WNBA Dissected 2023 Week 0: Opening Day Roster Breakdowns

Before the games begin tonight, we detail who made every roster, how they fit under the cap or within the rules, and which changes might still be on the way

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Three weeks ago, I wrote a piece breaking down where every WNBA team stood heading into training camp and the projected decisions they had left to make before opening day. Well, that day has arrived. The games begin tonight, which means opening day rosters had to be set by last night. However, thanks to the vagaries of the WNBA's rules and salary cap, we have rosters with 11, 12 or even 13 players. We have teams who counted every penny to stay under the salary cap and some who appear to already be well beyond it. We even have franchises who will already be applying for hardship exceptions to fill holes on their roster by the time you read this.

So imagine the end of that training camp preview article fading out, with "Three Weeks Later..." superimposed over the top. This is where everyone stands for opening day, how they got there, and what might still be subject to change in the near future. Then we can all stop talking about these tiny little details and get ready to watch some actual WNBA basketball.

Atlanta Dream

PG: Danielle Robinson/Aari McDonald
SG: Allisha Gray/AD Durr
SF: Rhyne Howard/Haley Jones
PF: Monique Billings/Nia Coffey/Laeticia Amihere
C: Cheyenne Parker/Naz Hillmon/Lorela Cubaj(/Iliana Rupert)

While legal rosters have to be 11 or 12 for opening day, we get to immediately confuse everyone by starting with a team who kept 13. Atlanta can do this because they have a relatively inexpensive roster, which means they have the cap space to fit in all 13 salaries for the players listed above (with $16,149 of space still left over). Then, because Iliana Rupert is yet to show up in the US this year (presumably they're hoping to see her after France compete in EuroBasket Women in June), they could temporarily suspend her.

A temporary suspension means the player's salary remains on the cap sheet in its entirety, but the player doesn't have to take up a roster spot. So while all 13 are counting on the cap, only 12 are on the active roster and the group is therefore legal. If and when Rupert arrives, the Dream would have to cut someone in order to add her to the active roster.

Beyond all that, there wasn't much drama in the Dream camp. Their final roster move didn't ultimately necessitate a cut, with Connecticut willing to give up a 2025 third-round pick for Leigha Brown (who presumably would've been the final cut if they hadn't found that deal). It's always preferable to gain a little value from those final players who don't quite make your team, even if the return is only a distant third-round pick who’s unlikely to ever make your team.

Chicago Sky

PG: Marina Mabrey/Dana Evans
SG: Courtney Williams/Rebekah Gardner
SF: Kahleah Copper/Robyn Parks
PF: Isabelle Harrison/Alanna Smith/Sika Koné
C: Elizabeth Williams/Morgan Bertsch/Kristine Anigwe(/Ruthy Hebard)

Chicago left it to the last minute to make their final moves as cuts elsewhere, difficult decisions and injuries amongst the roster all had an impact. The final day saw Chinese post Li Yueru suspended for the full season after struggling with an injury throughout camp. This kind of suspension removes the player and their salary from the team's cap sheet and means they cannot return at any stage in 2023. That could've been it, but they claimed Sika Koné off waivers after New York didn't have room for her, which led to Australian forward Anneli Maley just barely failing to make the Sky roster for the second year in a row.

With all the star names that have left Chicago since last season, this is now a significantly cheaper roster, with only Copper and Mabrey earning near the max. That gave them room to fit 12 players under the cap, and the WNBA's new pregnancy/childbirth exception is why you actually see 13 names listed above. With Ruthy Hebard still recovering, the Sky are allowed to go over the cap to keep an extra player on their applicable minimum salary as Hebard's replacement. If she returns at some point during the season, they'll have to make a cut to make room (Anigwe was designated as the replacement player).

It's a roster that initially looks a little post-heavy, but Harrison is expected to miss significant time due to a knee injury and Smith could be gone briefly for the Asia Cup if Australia decide they need her (yes, in the world of FIBA, Australia is in Asia). There's even a chance Anigwe could leave for EuroBasket Women (she's British, technically) and/or Koné for AfroBasket. They could end up needing that depth.

Connecticut Sun

PG: Natisha Hiedeman/Tyasha Harris
SG: Tiffany Hayes/DiJonai Carrington/Leigha Brown
SF: DeWanna Bonner/Rebecca Allen
PF: Alyssa Thomas/Lauren Cox
C: Brionna Jones/Olivia Nelson-Ododa

Connecticut ended up a little more complicated than anticipated when last year's first-round pick Nia Clouden was cut on Tuesday. It briefly looked like undrafted forward Caitlin Bickle was going to make it before the Sun waived her as well, dropping them to 10 players for an hour or two. The hole was then filled via a trade with Atlanta for rookie guard Leigha Brown, the Sun giving up their 2025 third-round pick to jump the queue and avoid the possibility that anyone else would've claimed her off waivers. Both DeWanna Bonner and Rebecca Allen have played the 4 in their careers, so the Sun clearly feel like carrying only four bigs isn't a particularly significant risk.

Releasing Clouden means that the maths could've worked out to allow Connecticut's second-rounder Alexis Morris to stick, but she was another casualty earlier in training camp. The slight saving from having Brown on the roster instead of Clouden leaves them with $2,344 of cap space, which could theoretically be used to add a 12th player in the final days of the season. However, any hardship additions during the year would swiftly cut into that minimal space.

Dallas Wings

PG: Veronica Burton/Crystal Dangerfield
SG: Arike Ogunbowale/Lou Lopez Sénéchal/Jasmine Dickey
SF: Satou Sabally/Diamond DeShields/Ashley Joens
PF: Natasha Howard/Maddy Siegrist
C: Teaira McCowan/Awak Kuier

In a mild surprise, the final cuts for the Wings on Wednesday were both centers, with Charli Collier and Kalani Brown being released to bring the roster down to a legal 12. That made more sense later in the day when it was announced that Lopez Sénéchal will have knee surgery next week and miss 6-8 weeks, while DeShields will 'miss extended time' dealing with her own knee injury (also reported as her missing most of the season). With two perimeter players expected to miss significant time, it became logical to retain more backup there.

The Collier cut, while anticipated, is a painful one for Dallas. When you have as many picks as they've had in recent years some will inevitably fail to work out, but No. 1 overall picks aren't supposed to be gone from your roster for no return after two seasons. She's still only 23 and may well get further WNBA chances elsewhere down the line, but as it stands Collier is far and away the biggest bust of any No. 1 pick in WNBA history. She played 423 total minutes for the Wings and scored just 130 points.

The only other slight surprise from Wings camp was 2023 first-round pick Abby Meyers being cut, while second-rounder Ashley Joens was retained. There were only eight picks separating them, but it's still unusual to see a team choose to keep the player they selected lower. Clearly Joens made enough of an impression in camp to stick.

Dallas might add an extra player at some point in the near future on top of those listed above. While the qualification for a hardship exception most people remember is when you drop below 10 available players, you can also become eligible via two long-term injuries. It sounds like Lopez Sénéchal and DeShields may well apply.

Indiana Fever

PG: Erica Wheeler/Kristy Wallace/Grace Berger
SG: Kelsey Mitchell/Maya Caldwell
SF: Lexie Hull/Victoria Vivians
PF: NaLyssa Smith/Emma Cannon/Victaria Saxton
C: Aliyah Boston/Queen Egbo(/Bernadett Határ)

For those reading these in order, this is another one like Atlanta - a legal roster where they're keeping 13 players. The Fever are so young, and therefore cheap, that despite carrying a $119,000 cap hit for Jantel Lavender (bought out from a guaranteed contract over a year ago) they can still fit in a 12-player roster and the temporarily suspended Bernadett Határ. The giant Hungarian center is prioritising her national team until EuroBasket Women in June, so presumably they're hoping she'll show up in the US once those commitments are completed. Assuming she does, the Fever would then have to waive someone else in order to make room for her on the active roster.

Probably the biggest surprise in Indiana's camp was the release of point guard Destanni Henderson, although it looked inevitable once she fell behind both Wheeler and Wallace in the pecking order (with rookie Grace Berger around as an emergency option). They also ended up cutting the first pick of the 2023 second round, Taylor Mikesell, while keeping the first pick of the third round, Victaria Saxton. That may well have come down to their positions more than anything, with the Fever well covered for shooters while Saxton provides post depth.

Las Vegas Aces

PG: Chelsea Gray/Sydney Colson
SG: Kelsey Plum/Riquna Williams
SF: Jackie Young/Alysha Clark
PF: A’ja Wilson/Kierstan Bell
C: Candace Parker/Kiah Stokes/Cayla George

The Aces cut out the drama, bringing their roster down to the required 11 days before the deadline. Their final cut was ultimately guard Alexis Peterson, who would've been a younger, more offensively-minded point guard option over veteran Sydney Colson. They went with the experience and the player who's been part of their group for a while. Peterson could be back at some point if they pick up injuries, although she's had success in the 3x3 game so may be unavailable due to playing in tour events in that variant.

Aisha Sheppard, a second-round pick last year who stuck on the roster throughout their 2022 championship-winning season without seeing much action, was another casualty during training camp.

Los Angeles Sparks

PG: Jasmine Thomas/Jordin Canada/Layshia Clarendon
SG: Lexie Brown/Zia Cooke/Nia Clouden
SF: Dearica Hamby(/Katie Lou Samuelson)
PF: Azurá Stevens/Joyner Holmes
C: Nneka Ogwumike/Chiney Ogwumike

Another team that only finalised their roster at the very last second, LA were down to 11 including the pregnant Samuelson until being awarded Clouden off waivers (she was a late cut by Connecticut). That took them back to a total of 12, with 11 fitting under the cap and the extra player being the replacement for Samuelson under the new exception rule (they have designated Clarendon as the replacement).

It's a slightly strange-looking roster, with a lot of guards that can play the 1 or the 2, a lot of bigs that are 4s or 5s, and very little in between. Hamby is at small forward in the listing above, but only because somebody had to be - she can certainly play there, but most of her career has been at the 4. Thomas and Stevens are still recovering from injuries, and Hamby has returned unexpectedly quickly from giving birth, so there could be some growing pains for the roster as they try to work out exactly what they have and who's ready to contribute.

Cuts in camp included Crystal Bradford, Karlie Samuelson and Rae Burrell, all of whom would've offered an option at the 3 (and Samuelson has already been re-signed via hardship to help out temporarily). Chinese guard Yang Liwei also reportedly made a good impression but was a late cut, with reports suggesting that she was prioritising the AsiaCup before potentially returning to the WNBA at a later date.

Minnesota Lynx

PG: Lindsay Allen/Rachel Banham
SG: Aerial Powers/Bridget Carleton/Tiffany Mitchell
SF: Kayla McBride/Diamond Miller
PF: Napheesa Collier/Nikolina Milić(/Natalie Achonwa)
C: Jessica Shepard/Dorka Juhász

Here we have another team who appear to have kept a 12-player roster, but it's actually 11+1. The Lynx could only fit 11 under the cap, including the pregnant Achonwa, so the 12th player is Minnesota taking advantage of the new pregnancy exception rule to go over the cap while keeping a replacement (in this case with Allen designated as the replacement).

Minnesota's camp always looked open to a surprise or two, and while third-round rookie Taylor Soule being released on the final day wasn't a shock, veteran post Damiris Dantas being cut at least raised a few eyebrows. She's served the Lynx well in the past, but after leaving the team midseason last year and not returning until this season's training camp, Cheryl Reeve may have lost faith in being able to rely on her. Instead, the Lynx retained second-round pick Juhász and last season's pleasant surprise Milić to round out their backup bigs. With Sylvia Fowles gone, expect this team to play much quicker than last year, but also to be significantly more vulnerable defensively. Exactly who's going to run the offense - Allen? Banham? Some combination of all their wings playing simultaneously? - also remains wildly up in the air.

New York Liberty

PG: Courtney Vandersloot
SG: Sabrina Ionescu(/Marine Johannès)
SF: Betnijah Laney/Jocelyn Willoughby
PF: Breanna Stewart/Kayla Thornton
C: Jonquel Jones/Han Xu/Stefanie Dolson/Nyara Sabally

New York had some difficult decisions to make during camp. There were always going to be painful cuts, which ultimately included young Malian prospect Sika Koné, fan favourite DiDi Richards, and veteran guard Epiphanny Prince. With Joahnnès still overseas and Sabally battling an injury, Prince is expected to be re-signed immediately via hardship exception, but they'll have to release her as soon as the main roster is back to 10 healthy and available players.

The primary option who could've been on the chopping block was Sabally, but the Liberty clearly felt that the player they took at No. 5 overall last year was worth keeping around. The only other possibility to open up space would've been a trade, an idea that's been floating around ever since their major additions in the offseason. Ultimately they just swallowed their medicine and made the necessary cuts instead. It's left them with a roster that leans heavily towards size, somewhat at the expense of guards and ballhandlers (especially as Johannès may be missing for a few more weeks in June for EuroBasket Women). The level of pure talent should make up for any imbalances.

On a technical level, you may have seen that Johannès was temporarily suspended in the same way as Rupert in Atlanta and Határ in Indiana. The Liberty had to do that because the League likes teams to officially suspend people who aren't with the team. However, it doesn't open up the same opportunities for New York that the Dream and Fever have because the Liberty are already tight to the cap with their 11 rostered players. They have no room for a 12th, never mind a 13th - hence the immediate reliance on a hardship exception to re-sign Prince.

Phoenix Mercury

PG: (Skylar Diggins-Smith/)Moriah Jefferson/Shey Peddy/Evina Westbrook
SG: Diana Taurasi/Sug Sutton
SF: Sophie Cunningham/Michaela Onyenwere
PF: Brianna Turner/Kadi Sissoko
C: Brittney Griner/Megan Gustafson

Here we have another 12-player roster for a team that could only fit 11 under the cap, thanks to the new pregnancy exception. With Diggins-Smith still recovering from recently giving birth, the Mercury were allowed to go over the cap to keep a replacement player for her (designated as Sissoko). Should Diggins-Smith return at some point this season, they'll have to open up a spot to make room.

The Mercury's final cuts were Jennie Simms and Sam Thomas, two players who were on their roster last season but didn't make much impact. Third-round pick Kadi Sissoko made it as a backup post, and as the No. 29 pick is the lowest draftee from this year to stick on a roster. The pickup of Evina Westbrook during camp after she was cut by Washington helped deepen their guard options, which may be especially useful while Peddy continues her recovery from a torn Achilles. Cunningham and Gustafson are also already carrying injuries, so this is another team that may be adding players via hardship exception before play even begins.

Seattle Storm

PG: Yvonne Turner/Jade Melbourne/Ivana Dojkic
SG: Jewell Loyd/Sami Whitcomb/Arella Guirantes
SF: Kia Nurse/Jordan Horston/Kaila Charles
PF: Ezi Magbegor
C: Mercedes Russell/Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu

Seattle made their final cut yesterday, releasing veteran forward Theresa Plaisance. That was something of a surprise, especially considering they'd also released forward Jasmine Walker earlier in the week. Retaining as much youth as possible makes a lot of sense when you've been pushed into a rebuild, but the roster looks shockingly imbalanced. Teams in all forms of basketball may be leaning towards quicker lineups with more shooting, but three posts on a 12-player roster is very strange. Further changes in upcoming weeks, potentially picking up at least one player recently cut elsewhere, seem distinctly possible.

The Storm have ended up with a significant amount of remaining cap space - $123,884 - partly because they're so young and therefore cheap. The other reason appeared to be their desire to hold out hope that Gabby Williams might walk through the door. Williams is still playing for Lyon in France (Game 2 of their best-of-three Finals is tomorrow) and due to the new WNBA Prioritization rules (detailed and explained here) will now be ineligible to play in the WNBA in 2023 (barring a last-minute dance around the rules). Seattle held her restricted rights after she played for them last season and will be able to reassert those next year (although with a tighter schedule and a Paris Olympics, her availability looks just as shaky for 2024).

One thing all that cap space could be useful for is if another team gets desperate to dump a guaranteed contract in order to add to their roster. The most likely time for that to occur has already passed, but there's still the chance that it could happen during the season. Seattle will be the first team anyone calls if they're looking to make a move like that, and it could allow the Storm to add an asset or two to help with the rebuild.

Washington Mystics

PG: Natasha Cloud/Kristi Toliver
SG: Ariel Atkins/Shatori Walker-Kimbrough
SF: Brittney Sykes/Li Meng
PF: Elena Delle Donne/Myisha Hines-Allen/Tianna Hawkins
C: Shakira Austin/Amanda Zahui B

The Mystics completed their moves on Wednesday with the release of Jazmine Jones and Emily Engstler. That means that the final two spots which appeared to be available went to Tianna Hawkins, a long-time Mystic who's served them well in the past, and Chinese wing Li Meng. While technically a rookie, Li is 28, a solid six feet and a capable 3-point shooter. Adapting to the WNBA can often be tricky, but it'll be interesting to see what she can add to the Mystics.

Other cuts during camp in Washington included rookie Elena Tsineke (whose second-round salary means she wouldn't have fit in Li's slot on the roster) and guard Evina Westbrook, who found a home in Phoenix after being claimed off waivers. Should they have injury issues later in the year, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Jones, Engstler or Tsineke called back to fill in on hardship deals.

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