Lessons Learned from the 2023 WNBA Mock Offseason
On the brink of the WNBA's 2023 free agency period, we take a look at what can be learned from our mock exercise before reality takes over
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Every year, our Mock Offseason exercise reveals insight into how WNBA teams and players might operate during the real free agency period. Initially, it forces each of us playing as general managers to take a close look at the roster and cap situations of our teams and see exactly what might be possible. Then, as events continue to play out, the relative ease or complexity of each of these different plans starts to come into focus. Obviously, it won't be a perfect representation of reality - last year, it turned out that our fake version was far too staid and predictable - but it lets you see the possibilities. As a prelude to the opening of the real WNBA free agency period in January, let's take a look at some of the lessons learned from our Mock reality. All our deals are in the summary article, and all the real existing contracts are in our cap sheets (which will be consistently updated with new deals when they begin being signed).
(The roster pages below are based on how teams stand at the completion of our Mock Offseason, not the current depth charts in real life. Players whose names are bolded have Veteran Protected Contracts while players whose names are italicized have Rookie Protected Contracts. Only players who suited up in 2022 are listed as remaining Reserved Players.)
Eastern Conference
Atlanta Dream
PG: Aari McDonald
SG: Marina Mabrey, Kristy Wallace
SF: Rhyne Howard
PF: Monique Billings, Naz Hillmon
C: Cheyenne Parker, Stefanie Dolson, Li Yueru
Draft Picks: 3, 8, 23
Remaining RFA: Asia Durr (AD) (not necessarily Restricted - could be offered a Reserved Qualifying Offer)
Remaining Reserved Players: Rui Machida
Atlanta tried to take a big swing and acquire essentially every star free agent, but it was not to be. While Atlanta still has plenty of room for growth, the franchise’s only proven foundational piece is Rhyne Howard, with everyone else still needing to make good on their upside. That was not enough to woo major stars in our exercise, especially those in the back half of their careers, and may not be in real life either. So, Atlanta had to pivot.
Atlanta’s transactions point to ways in which it could continue to maneuver moving forward. One of these moves was moving on from Tiffany Hayes for a future first-round pick from Washington and the rights to Rui Machida. While trading the two-way shooting guard was not strictly necessary, especially since Atlanta has ample cap room, obtaining a potentially fruitful pick from a team with injury-related downside risk would be valuable to such a young team. Machida may seem like a throw-in, but her probing, pass-first style could be a good fit on a team with lots of players who are good finishers
In signing Marina Mabrey, the Dream locked up one of the best restricted free agents for three years. Her ability to play both on and off the ball fits well on a team whose two most significant prospects, Howard and Aari McDonald, will need touches in order to fulfill their potential but also have benefitted from the opportunity to play without the ball in their hands. Mabrey may not have had the most efficient scoring seasons the past two years, but she also had significant on-ball responsibilities with the Wings that she would not necessarily have to replicate.
Finally, trading for Stefanie Dolson is an example of allowing the team’s cap space to do some work for them. While not a clear “salary dump,” Dolson provides a veteran presence who can keep the floor spaced for Atlanta’s slashers at the cost of only a future second-round pick. If other teams want to attach an asset in order to open up space for an additional free agent, Atlanta is as well-equipped as any to absorb their contracts with their cap room. The team’s presumed playoff aspirations also suggest that they would value good players even if those players have less team-friendly contracts, meaning that they would not need as rich of assets attached to those players and could build their team in the present in an inverted free agency while still looking toward the future.
In short, the key for Atlanta is flexibility. While the uncertainty of their future may make shorter-term plays for big stars infeasible, they have options that can facilitate their growth without mortgaging their future.
Chicago Sky
PG: Courtney Vandersloot, Julie Allemand, Dana Evans
SG: Allie Quigley
SF: Kahleah Copper
PF: Emma Meesseman
C: Candace Parker, Isabelle Harrison, Ruthy Hebard
Draft Picks: 5, 15, 35
Remaining RFA: None
Remaining Reserved Players: Rebekah Gardner
Chicago definitely focused here on retaining its veteran core. Keeping all of Parker, Meesseman, Vandersloot, Quigley and Stevens was functionally untenable, and it was ultimately Stevens who was the odd one out in our exercise. All of the above are on one-year contracts, as is the rest of the roster excepting Harrison and Dana Evans’s team option (which must be resolved by the end of May). As such, the chips are all-in for Chicago, and there is no reason to expect the team to act any differently during the real free agency period, even if one or more of the team’s returning stars might re-up for more than a single season.
This is essentially the sum total of Chicago’s potential roster moves, assuming the stars return. As things stand, this roster would leave enough room for the fifth overall pick and one other player at the minimum, likely Rebekah Gardner. This crunch might also imperil Evans, as the team’s lack of depth makes the redundant backup point guard situation a bit dicey, and Allemand’s status on the team would likely be important to any attempts to attract Meesseman back to the Windy City. On the other hand, Allemand could accept a season-long suspension; while she is not yet subject to prioritization rules, her playing in the French league and Belgium’s likely qualification for the upcoming EuroBasket Women 2023 could lead to her not arriving until the very end of June. Furthermore, playing in the WNBA this year would make her subject to prioritization next year when the rules tighten. Regardless, that EuroBasket window could lead to the Sky relying on hardship players and dropping a few key games.
Of course, Chicago’s sights are not set on the regular season but the playoffs. Especially with the new, much more forgiving playoff format, any spot in the top six of the regular season standings probably suits the team just fine. Unless multiple stars among Parker, Vandersloot and Meesseman eschew a return to the Windy City, forcing something approaching a reset, this is likely the general format of a Sky offseason: 11 players, as many stars as possible, one or two mid-level free agents, and plenty of minutes for a promising rookie to try to earn.
Connecticut Sun
PG: Jasmine Thomas, Natisha Hiedeman, Nia Clouden
SG: Courtney Williams, DiJonai Carrington
SF: DeWanna Bonner
PF: Alyssa Thomas
C: Jonquel Jones
Draft Picks: 10, 22, 34
Remaining RFA: None
Remaining Reserved Players: None
Keeping all of Brionna Jones, Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman is virtually impossible. In fact, keeping the younger Jones is all but impossible. In our exercise, New York blew Jones away with a max offer, and reality is unlikely to deviate far from that contract value. Moreover, Connecticut’s lack of cap space and presumed loyalty to its current stars makes even acquiring significant value in a hypothetical sign-and-trade difficult, with only draft picks and players on rookie contracts fitting the financial requirements.
Given our cap figures for Hiedeman and Williams (three-year contracts starting at $140,000 and $103,000, respectively), Connecticut literally only has cap room to sign its first-round pick and two players on rookie minimum contracts - not even the Sun’s second-round pick would fit under the cap without cutting the first-rounder under these circumstances. While this lack of depth would have suited former coach Curt Miller just fine, new coach Stephanie White definitely seemed to value depth a bit more during her previous WNBA coaching stop in Indiana (no player on those aging teams averaged more than 28 minutes per game in the regular season), and Jasmine Thomas’s injury recovery may make keeping such a short bench precarious regardless. As tight as that situation is, though, having a veteran frontline of Bonner, Alyssa Thomas and Jonquel Jones makes such a focus on keeping big-name talent plausible, especially since only Thomas remains under contract in 2024.
It is also worth noting that Williams in particular may very well command more attention from teams than our exercise anticipated. The mid-range specialist had a resurgence of sorts upon returning to Connecticut, and there is no clear reason to believe that she has burned any bridges outside of the Peach State. That could allow Hiedeman to earn even more money without going anywhere - and given her engagement to Jasmine Thomas, she very well might not want to leave - or it could lead to the Sun bringing a mid-level reinforcement or two from elsewhere. Regardless, Connecticut’s options are limited, and the bench will not be deep unless they trade one of their leading veterans.
Indiana Fever
PG: Danielle Robinson, Destanni Henderson
SG: Kelsey Mitchell, Florencia Chagas
SF: Sophie Cunningham, Lexie Hull
PF: NaLyssa Smith, Emily Engstler
C: Queen Egbo
Draft Picks: 1, 7, 13, 17, 25
Remaining RFA: Victoria Vivians, Emma Cannon
Remaining Reserved Players: Khayla Pointer, Rennia Davis
(Note. Jantel Lavender’s buy-out takes up a protected contract spot and $119,000 of cap space.)
Patience is the precedent set by Indiana’s approach to last season, and our exercise did nothing to upset that idea. Last year, the Fever drafted five rookies and played all of them, but arguably only NaLyssa Smith continued to pop once the All-Star break had passed. Consequently, the team is not exactly in a position to attract star free agents or otherwise swing for the fences, even with the coming No. 1 pick, presumably Aliyah Boston. In our exercise, the team shored up a position with less of a clear future by signing Sophie Cunningham to play small forward and otherwise largely stood pat. Of course, the Fever have enough cap space that they do not have to play quite so conservatively, but the specter of the winter of 2021 when they signed veterans Danielle Robinson, Jantel Lavender (since waived) and Jessica Breland may still loom overhead.
The keys for Indiana may well be some combination of youth and discretion. This Cunningham acquisition exemplifies both, as Cunningham is only 26 and was signed to a two-year contract amid a flurry of three-year deals. Unfortunately, several of the other most marquee free agents who might be considered young - Brionna Jones, Marina Mabrey, and the recently-traded Teaira McCowan - clash positionally or stylistically with NaLyssa Smith, Kelsey Mitchell (two more years of a guaranteed max extension), and Boston, respectively, and do not make clean targets. That being said, Azurá Stevens might be an excellent fit, presuming she would not mind coming off the bench - no easy sell based on how her price skyrocketed during our exercise. With four picks in the top 17 draft choices and coming off a franchise-worst 5-31 record, patience seems not only prudent but dispositionally plausible. If the right trade somehow manifests itself, it seems unlikely that Indiana would let it pass by. Otherwise, the offseason might be surprisingly quiet in the Hoosier State.
New York Liberty
PG: Sabrina Ionescu
SG: Sami Whitcomb, DiDi Richards
SF: Betnijah Laney, Rebecca Allen, Jocelyn Willoughby
PF: Natasha Howard, Michaela Onyenwere
C: Brionna Jones
Draft Picks: 6, 30
Remaining RFA: None
Remaining Reserved Players: Marine Johannès, Han Xu
New York may not have been able to attract Breanna Stewart to the Big Apple in our exercise, but it is a possibility that must be kept front-of-mind when forecasting any New York player movement. In our exercise, New York came away with a pretty good consolation prize in Brionna Jones, likely the top free agent available beyond the marquee names. This acquisition points to the fact that New York can sign one star without making any other moves, while trading players like Stefanie Dolson (shipped off to Atlanta for a future second-round pick in this exercise) or Rebecca Allen could open up cap room. It should be noted that a sign-and-trade might be unusually likely in a potential move for Stewart, as the former MVP could command the sort of supermax contract that New York is not allowed to offer outright.
Another wrinkle that was not fully explored is the possibility of signing Sabrina Ionescu to an extension of some kind, thereby removing her from restricted free agency in 2024. Last year, the point guard and former No. 1 overall pick made the breakout leap that many have been waiting for, cementing herself as an All-Star. Locking Ionescu up long-term may be the sort of assurance a star needs to take the leap to New York.
It is also worth noting that, in addition to the No. 6 pick in the upcoming draft, Nyara Sabally, the No. 5 pick in last year’s draft, is essentially a “free” rookie for the Liberty. Sabally elected not to sign her rookie-scale contract last season after being diagnosed with a season-ending injury post-draft. This actually affords New York a modicum of valuable flexibility as rookies’ contracts count as training camp contracts - and therefore do not count against the cap - during the preseason. The team could similarly create such flexibility if Marine Johannès or Han Xu, reserved players with no negotiating leverage but who brought clear value for New York last season, are willing to sign one-year contracts at the rookie minimum. If that flexibility is needed, it could spell doom for Michaela Onyenwere or DiDi Richards (or even Kylee Shook, whose contract was suspended last season), young players on unprotected contracts who have shown flashes but not quite solidified themselves as WNBA players. This roster construction cannot absorb both Sabally and this year’s first-round pick without cutting Onyenwere or Richards, although it is also plausible that Sami Whitcomb could command slightly less than the $150,000 offered to her here. In short, New York could exercise a great deal of creativity at the margins, past the edges of what could be explored in our podcast.
Washington Mystics
PG: Natasha Cloud
SG: Tiffany Hayes
SF: Ariel Atkins
PF: Elena Delle Donne, Myisha Hines-Allen
C: Shakira Austin
Draft Picks: 4, 20, 32
Remaining RFA: None
Remaining Reserved Players: Evina Westbrook
Washington is a veteran team with an all-time superstar who needs to be maximized. In Elena Delle Donne’s case, it is especially urgent given the litany of ailments that force her to be load-managed. That attendant uncertainty and the succession of Eric Thibault into his father’s head coaching position may make it relatively difficult for the team to pitch free agents.
In our exercise, the Mystics managed to negotiate a sign-and-trade for Tiffany Hayes. As a two-way player with analytics-friendly shot selection who thrives playing off other stars, she is a perfect fit next to Delle Donne and gives the team an excellent starting five. This leaves the team able to sign one or two players somewhere in the veteran minimum-$100,000 range, one of whom is likely to be Elizabeth Williams who last season cited a variety of off-court reasons for wanting to play in Washington. These players would join the No. 4 pick and possibly the No. 20 pick as well, giving the team a solid rotation provided that they stay healthy - never a given with Delle Donne but also potentially a problem for Hayes. Overall, the team is unlikely to blow things up with the two-time MVP on the roster. It might be difficult for the Mystics to sign a top-flight star, but the next tier of free agents is very much in play, even if the franchise prioritizes depth.
Western Conference
Dallas Wings
PG: Tyasha Harris, Veronica Burton
SG: Arike Ogunbowale, Jasmine Dickey
SF: Allisha Gray
PF: Satou Sabally, Kayla Thornton, Awak Kuier
C: Teaira McCowan, Amanda Zahui B., Bella Alarie
Draft Picks: 11, 19, 31
Remaining RFA: None
Remaining Reserved Players: None
Especially if we assume that Bella Alarie is returning to the WNBA after taking a year off (note. she is also not currently playing overseas), Dallas finds itself in a bit of a roster crunch. Examining how this scenario played itself out, signing the team’s first-round pick would take the team to 12 players, but the Wings still have enough cap space to sign essentially their pick of whoever is left, a group that includes at least a handful of viable rotation players. Nothing done here in our exercise was so radical as to indicate that the Wings organization will not find themselves in a similar conundrum, even after presumably waiving Jasmine Dickey.
In real life, Dallas definitely has the option of bringing back both McCowan and Marina Mabrey; the values we negotiated of $180,000 and $182,500 as respective starting points certainly fit under Dallas’s cap with room to spare. However, retaining both players may drive the team to stagnate a bit by bringing back an achingly similar squad once again, even with so many of the team’s players still being of prime developmental age. The team certainly could try to spring for a consolidation trade - although the most likely target, Skylar Diggins-Smith, was more than happy to leave Dallas just a few years ago under this same front office. This is the second year in a row our exercise has seen Charli Collier traded away for a more veteran center, and while it is debatable how likely this administration is to give up on its hometown top pick even with her falling out of the rotation entirely last year, a similar prospect-for-veteran trade may still be in the offing. There have also been rumblings about Allisha Gray being traded, although as mentioned above, trading her for more assets only amplifies the team’s issues, whereas trading her for a more established star may prove difficult.
While it is highly unlikely that she gets moved herself, Satou Sabally may dictate the course of Dallas’s offseason. Arike Ogunbowale is under contract at her max for three more seasons, but Sabally is slated for Restricted Free Agency in 2024. Whether she negotiates an extension or the organization believes the talented but oft-injured forward is ready to make a leap may dictate how the team sees its destiny moving into the future.
Las Vegas Aces
PG: Chelsea Gray
SG: Kelsey Plum, Riquna Williams, Aisha Sheppard
SF: Jackie Young, Kierstan Bell
PF: A'ja Wilson, Dearica Hamby, Iliana Rupert
C: Tina Charles
Draft Picks: 36
Remaining RFA: None
Remaining Reserved Players: None
Las Vegas seems primed to have a boring offseason. While that will not be the case once the season starts, there really is very little that the team can do before the season tips off. The team has so little cap room with the Jackie Young extension kicking in that it cannot even re-sign Kiah Stokes for meaningfully more than the veteran minimum without making other moves that could disrupt the chemistry of a championship team. The team’s contracts are structured such that the only trades it can make are the sorts that reigning champions rarely make, especially ones as young as this one. Lacking any 2023 picks other than the final pick of the draft, the Aces cannot even call upon the excitement of bringing in a fascinating rookie.
Of course, the franchise’s hands are not completely tied. The ever-mercurial Tina Charles is hard to account for in an exercise like this, and her signing in Vegas for little more than the minimum made as much sense as anything else. The team can eke out enough cap space for another veteran minimum contract if it cuts one of last year’s rookies (or, perhaps more likely, suspending Iliana Rupert for the season during a summer with a Eurobasket). Most consequentially, Riquna Williams’s $149,350 contract is unprotected, although waiving her may have unpredictable residual effects. Trading Williams is much more likely, although the team would probably need to acquire a cheaper player in exchange, and it is hard to imagine how such a deal would fit both Las Vegas’ championship timeline and the needs of their hypothetical trade partner, especially given their lack of any quality picks in this year’s draft. All in all, it may be difficult to see this team rocking the boat, but this team already holds a royal flush.
Los Angeles Sparks
PG: Chennedy Carter
SG: Brittney Sykes, Lexie Brown
SF: Katie Lou Samuelson, Bridget Carleton, Rae Burrell
PF: Nneka Ogwumike, Jasmine Walker
C: Olivia Nelson-Ododa, Charli Collier
Draft Picks: None
Remaining RFA: None
Remaining Reserved Players: Kianna Smith
The Los Angeles team put together here places a lot of faith in Chennedy Carter. As constructed here, the team re-acquired star Nneka Ogwumike and then signed or re-signed three defense-first players - Brittney Sykes, Bridget Carleton and Lexie Brown - the latter two deriving their offensive value almost entirely from their spot-up outside shooting. Moreover, Sykes’s one truly efficient WNBA season came when she had the opportunity to play off the team’s erstwhile Big Three of Ogwumike, Candace Parker and Chelsea Gray, a triumvirate featuring two of the greatest playmakers this league has ever seen. Add the facts that the Carleton acquisition cost the team its only draft pick (No. 14) and that Ogwumike is free to bolt if she does not find the Sparks’ future promising, and that leaves Chennedy Carter as the most apparent opportunity for growth. (Note: Because of changes in the latest CBA, the Sparks cannot core Ogwumike as she has played two seasons while under a contract negotiated under the core.)
The future may indeed look very different for Los Angeles. Ogwumike may well be the superstar most likely to leave, even if it means abandoning her sister Chiney who has previously stated her reluctance to play anywhere else. If Nneka leaves, she could easily command the sort of supermax contract that would require a sign-and-trade (because only her previous team is allowed to offer more than the standard max salary, either by signing her itself or negotiating a sign-and-trade), thereby leaving the Sparks something to build around, or at least toward. If Ogwumike does stay, the team has enough cap space to obtain another star if the sales pitch is right and still have room for a mid-tier free agent or two like Carleton. In short, while the team has little control over its own destiny given how much of it is dependent on what Ogwumike decides, it finds itself as one of the most compelling teams to analyze as we approach the month of January.
Minnesota Lynx
PG: Skylar Diggins-Smith
SG: Aerial Powers
SF: Kayla McBride
PF: Napheesa Collier
C: Jessica Shepard
Draft Picks: 2, 14, 26, 28
Remaining RFA: None
Remaining Reserved Players: None
The Lynx started our exercise by making one of the biggest swings of the entire free agency period in acquiring Skylar Diggins-Smith. It is definitely a risk as Diggins-Smith only has one year remaining on her contract and is pregnant, Collier has only played four games since giving birth herself, and the team surrendered its 2024 first-round pick in the trade, but it might just be the sort of move the team needs to make in the wake of Sylvia Fowles’ retirement.
Part of the reason why the team ought to be daring is the presence of Collier. The forward begins her recent 3-year extension, valued at the regular max and fully unprotected, demonstrating her connection to Minnesota. Collier may only be 26, but it is still incumbent on the franchise not to waste years of the perennial All-Star’s prime, especially after demonstrating such magnanimity. Another element pushing the team to be daring is the surprisingly tricky cap situation the team finds itself in. Especially if the Lynx keep the No. 2 pick (which they were able to keep in our exercise), the team is limited cap-wise. Minnesota only added about $80,000 in team salary to make our version of the trade because it involved sending Natalie Achonwa (herself pregnant) to Phoenix. With this arrangement, if the Lynx keep the No. 2 pick and the No. 14 pick they acquired in exchange for Bridget Carleton, they theoretically could offer one player about $130,000, presuming the team wanted to complete the roster with rookie-minimum contracts.
That leaves two more points of interest. For one, keeping Bridget Carleton should be important to the team, but not at the risk of eliminating the rest of its flexibility. Making the Diggins-Smith trade as articulated in our exercise and then matching the $120,000 contract our Los Angeles GM offered Carleton would have all but cleaned Minnesota out. Our group may be more optimistic about the 3-and-D wing (and 3-and-D wings in general) than the league at large, and the Diggins-Smith trade is not necessarily in the offing, but it indicates the types of tough choices Minnesota might have to make. Another unlikely example would be cutting Jessica Shepard from her unprotected contract, although the front office presumably has faith in her given that she would just be starting a new extension at a value of $120,000. Another point is that rookie minimums could be massively consequential for Minnesota, which might spur the Lynx to try to bring back Italian forward Cecilia Zandalasini for the first time since 2018. This may be difficult, it being a EuroBasket summer, but it could be an option. Regardless, the team could also be well-disposed to sign several players in the veteran minimum-$100,000 range to round out the squad. Based on our exercise, those players might include Tiffany Mitchell or Kia Nurse or Nia Coffey and bringing back Damiris Dantas or Rachel Banham or late-season acquisition Lindsay Allen.
Phoenix Mercury
PG: Erica Wheeler
SG: Diana Taurasi, Maya Caldwell
SF: Diamond DeShields
PF: Azurá Stevens
C: Brianna Turner, Natalie Achonwa
Draft Picks: 12, 16, 24, 27, 29
Remaining RFA: Shey Peddy
Remaining Reserved Players: None
First, this sequence of transactions all presupposed that Brittney Griner would not play in the WNBA this season - she has since announced she intends to play in the WNBA with the Mercury. This current set of moves does not leave Phoenix with enough cap room or veteran-protected spots to sign Griner to the sort of contract to which she is accustomed. While it is entirely possible that she imitates Tina Charles or Sue Bird of recent years and takes a lesser contract to facilitate other transactions - or, for that matter, that Diana Taurasi does - it is not guaranteed.
The possibility of Griner returning may or may not affect whether Skylar Diggins-Smith still desires a trade, as has been rumored. If the scoring guard remains in Phoenix, the team’s moves will likely be more peripheral, signing role players to fit alongside the team’s scorers, including Diamond DeShields. The trade from this exercise cleared a bit of cap room for Phoenix while also giving the team a series of draft picks that, while not especially valuable on their own, are all earlier than the strictly third-round picks they currently hold. That helped facilitate the Azurá Stevens acquisition, which is probably the most fungible when one starts to account for Griner returning. However, Stevens would give the team a young budding star who can help space the floor, something that is especially important with Brianna Turner operating inside, while still looking toward a post-Taurasi future. This is still a goal that the Mercury might want to keep in mind, albeit with less urgency. The team also signed Erica Wheeler to fill the void at point guard in order to solidify the starting line-up as the team cannot afford to leave any gaps if they hope to contend in the playoffs.
Seattle Storm
PG: Moriah Jefferson
SG: Jewell Loyd
SF: Alysha Clark, Stephanie Talbot
PF: Breanna Stewart
C: Mercedes Russell
Draft Picks: 9, 18, 21, 33
Remaining RFA: Gabby Williams
Remaining Reserved Players: Ezi Magbegor
In our exercise, the Storm accomplished their primary goal of retaining Breanna Stewart. The two-time champion and 2018 WNBA MVP is the face of the franchise and one of the faces of the league. Keeping her around is crucial for a team that will be playing without the now-retired Sue Bird for only the fifth season in franchise history. What exactly comes next - not just for Seattle, but for really the whole league - depends on what Stewart ultimately decides. However this plays out in real life, the next order of business is filling out the rest of the roster as the team enters free agency with only Jewell Loyd and Mercedes Russell under contract.
One of the key parts of the offseason will be finding someone to fill the void at the point guard position left by Bird. In our exercise, Moriah Jefferson steps into that position after a rejuvenating season in Minnesota. Cut in the opening days of the season by Dallas, Stewart’s former college teammate had her best year in the WNBA. Given her injury history, Jefferson does seem to carry a bit of risk, but she has the talent and passing ability to elevate a team, especially alongside stars of the stature of Stewart and Loyd. Here, the Storm also brought back two consummate role players as their small forwards, Stephanie Talbot from last season and Alysha Clark from her two-year stint in Washington. This alignment leaves Seattle with limited flexibility moving forward, with no more protected veteran slots and very little cap room. It also all but limits Ezi Magbegor, stuck with no leverage as a Reserved Player, to the veteran minimum salary. However, it at least gives Seattle a solid top-7 if everyone stays healthy, positioning them well for the playoffs.
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