4 Comments

I know this is blasphemous around here but I think Jade has a higher upside than Nika does. Nika wasn't a big scorer in college and Jade was putting up good numbers in the WNBL. Nika is definitely more telegenic and has a lot of popularity from the NCAA tournament and being part of this class of rookies. She'll definitely sell more jerseys (I'm buying one on Tuesday, if I can), and she's popular with the fans, but whether the third best player for UCONN can play at the professional level is still an open question. Giving up on Jade just feels really premature.

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founding

Blasphemy is a serious offense; please be kinder to yourself :-). Unless one is around practices, it's really hard to know what the coaches and front office see from players on a daily basis, and where players exceed or fall short of what's needed/expected from them. Some might agree that Jade has the higher upside of the two, but if so, can she reach it, and how quickly can she get there? Nika may be better positioned to do what the team needs right now, especially important with the competitive window being largely propped open by veterans and free agents on short-term deals. Maybe the thought was that Jade will need more than a year or two to access her upside? Hopefully, Jade will stick and play well in DC, but to me, at least, Nika feels like the right choice.

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Offense is only half the job.

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