I was really hoping for Kelsey to come to Seattle but the #2 pick is a good get. I would have hoped we’d get more back for Jewell and the 9th though. All in all I don’t hold much ill will towards Jewell and am mostly disappointed that things ended the way they did. Glad to have a resolution so the team can move forward and the prospect of potentially getting Paige is a really exciting one!
Yeah, this is already outdated. The Connecticut Sun are going to be one of the worst teams in the WNBA. They've lost Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner, and Brionna Jones. Also, even with the Sparks adding Kelsey Plum, I highly doubt they'll be better than the Storm this season. I think the Valkyries will be the worst team in the league.
The Storm finished 5th last year out of 12. I think New York, Las Vegas, and Minnesota should all be favored more than Seattle. Indiana might be better than Seattle it's hard to say for certain. Phoenix and Atlanta have revamped their rosters but I don't think it's a guarantee they'll be better than Seattle.
Once I read the CHI talks had gone cold and that Jewell’s preferred landing spot was LVA, I figured it would be a 3 way trade with LAS. LVA has nothing but Plum to deal for Jewell, and LAS needs a guard badly….doesnt hurt that Hamby and Plum are close. The Li Yueru add is 👩🍳 💋. We need a good bench big, and I’ve had 👀 on Olivia Miles since her freshman year. She’s already played at a camp with Sky so 🤞.
With all of the rumors swirling about Paige maybe staying out of the draft (Miles in theory could too…), it will be interesting to see what happens.
Jeff-to your point about Fudd & injuries, I feel the same hesitation towards Paige. I know Miles also had a season out on INJ—-but Paige has missed TWO—that’s concerning for me.
Free agency is going to be really interesting and now more pieces are going to start falling into place…does Indiana deal Smith (+) to CT for a piece?..or do they chat with Valkyries to take a shot at Kate Martin for Smith? 🤔
The thing is that this upcoming draft class isn’t heavy with shooting guards to replace Jewell. A point guard like Olivia Miles or even Paige Bueckers wouldn’t be helpful because we already have a starting point guardians in Skylar Diggins-Smith. We also have Ezi as our obvious post player, and if she stays, Mercedes Russell too. I have no idea why we got Li Yueru from the Sparks, as we don’t need 3 centers. Outside of Sami Whitcomb, Jewell was our only true shooting guard. The Storm’s best bet is to go for Azzi Fudd out of UConn. She is a true shooting guard who is very reminiscent of a young Jewell Loyd if she can stay healthy. If we decide to go for a big like Kiki Iriafen, Lauren Betts, or Janiah Barker, we would have a pretty big roster gap where Jewell was. I also don’t know why we had to get the Sparks involved in this. Kelsey Plum could have come straight to Seattle, but a #2 pick is probably the best deal Seattle could have gotten instead.
The Storm would be smart to take Paige Bueckers or Olivia Miles in the draft. Draft picks are more about the team's future. Both players have demonstrated the ability to play with another point guard as Bueckers played with Nika Mühl and Miles plays with Hannah Hidalgo. Not to mention, Skylar Diggins-Smith will turn 35 in August. I wouldn't take Azzi Fudd at #2 due to her injury history, especially with Bueckers, Miles, and Iriafen as likely options. Also, regarding Jewell's spot, there is no reason why Gabby Williams or Jordan Horston couldn't fill that spot in the lineup. Both Gabby and Jordan are extremely versatile and can play multiple positions.
Also, the team got Li Yueru because Mercedes Russell is an Unrestricted Free agent and was not going to re-sign with Seattle. I'm sure the Sparks were only willing to give up the #2 overall pick if Seattle gave them the #9 pick in return. In which Seattle then likely made them give up another non-star player.
It sounds like the Sparks were involved in this trade because Jewell wanted to go to Las Vegas but Kelsey Plum wanted to go to LA instead of Seattle. Plum for Loyd straight up makes sense but in this scenario, Plum likely requested to go to the Sparks.
I would have to watch a lot more game tape. I think she has the height and length but I'd have to do a deeper dive to look at athleticism, lateral quickness, etc. And I'm certain the Storm will be going over all considerations when it comes to the pick. They may determine they'd be better off with Kiki Iriafen and envision a future frontcourt of Ezi Magbegor and Iriafen. Post players have generally been more valuable in the WNBA overall (A'ja, Stewie, Phee, Jonquel, etc.).
It'll be interesting to see, assuming they bring back Gabby Williams, whether they believe they'd be better off with another guard or another post player. They have Skylar and potentially Nneka, but neither may be on the team 3 years from now. I have a feeling Seattle will make an attempt to get Paige but if they aren't able to, they should go Best Player Available whether that's Miles, Iriafen, or someone else.
So right now, I would say the Storm’s biggest offseason goal is re-signing Gabby Williams. This is an absolute must. Gabby is one of the most versatile players in the league. She has talked herself about the many different positions she’s played throughout her career. If you watch her highlights, you can see she has no problem getting layins off A’ja. If she stays with us next year, I’m not worried about is falling in the standings. If she leaves, I think the Storm take a huge hit and it makes me worried for our team’s standings next year. She’s young, she’s athletic, she’s REALLY good, and she’ll take us really far.
I read that Gabby specifically asked to not be cored and the Storm cored her anyway. I hope this doesn’t sour her on the Storm and she opts to stay in France this coming season. Jeff, any truth to this? Comments?
Cija's point reflects, it seems, the current reality. Gabby's purported "no core" request predates many changes with the club. It's impossible to imagine that conversations between the club and Gabby's representatives didn't occur prior to coring. Worst case for her is a pay raise and a trade to decent destination.
Jeff wrote on this in a prior article…Gabby’s team said they were not surprised by the coring….and Gabby added a statement along the lines that she trusts the organization. After some questionable relationships (CHI & LAS), Gabby has continued to come back to the Storm—and the Storm have continued to work around her playing in Europe—I think from what I’ve seen on socials (and her exit interview) that she will come back to us barring a major wooing from a team like NYL.
I would not advise the Storm to trade the #2 pick unless it is part of a trade to move up to #1 to draft Paige Bueckers. Almost every single WNBA player is on a one-year contract. The #2 overall pick is a very valuable piece the team can ideally build around and will be on a rookie contract for the next 4 years.
Gabby Williams scored 20 points in the team's final playoff game (and scored 14 in Game 1) this past season. She also scored 22 points against the Sparks a few games before the playoffs began. Jordan Horston's career-high occurred in a game where Jewell Loyd was out and Horston started and played 36 minutes against Atlanta (scoring 23 points). I'm not saying either player is as talented of a scorer as Loyd. Very few players in the entire WNBA are. However, both were efficient scorers as both shot just under 50% (above 48%). Without Loyd, both players should get more opportunity to become a bigger part of the offense.
It'll be very interesting to see what happens with Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner, and to a lesser extent Brionna Jones. Do they all just remain in Connecticut? Does Bonner decide to go elsewhere and leave Thomas back in Connecticut? Seattle could potentially add Bonner or a player like Tiffany Hayes to help fill some of that scoring role that Loyd leaves behind.
The Storm may end up still being in that 4-6 range, but if they play their cards right, I actually really like their approach. I'll probably write more on this soon, but to me it feels like they can build a contender right now while also building a contender for the future. They might be able to win a Championship with a core of Nneka, Skylar, Ezi, and Gabby. They wouldn't be favored over New York or Minnesota but we never know exactly what's going to happen each season. If Breanna Stewart didn't tear her Achilles in 2019 and 2021, maybe the Storm win one more Championship during her tenure. Who was predicting the Chicago Sky were going to win the WNBA Championship in 2021 when they had a losing record midway through the season? No one expected the Minnesota Lynx to be in the Finals this past year, but they were one Napheesa Collier layup away from winning the franchise's 5th WNBA Championship.
But what I like, is the Storm are potentially set up to possibly win now and also in the future with the moves they have made. If the Nneka and Skylar core group doesn't get it done. They can transition to build around the younger group of Ezi Magbegor, Jordan Horston, and either Paige Bueckers or Olivia Miles. If they keep #2 overall and let's say pick Olivia Miles. They'll have two first-round picks in 2026. That means the team could be adding a couple more players - possibly Kiki Rice, Flau’Jae Johnson, Cotie McMahon, etc.
But will Dallas really not draft Bueckers? I think Dallas will draft Bueckers and then trade her immediately after. The Storm don’t really have a lucrative offer for Dallas in order for them to swap picks. If the Wings draft Paige, they can then trade her to any team if they don’t like what they can get from Seattle. With Dallas having a huge asset in Paige they could enter the trade conversation with a lot of swinging power and they might be able to get a really good player in a trade for Bueckers. Then again, they might just take their chances in the draft, and agree to swap picks with Seattle, knowing that they can still get a player they want. It all depends on if Dallas wants a younger college player or if they want to see if they can get a current WNBA player in a Bueckers trade after they draft her.
If Paige Bueckers declares for the draft, I don't see Dallas trading away the pick. They absolutely will not draft her and then trade the pick. The only way the pick gets traded is if a scenario plays out where Paige's representatives tell the Dallas Wings that she will go back to colllege unless they trade the pick.
I fully disagree that the Storm don't really have a lucrative offer for Dallas. Seattle currently has the #2 overall pick, two first-round picks in 2026, plus their 2nd round pick (21), and if they really need to get creative, they could always offer Dallas the rights to a Pick Swap in 2027. I do NOT think Seattle should offer all of those things. It's possible just the #2 overall and one of the 2026 first-rounders is enough. We won't really know until it gets closer to the draft.
That doesn't mean other teams wouldn't offer something else to Dallas that they might want more. Maybe Connecticut offers Alyssa Thomas to try and keep the UConn Husky home. Maybe the LA Sparks weren't willing to give Seattle Rickea Jackson or Cameron Brink because they were going to try and trade one of them to Dallas for the #1 pick. We don't know.
It may also be a moot point if Paige declares and Dallas just keeps the pick.
I’m seeing a lot of other teams being ambitious in free agency right now. Phoenix specifically just got Alyssa Thomas + Tyasha Harris and is zeroing in on DeWanna Bonner and Satou Sabally. As our biggest rivals, I really want the Storm to be better than the Mercury in 2025. Do you think this no. 2 draft pick is enough for us or do we need to land one more big name free agent this year? Do we make a move for Sabally? We have several bench players who haven’t re-signed yet, so if we don’t sign them for the upcoming season, we could have more cap space for a big salary.
Seattle made such a big splash in Free Agency last year adding Skylar Diggins-Smith and Nneka Ogwumike that it is hard to replicate that again the following year. The Storm's priority was re-signing Nneka and Gabby. Ogwumike is coming back and Gabby is most likely since they put the Core franchise tag on her. I still wonder if the Storm could convince DeWanna Bonner to join Seattle instead of Phoenix. That probably won't happen but until she signs, it could be an option. With most of the big names off the board at this point (Feb 1st) I think the best the Storm could do is add either DeWanna Bonner or Tiffany Hayes. I am opposed to trading the #2 pick for a temp fix and I'm writing about that.
When the Storm still had the number 9 pick, ESPN predicted that we would draft Te-Hina Paopao out of South Carolina. I think she’s an amazing point/shooting guard who could translate well to WNBA success. I like her prospects maybe a little more than Olivia Miles.
I would take Olivia Miles over Te-Hina Paopao. However, if the Storm weren't high on Miles and aren't able to trade up to #1 for Paige, then I would suggest they go after Kiki Iriafen or Dominique Malonga. I would not use the #2 on PaoPao as the value isn't there. They probably would have a 50/50 shot of drafting her at #9.
I mean the main draw for Seattle in this trade is the no 2 draft pick, but I’m not mad about getting Li Yueru
I was really hoping for Kelsey to come to Seattle but the #2 pick is a good get. I would have hoped we’d get more back for Jewell and the 9th though. All in all I don’t hold much ill will towards Jewell and am mostly disappointed that things ended the way they did. Glad to have a resolution so the team can move forward and the prospect of potentially getting Paige is a really exciting one!
I dare not share a hot take, since the last time I did on the last thread it was embarrassingly wrong.
However I did notice this BetESPN graphic today and thought I would ask you and your readers for comment.
https://imgur.com/a/oLRMaq2
It shows the Storm tied with Atlanta and Phoenix with the second worst odds at a WNBA title 5000 to 1, ahead of only Sky and Wings.
Seemed highly disrespectful to me.
Yeah, this is already outdated. The Connecticut Sun are going to be one of the worst teams in the WNBA. They've lost Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner, and Brionna Jones. Also, even with the Sparks adding Kelsey Plum, I highly doubt they'll be better than the Storm this season. I think the Valkyries will be the worst team in the league.
The Storm finished 5th last year out of 12. I think New York, Las Vegas, and Minnesota should all be favored more than Seattle. Indiana might be better than Seattle it's hard to say for certain. Phoenix and Atlanta have revamped their rosters but I don't think it's a guarantee they'll be better than Seattle.
This is just off the top of my head.
Group A: Liberty, Aces, Lynx
Group B: Storm, Fever, Mercury, Dream
Group C: Sparks, Sky, Wings, Mystics
Group D: Sun and Valkyries
Once I read the CHI talks had gone cold and that Jewell’s preferred landing spot was LVA, I figured it would be a 3 way trade with LAS. LVA has nothing but Plum to deal for Jewell, and LAS needs a guard badly….doesnt hurt that Hamby and Plum are close. The Li Yueru add is 👩🍳 💋. We need a good bench big, and I’ve had 👀 on Olivia Miles since her freshman year. She’s already played at a camp with Sky so 🤞.
With all of the rumors swirling about Paige maybe staying out of the draft (Miles in theory could too…), it will be interesting to see what happens.
Jeff-to your point about Fudd & injuries, I feel the same hesitation towards Paige. I know Miles also had a season out on INJ—-but Paige has missed TWO—that’s concerning for me.
Free agency is going to be really interesting and now more pieces are going to start falling into place…does Indiana deal Smith (+) to CT for a piece?..or do they chat with Valkyries to take a shot at Kate Martin for Smith? 🤔
The thing is that this upcoming draft class isn’t heavy with shooting guards to replace Jewell. A point guard like Olivia Miles or even Paige Bueckers wouldn’t be helpful because we already have a starting point guardians in Skylar Diggins-Smith. We also have Ezi as our obvious post player, and if she stays, Mercedes Russell too. I have no idea why we got Li Yueru from the Sparks, as we don’t need 3 centers. Outside of Sami Whitcomb, Jewell was our only true shooting guard. The Storm’s best bet is to go for Azzi Fudd out of UConn. She is a true shooting guard who is very reminiscent of a young Jewell Loyd if she can stay healthy. If we decide to go for a big like Kiki Iriafen, Lauren Betts, or Janiah Barker, we would have a pretty big roster gap where Jewell was. I also don’t know why we had to get the Sparks involved in this. Kelsey Plum could have come straight to Seattle, but a #2 pick is probably the best deal Seattle could have gotten instead.
The Storm would be smart to take Paige Bueckers or Olivia Miles in the draft. Draft picks are more about the team's future. Both players have demonstrated the ability to play with another point guard as Bueckers played with Nika Mühl and Miles plays with Hannah Hidalgo. Not to mention, Skylar Diggins-Smith will turn 35 in August. I wouldn't take Azzi Fudd at #2 due to her injury history, especially with Bueckers, Miles, and Iriafen as likely options. Also, regarding Jewell's spot, there is no reason why Gabby Williams or Jordan Horston couldn't fill that spot in the lineup. Both Gabby and Jordan are extremely versatile and can play multiple positions.
Also, the team got Li Yueru because Mercedes Russell is an Unrestricted Free agent and was not going to re-sign with Seattle. I'm sure the Sparks were only willing to give up the #2 overall pick if Seattle gave them the #9 pick in return. In which Seattle then likely made them give up another non-star player.
It sounds like the Sparks were involved in this trade because Jewell wanted to go to Las Vegas but Kelsey Plum wanted to go to LA instead of Seattle. Plum for Loyd straight up makes sense but in this scenario, Plum likely requested to go to the Sparks.
Am I weird for not being completely sold on Miles? Is that a WNBA body? Who's she gonna guard?
I would have to watch a lot more game tape. I think she has the height and length but I'd have to do a deeper dive to look at athleticism, lateral quickness, etc. And I'm certain the Storm will be going over all considerations when it comes to the pick. They may determine they'd be better off with Kiki Iriafen and envision a future frontcourt of Ezi Magbegor and Iriafen. Post players have generally been more valuable in the WNBA overall (A'ja, Stewie, Phee, Jonquel, etc.).
It'll be interesting to see, assuming they bring back Gabby Williams, whether they believe they'd be better off with another guard or another post player. They have Skylar and potentially Nneka, but neither may be on the team 3 years from now. I have a feeling Seattle will make an attempt to get Paige but if they aren't able to, they should go Best Player Available whether that's Miles, Iriafen, or someone else.
Yeah and she has injury history too.
So right now, I would say the Storm’s biggest offseason goal is re-signing Gabby Williams. This is an absolute must. Gabby is one of the most versatile players in the league. She has talked herself about the many different positions she’s played throughout her career. If you watch her highlights, you can see she has no problem getting layins off A’ja. If she stays with us next year, I’m not worried about is falling in the standings. If she leaves, I think the Storm take a huge hit and it makes me worried for our team’s standings next year. She’s young, she’s athletic, she’s REALLY good, and she’ll take us really far.
I read that Gabby specifically asked to not be cored and the Storm cored her anyway. I hope this doesn’t sour her on the Storm and she opts to stay in France this coming season. Jeff, any truth to this? Comments?
Cija's point reflects, it seems, the current reality. Gabby's purported "no core" request predates many changes with the club. It's impossible to imagine that conversations between the club and Gabby's representatives didn't occur prior to coring. Worst case for her is a pay raise and a trade to decent destination.
Jeff wrote on this in a prior article…Gabby’s team said they were not surprised by the coring….and Gabby added a statement along the lines that she trusts the organization. After some questionable relationships (CHI & LAS), Gabby has continued to come back to the Storm—and the Storm have continued to work around her playing in Europe—I think from what I’ve seen on socials (and her exit interview) that she will come back to us barring a major wooing from a team like NYL.
More stuff happening with Alyssa Thomas going to the Mercury now
Love your insights!
KP would have been an awesome add.
I feel the Storm still needs to replace that 20+ppg shooting guard spot.
Gabby and Horston are great at things other than shouldering the scoring load.
I like your Bonner free agent angle- or maybe package up #2 pick and Horston to get an Arike or a Mitchell like scorer..
If the Storm stands pat (and doesn’t draft PB via some Sue UConn magic)- I believe their roster is still 5th best in the W.
I would not advise the Storm to trade the #2 pick unless it is part of a trade to move up to #1 to draft Paige Bueckers. Almost every single WNBA player is on a one-year contract. The #2 overall pick is a very valuable piece the team can ideally build around and will be on a rookie contract for the next 4 years.
Gabby Williams scored 20 points in the team's final playoff game (and scored 14 in Game 1) this past season. She also scored 22 points against the Sparks a few games before the playoffs began. Jordan Horston's career-high occurred in a game where Jewell Loyd was out and Horston started and played 36 minutes against Atlanta (scoring 23 points). I'm not saying either player is as talented of a scorer as Loyd. Very few players in the entire WNBA are. However, both were efficient scorers as both shot just under 50% (above 48%). Without Loyd, both players should get more opportunity to become a bigger part of the offense.
It'll be very interesting to see what happens with Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner, and to a lesser extent Brionna Jones. Do they all just remain in Connecticut? Does Bonner decide to go elsewhere and leave Thomas back in Connecticut? Seattle could potentially add Bonner or a player like Tiffany Hayes to help fill some of that scoring role that Loyd leaves behind.
The Storm may end up still being in that 4-6 range, but if they play their cards right, I actually really like their approach. I'll probably write more on this soon, but to me it feels like they can build a contender right now while also building a contender for the future. They might be able to win a Championship with a core of Nneka, Skylar, Ezi, and Gabby. They wouldn't be favored over New York or Minnesota but we never know exactly what's going to happen each season. If Breanna Stewart didn't tear her Achilles in 2019 and 2021, maybe the Storm win one more Championship during her tenure. Who was predicting the Chicago Sky were going to win the WNBA Championship in 2021 when they had a losing record midway through the season? No one expected the Minnesota Lynx to be in the Finals this past year, but they were one Napheesa Collier layup away from winning the franchise's 5th WNBA Championship.
But what I like, is the Storm are potentially set up to possibly win now and also in the future with the moves they have made. If the Nneka and Skylar core group doesn't get it done. They can transition to build around the younger group of Ezi Magbegor, Jordan Horston, and either Paige Bueckers or Olivia Miles. If they keep #2 overall and let's say pick Olivia Miles. They'll have two first-round picks in 2026. That means the team could be adding a couple more players - possibly Kiki Rice, Flau’Jae Johnson, Cotie McMahon, etc.
Would love to see Flaujae in Seattle
But will Dallas really not draft Bueckers? I think Dallas will draft Bueckers and then trade her immediately after. The Storm don’t really have a lucrative offer for Dallas in order for them to swap picks. If the Wings draft Paige, they can then trade her to any team if they don’t like what they can get from Seattle. With Dallas having a huge asset in Paige they could enter the trade conversation with a lot of swinging power and they might be able to get a really good player in a trade for Bueckers. Then again, they might just take their chances in the draft, and agree to swap picks with Seattle, knowing that they can still get a player they want. It all depends on if Dallas wants a younger college player or if they want to see if they can get a current WNBA player in a Bueckers trade after they draft her.
If Paige Bueckers declares for the draft, I don't see Dallas trading away the pick. They absolutely will not draft her and then trade the pick. The only way the pick gets traded is if a scenario plays out where Paige's representatives tell the Dallas Wings that she will go back to colllege unless they trade the pick.
I fully disagree that the Storm don't really have a lucrative offer for Dallas. Seattle currently has the #2 overall pick, two first-round picks in 2026, plus their 2nd round pick (21), and if they really need to get creative, they could always offer Dallas the rights to a Pick Swap in 2027. I do NOT think Seattle should offer all of those things. It's possible just the #2 overall and one of the 2026 first-rounders is enough. We won't really know until it gets closer to the draft.
That doesn't mean other teams wouldn't offer something else to Dallas that they might want more. Maybe Connecticut offers Alyssa Thomas to try and keep the UConn Husky home. Maybe the LA Sparks weren't willing to give Seattle Rickea Jackson or Cameron Brink because they were going to try and trade one of them to Dallas for the #1 pick. We don't know.
It may also be a moot point if Paige declares and Dallas just keeps the pick.
I’m seeing a lot of other teams being ambitious in free agency right now. Phoenix specifically just got Alyssa Thomas + Tyasha Harris and is zeroing in on DeWanna Bonner and Satou Sabally. As our biggest rivals, I really want the Storm to be better than the Mercury in 2025. Do you think this no. 2 draft pick is enough for us or do we need to land one more big name free agent this year? Do we make a move for Sabally? We have several bench players who haven’t re-signed yet, so if we don’t sign them for the upcoming season, we could have more cap space for a big salary.
Seattle made such a big splash in Free Agency last year adding Skylar Diggins-Smith and Nneka Ogwumike that it is hard to replicate that again the following year. The Storm's priority was re-signing Nneka and Gabby. Ogwumike is coming back and Gabby is most likely since they put the Core franchise tag on her. I still wonder if the Storm could convince DeWanna Bonner to join Seattle instead of Phoenix. That probably won't happen but until she signs, it could be an option. With most of the big names off the board at this point (Feb 1st) I think the best the Storm could do is add either DeWanna Bonner or Tiffany Hayes. I am opposed to trading the #2 pick for a temp fix and I'm writing about that.
When the Storm still had the number 9 pick, ESPN predicted that we would draft Te-Hina Paopao out of South Carolina. I think she’s an amazing point/shooting guard who could translate well to WNBA success. I like her prospects maybe a little more than Olivia Miles.
I would take Olivia Miles over Te-Hina Paopao. However, if the Storm weren't high on Miles and aren't able to trade up to #1 for Paige, then I would suggest they go after Kiki Iriafen or Dominique Malonga. I would not use the #2 on PaoPao as the value isn't there. They probably would have a 50/50 shot of drafting her at #9.