Doing the Impossible, Replacing Sue Bird

The Seattle Storm must find a new starting point guard this year.

The 2022 WNBA season ended with the Las Vegas Aces hoisting their first WNBA Championship trophy. It wasn’t a surprise. They’ve had the talent to win it all for the past three years and they finally got it done. It was on their path to the title that they eliminated the Seattle Storm in the WNBA semifinals. And by doing so, ended Sue Bird’s illustrious career.

While attending a recent Seattle Kraken NHL game, I saw a hype video with Sue Bird to get the crowd fired up and it hit me, in 2023, the Seattle Storm will be playing without Sue Bird on the roster for the first time since 2001.

Now we must look ahead to the future. While the most important off-season move by the Storm’s front office will be whether or not they are able to re-sign perennial MVP-candidate Breanna Stewart; the biggest question heading into the 2023 season will be who is starting at point guard for Seattle?

For this article, I want to take a look at all the potential free agents that could take over the reins for the Storm. I discuss 10 potential free agents that could be targeted by Seattle’s front office. The first and most obvious …

Courtney Vandersloot

2022 Season Stats: 11.8 PPG, 6.5 APG, 3.9 RPG

There were reports that Vandersloot met with Seattle this past off-season before ultimately re-signing with Chicago as the Sky attempted to win back-to-back WNBA Championships. It is very possible that the meeting was more about 2023 than it was to bring her on in 2022 while Sue Bird was still actively playing.

Signing Courtney Vandersloot feels like the most obvious answer for Seattle if they can get it done. She would give the Storm the best opportunity to compete for another WNBA Championship if they can add her and retain Breanna Stewart. It would be pretty easy for Seattle to build a competitive team around Stewart, Loyd, Vandersloot, and Magbegor.

While not exactly the same, Vandersloot carries a lot of the same skills and characteristics as Bird. Courtney is a brilliant passer who has led the league in assists on multiple occasions just like Sue has. She is a very solid three-point shooter (slightly worse than Sue - 35% to 39%) but is better at getting to the rim. They have been two of the top point guards in the WNBA for quite some time; especially since Lindsay Whalen retired.

Another interesting storyline is the fact that Courtney is from the greater Seattle area growing up in Kent, WA. She played her high school ball there and went to college across the mountains at Gonzaga. Vandersloot may be interested in finishing her basketball career where it started. A homecoming of sorts.

One of the biggest questions is what is the plan for Vandersloot’s wife Allie Quigley? I have a hard time believing Vandersloot would leave Chicago unless her wife was coming with her. Fortunately, Quigley is also a free agent. But would the Storm want to sign her as well? They certainly could as almost all of Seattle’s contracts come off the books after the 2022 season. Quigley will turn 37 this year and she had a down year but would still be a solid option as a backup to Jewell Loyd.

Jordin Canada

2022 Season Stats: 9.2 PPG, 5.5 APG, 2.3 RPG

Had Seattle re-signed Jordin Canada during the 2022 off-season and brought her back, I think she would have been the natural selection to become Seattle’s starting point guard in the post-Sue Bird era. She had a solid season in 2019 when she took over the starting role due to Bird’s injury. That season she averaged 9.8 PPG, 5.2 APG, and 2.3 SPG. Just from a statistical standpoint that is very comparable to many of Sue Bird’s seasons.

Canada is not a strong outside shooter and this likely is the reason the team decided to move away from her in 2022 and replaced her with Briann January. But that doesn’t mean Jordin doesn’t have her own unique traits that make her a good basketball player.

Canada has a rapport with Jewell Loyd and Breanna Stewart, playing with both of them through multiple WNBA seasons. She also has experience working with Coach Noell Quinn. Canada was a part of both the 2018 and 2020 WNBA Championship seasons and played a critical role as Sue Bird’s backup. There is certainly a familiarity there that would make the transition easier than some of these other players.

If they aren’t able to land Vandersloot, Jordin Canada would be a solid choice. She may not quite be at an All-Star level but she is still a productive WNBA player and really should just be entering her prime now.

Lexie Brown

2022 Season Stats: 7.1 PPG, 2.1 APG, 2.3 RPG

As I prepared for the 2018 WNBA Draft, two names stood out as far as potential point guard prospects Seattle was likely to select. Jordin Canada, whom they drafted 5th overall, or Lexie Brown, who was selected 9th overall by the Connecticut Sun. The Storm’s front office made the correct decision as Canada has had the more successful WNBA career up to this point. With that said, there are certain things that Brown does better than Canada.

Most notably, she’s a much better outside shooter. If the Storm decided to move on from Jordin Canada because she wasn’t a strong outside shooter, they might be interested in signing Brown for her shooting ability. In 2022, Brown shot a career-high 39.8% from beyond the arc. Brown would allow the Storm to space the floor with another strong shooter similar to how they’ve run the offense under Bird.

Seattle might be hesitant to make Brown their starting point guard in 2023 because she’s been more of a combo guard playing the shooting guard position just as much if not more than the point guard at the WNBA level. Her assist numbers haven’t been as strong as many other candidates on this list.

With Briann January, also retiring from the WNBA, the Storm will need to not only fill their starting point guard role but also the backup position. Brown could be an option to fill that spot as well.

Moriah Jefferson

2022 Season Stats: 10.4 PPG, 4.7 APG, and 2.4 RPG

I think Moriah Jefferson could be a sleeper pick as one of the top options for the Storm’s front office as they look for their next starting point guard. Jefferson has dealt with some injuries and has had an up-and-down WNBA career but she has shown a lot of talent when healthy and when given playing time opportunities.

She fell out of favor and out of the rotation with the Dallas Wings in 2022 before they ultimately waived her. However, she saw a career resurgence joining Minnesota starting in 30 games for the Lynx this past season. With them, she averaged 10.8 PPG and 4.9 APG. The points were the best since her rookie season (13.9 PPG); her assist average was a new career-high. Jefferson also led the WNBA in three-point field goal shooting percentage at over 47%.

Jefferson’s excellent shooting ability would fit right in with what Seattle likes to do with their offense to create spacing and mismatches. There is also the UConn connection. Not only does the Storm love signing players from the University of Connecticut but Jefferson played four years together with Breanna Stewart. She has a strong connection with Stewie and it’s possible signing her could be another incentive for Stewart to re-sign with the Storm.

One major question will be, how aggressive are the Lynx in re-signing Jefferson to bring her back to Minnesota? She is an Unrestricted Free Agent but I would bet that Minnesota is going to do everything it can to re-sign her. She played very well for them and they have struggled to find a strong replacement at the starting point guard position since Lindsay Whalen retired in 2018. They should have enough cap space to bring her back so it will likely come down to which team offers her more money and which team offers the best opportunity.

Jefferson has suffered through multiple injuries and is on the smaller size (5’6”) which may cause for hesitation to sign her to a big contract.

Rachel Banham

2022 Season Stats: 7.9 PPG, 2.3 APG, 1.3 RPG

While the Minnesota Lynx will likely try to retain Moriah Jefferson. If they do so, they may not be able to bring the hometown kid back to Minnesota along with her.

Rachel Banham has never lived up to the hype from her college days at the University of Minnesota or as a Top 5 draft pick (4th overall in 2016). However, she has been able to carve out a role for herself in the WNBA as a solid role player off the bench. In 2022, she had her best season yet averaging 7.9 PPG, 2.3 APG, and over 38% from the three-point line.

She has improved her game and spent more time recently in Minnesota working at the point guard position. I can’t envision her being a top choice for the Storm organization to be the next starting point guard but she is still an option. And certainly a player they could consider for the backup point guard spot if they don’t go with a rookie.

Marina Mabrey (RFA)

2022 Season Stats: 13.6 PPG, 3.7 APG, 3.6 RPG

No guard helped their WNBA stock more than Marina Mabrey in 2022. Mabrey had a breakout season setting career-highs in points and rebounds. She also became a full-time starter, starting in 32 of the 34 games this past season.

Mabrey has ridiculous three-point range and a unique ability to get to the rim despite a lack of natural athleticism. She has a way of weaving through defenses and getting around her defenders and to the rim that reminds me of James Harden.

While she developed into a point guard during her time in college at Notre Dame, similar to Lexie Brown, she’s been more of a combo guard in the WNBA spending a lot of time at the shooting guard position.

It’s hard to imagine she would leave one of her best friends and college teammate, Arike Ogunbowale, but it is not out of the question. Dallas will ultimately have the final say as she is a Restricted free agent. However, with a new coaching regime coming in and limited salary cap space. The Wings may not be able to retain Mabrey if she receives a large enough contract from another team.

Natisha Hiedeman (RFA)

2022 Season Stats: 9.1 PPG, 3.3 APG, 1.8 RPG

Another player that took a big step forward last season was Natisha Hiedeman. Hiedeman was thrust into the starting point guard role after Jasmine Thomas tore her ACL five games into the season. Hiedeman started the final 31 games and helped lead the Connecticut Sun to the WNBA Finals. She set new career-highs in points, assists, and steals (1.2 SPG).

Hiedeman is an excellent three-point shooter. She has averaged over 40% through the first four seasons of her career in Connecticut including over 41% in 2022. Her play style fits right in with what Seattle wants to do on offense. She should be a candidate to consider.

With that said, she is a Restricted Free Agent which means Connecticut can match any offer she receives and keep her on their team. I would think the Sun would like to retain her. They have the salary cap space but will also need to make some decisions on other important players including Brionna Jones and Courtney Williams. If they opt to sign Jones and Williams, they may not have enough salary cap money to also retain Hiedeman.

Since the end of last season, Curt Miller left the Connecticut Sun to take over the Los Angeles Sparks. Could he try to recruit Hiedeman to LA with him? It’s certainly possible. And similar to the Chicago situation, Hiedeman is actually engaged to teammate Jasmine Thomas. Would they be willing to play for separate teams or try to stay together?

Kristi Toliver

2022 Season Stats: 5.9 PPG, 3.1 APG, 0.8 RPG

If Seattle felt like they needed an older experienced veteran and couldn’t land Courtney Vandersloot, it’s possible they could recruit Kristi Toliver. Toliver is an Unrestricted Free Agent who played just 11 games in 2022 and hasn’t played more than 23 games since 2018. Her NBA Assistant coaching position and a calf injury kept her out of 2/3rds of this past WNBA season.

She has WNBA championship experience playing as the lead point guard for the 2016 Los Angeles Sparks and with the 2018 and 2019 Washington Mystics that went to back-to-back WNBA Finals (winning in 2019). Kristi is a clutch performer with excellent range.

Toliver turns 36 later this month. With the limited amount of games she’s played over the past few seasons, I’m not sure she’d be well prepared to play a 40-game season. But the Storm’s front office hasn’t been afraid to sign older veterans so I don’t think you can completely rule it out as an option.

Erica Wheeler

2022 Season Stats: 8.4 PPG, 3.9 APG, 3.1 RPG

Like Moriah Jefferson, Erica Wheeler could be a sleeper pick as someone the Storm could look to add in Free Agency. Wheeler made waves in 2019 being named to her first All-Star team and surprisingly won the WNBA All-Star MVP scoring 25 points off the bench for her team. Wheeler has shown the ability to score and distribute the basketball. In 2021, she averaged a career-high 13.6 PPG to go along with 4.8 APG while starting all 32 games she played. That performance was good enough to make her a key trade piece in the Chennedy Carter deal which landed her in Atlanta.

Her numbers dipped some this past season but were still solid. Like most of the players on this list, she’s an Unrestricted Free Agent in 2023 and can sign with any team. The Atlanta Dream have tons of cap space to re-sign her if they want to or they could choose to go in a different direction. If they do, Seattle could consider signing her if other options don’t work out.

Bria Hartley

2022 Season Stats: 3.0 PPG, 1.1 APG, 0.9 RPG

Could Bria Hartley return to the city where she was drafted? No, Hartley never actually played for the Storm previously. She was packaged with Tianna Hawkins on draft night in a trade that sent Crystal Langhorne back to Seattle. But she was drafted by the Storm.

Hartley’s career has been filled with challenges. She had a standout performance in 2020 during the Bubble season averaging 14.6 PPG and 4.5 APG (both career-highs) for the Phoenix Mercury. She was a serious candidate for 6th Player of the Year until she, unfortunately, tore her ACL in her right knee a little more than halfway through the season. She played in just six games the following season as she was still rehabbing her ACL injury through most of it.

In 2022, she played 10 games with the Indiana Fever but didn’t have much of an impact playing less than 10 minutes per game and averaging less than 3.0 PPG. She was waved by the Fever and signed with the Connecticut Sun. Unfortunately, just three games back with the Sun, Hartley tore her left ACL in her other knee.

It’s unclear if Hartley will be ready to play in the WNBA this season. If Seattle were to try and sign Hartley, I think it’s more likely they’d only do so to fill their backup point guard spot.

Final Thoughts

In one of her final press conferences, Sue Bird talked about the difficulties of finding good starting point guards. She joked, “Believe me, I know!” After spending over 20 years in the WNBA, Bird has called it a career. Finding her successor won’t be easy.

Bird has often stated the next starting point guard doesn’t have to be the next Sue Bird; they just need to be the best player they can be.

There are three paths to finding the next starting point guard. Through Free Agency, through the Draft, and through Trades. This article covered a lot of the potential free agents. As I always do, I’ll have a draft article with potential players the Storm may target much closer to that event. Seattle currently holds the 9th overall pick in the first round.

What do you think is the best option for the Storm? Is it one of these players? Would Courtney Vandersloot be your top choice? If she’s not available, who would you like to see the Storm try to sign? Let me know in the comments section below!

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