-house. That means the big issue is in the post, where they either need to tempt Ogwumike back or find a high-end replacement. With Russell out of contract as well, their post corps is currently Magbegor and nothing else. She continues to be a very useful starting post but not really the kind of big you revolve an offense around. So they need interior scoring to help her out, whether from Ogwumike or elsewhere. Then it's a matter of filling out the bench. Scorers to take the weight off Diggins-Smith and Loyd would be nice, but barring a shocking trade (or injury) those two are likely to continue playing the bulk of the guard minutes. Improved perimeter shooting may therefore have to come from that pair pushing their numbers in significantly positive directions.
Future assets: Despite having to cash in significant capital to shift towards experience and sign Diggins-Smith and Ogwumike - they gave up the No. 4 pick that became Rickea Jackson in order to create the requisite cap space - the Storm are in decent shape going forward. Given how good Jackson looked in the second half of this season that deal hurts, but it brought back Los Angeles's 2026 first-round pick in return, which could be very useful if the Sparks struggle again next year. The Storm also still have all their own 2026 picks should they need to shift towards a rebuild again, and still hold the draft rights to Mackenzie Holmes after taking her in the third round this year despite a knee injury.
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They need to develop Muhl or trade her. Also draft the best shooter they can. Maybe a Fudd, Citron, Emily Ryan or Flipkens falls to them. If Gabby walks, maybe trade a 2nd for either Katie Lou from Indiana, Senechal from Dallas or outright sign a Izzy Harrison from the Sky or get creative. Move Magbegor to pf and sign Taniya Jackson outright or sign Li Yueru( and probably trade a 2nd or 3rd to LA). They can also sign a Monica Billings.
They need a big and bench depth especially in regards to shooters.
Good summary. Two quick reactions:
- Agree that Coach Quinn bears some responsibility for Loyd's shooting woes, ranging from the types of three pointers she's taking to the sets. It also may be a hangover from the post-Stewie, "who's left" year when it was Loyd or bust. Bad habits and all that....
- Regarding DeWanna Bonner being a "bad" team. Assume you meant "bad outside-shooting team" in her case? (Although that's not the case any more post-Mabrey arrival)