8 Comments

Ivana was missed used. She's more a off shooting 2 guard than a point guard and the Storm have an over abundance of that type of player on the team. Will they now pick someone up? Weird that Quinn said she lost playing time because she missed defensive assignments. Kia Nurse and honestly Jewel Loyd have done the same all year yet they continue to play. Jewel has also made some horrible forced shot selections.

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They should have cap space to take a flyer on someone for an extended audition in advance of next season. I’d like to see that happen now, rather than in training camp.

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I’m surprised at the timing.

Without knowing if Quinn communicates well with her team I would think it would be really frustrating for players to have their minutes bounce around from game to game. And it does seem like she has a dog house.

I thought the front office messed up when the picks and trades a few years ago resulted in only Gabby (at this point). Maybe Jordan, Jade and Dolce will make up for it.

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I'll jump in (again)! The timing of the move, as you point out, Jeff, is a little odd, but I'm neither surprised nor particularly disappointed that the relationship has run its course. I did not see her figuring in next year's plans, as the Storm needs to get really serious about finding/developing a legit point guard (and I'm not sure Melbourne will be that player, at least not for next year) with some athletic upside (Chennedy Carter without the baggage and heartburn?). In recent games, Dojkic looked somewhat disengaged - not surprising knowing her minutes were evaporating - and it became obvious that she wasn't going to play much moving forward. I had been wondering if she had found her way into the doghouse, but I don't know if that's Quinn's style.

My other reaction is that this looks like another front office/personnel miscalculation/gamble that didn't work out. That list is growing.

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As I was leaving the game on Tuesday, someone asked me about where I got my Jade Melbourne jersey (WNBA store online!) because she said she wanted to get one of Ivana, and had for a while, and they didn't carry them in the team store. I really, really hope she didn't make that purchase!

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I noticed an uptick in the team's energy when Sami replaced Ivana as a starter. It almost felt like Quinn was saying "okay, let's let the veterans show the rookies how to do it." I was half expecting Mercedes back in the starting lineup too. Anyway, I'm unsurprised that the team would move on from Ivana. They need someone who'll hang in there.

Also...please, Jewell, stay with us!

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Wow. I am surprised. I thought a lot of her in the beginning of the season and wondered about the decrease in minutes -- not playing in the last game even though Vonny played (which was good to see). Sounds like she'll be happier going home. And we seem to have plenty of other players who can more or less manage the ball. So, so tough about Gabby though. That is a huge loss. Fingers crossed for keeping Jewell.

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Per a quick discussion with Kevin Pelton, it sounds like Ivana Dojkić will be an Unrestricted Free Agent in 2024 and not a Reserved player as I had previously stated. That makes sense as the Storm likely already gave up her Reserved player rights when they released her today.

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