Lofty Expectations for New-Look Storm

My thoughts as the 2024 Seattle Storm's roster nears completion.

Since February 1st, the Seattle Storm have made three major moves. First, they traded away guard Kia Nurse and her $140,000 guaranteed contract along with the number four overall draft pick in the upcoming 2024 WNBA Draft. This allowed them to clear more than $500,000 in salary cap money to be extra aggressive in Free Agency. And aggressive they have been.

First, the team announced that they had signed six-time WNBA All-Star Skylar Diggins-Smith to a two-year deal. The addition of Diggins-Smith should create one of the most talented backcourts in the entire WNBA as she teams up with her former college teammate, Jewell Loyd.

The Storm didn’t stop there. It took a few more days as fans anxiously waited for the other shoe to drop. On Monday, it did. During the NBA Today show on ESPN, Chiney Ogwumike announced that her sister, Nneka Ogwumike, would be joining the Seattle Storm as well. The former league MVP and eight-time All-Star solidifies the team’s frontcourt as she’ll pair up with budding star Ezi Magbegor.

A year after the team lost Sue Bird to retirement and Breanna Stewart to New York in Free Agency, the Seattle Storm have added two of the more talented players in the WNBA. After a tough disappointing 2023 season in which the team finished with an 11-29 record (2nd worst in the WNBA), these moves should move Seattle back into playoff contention. And ideally, into the conversation as legitimate title contenders.

Credit to Storm GM Talisa Rhea

Whether fair or unfair, I think Seattle Storm General Manager Talisa Rhea took some criticism with the way the 2023 off-season went down. Losing a franchise player in Breanna Stewart without receiving any compensation in return was brutal. As Stewart teased her decision on social media with emojis, her delayed decision hurt Seattle’s front office in what they could do and which players they could sign. Some fans criticized the fact that the team didn’t place the Core tag on Breanna Stewart and instead placed it on Loyd.

Last year was rough for the Seattle Storm between a disappointing off-season and a team that struggled to compete on a nightly basis.

Rhea made some major moves that at least, on paper, should turn the team into one of the better squads in the league. By adding Skylar Diggins-Smith and Nneka Ogwumike to the roster, they are adding two legitimate All-Star players. Not fringe All-Stars. Both players have had prolific careers as some of the very best at their positions. They bring nearly a combined 40 PPG to a team that truly struggled to score on a nightly basis in 2023. Seattle will have multiple scoring options and will be less reliant on Loyd to carry the entire load.

Two of the biggest needs for the Storm include having a legitimate point guard to run the offense and a stronger post presence that can improve points in the paint and rebounding. SDS and Nneka will be able to provide that for the team.

Ogwumike is the President of the WNBAPA (Player’s Association) and brings great veteran leadership to the Storm. All of her teammates will certainly be able to learn a lot from her, especially players like Ezi Magbegor and Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu.

Thoughts on Trading the 4th Overall Pick

Trading the 4th overall pick was a very risky move. And it’s one we can look back on and question whether it was the right move or not. For myself, I’m such a big believer in building a team through the draft that it would be difficult for me to part with a lottery selection. Especially, during a draft that could be potentially loaded with talent.

But that is one caveat that I’m sure GM Talisa Rhea, Assistant GM Pokey Chatman, and Storm Head Coach Noelle Quinn have a much better understanding of how the draft could shape up with so many collegiate players being eligible for a 5th season of college. Several top selections could return to college for another season. That includes potential Top 3 picks in Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, and Cameron Brink. As well as other players like Kamilla Cardoso, Aaliyah Edwards, and Georgia Amoore still have eligibility allowing them to return to college for the 2024-25 season.

While I would have enjoyed seeing the Storm select a player like Aaliyah Edwards or Rickea Jackson, maybe Seattle’s front office believes that multiple players I listed above will not be entering the WNBA Draft. Where Seattle’s 4th overall pick looks good right now, it could turn out to be more like the 7th overall pick if several of those players do opt for another year of college.

I will also state, that as much as I’d love to see something like Rickea Jackson reuniting with Jordan Horston, her fellow Tennessee Lady Vols teammate, if I was given the option of that or adding both Skylar Diggins-Smith and Nneka Ogwumike to the team, I would choose the latter option.

I do believe trading away the 4th overall pick was very risky. But I also believe the team wouldn’t have done it unless they were very confident that adding SDS and Nneka was nearly a foregone conclusion. Talisa Rhea took a risk but came out of Free Agency a BIG winner. Landing two star players in Free Agency bodes well for the team’s current success and the front office’s future ability to make big deals and sign top star players in the league.

As I wrote about previously, the team could have played the long game. Selecting one of the remaining best players available in the 2024 draft (Edwards, Jackson, Cardoso) and then tank again in 2024. They would end up back in the lottery, hoping to land the #1 or #2 overall pick AND hope that Caitlin Clark or Paige Bueckers decided to stay in college until 2025. But in doing so, they would be wasting Jewell Loyd’s prime and risk losing her in Free Agency after the 2025 season.

Instead, the front office was aggressive, they traded away some of their long-term potential to be competitive again in 2024.

Where They Stack Up

This will make the upcoming 2024 season exciting to watch. We don’t know what to expect from this roster or this team because they’ve never played together before. On paper, Seattle got significantly better than last year’s team. But last year’s team was also very, very bad. Have they done enough to build themselves into a championship title contender? Can they go from 11th place to a Top 3 contender?

If I had to predict right now, I’d place the Storm around the 3-5 range. Until another team can conquer the Las Vegas Aces, the back-to-back WNBA Champions will remain at #1 as the best team in the league. The New York Liberty, despite not making any major upgrades this off-season, are expected to be the Aces’ biggest threat to a three-peat. Beyond that, I think a lot of things are up in the air.

I’m not exactly certain where the Connecticut Sun will project at the end of the season. The team that finished 3rd previously has had some changes to its roster. They traded away Natisha Hiedeman for Tiffany Mitchell. They acquired Moriah Jefferson likely as Hiedeman’s replacement, but traded away Rebecca Allen who was a key piece for them last season. Center Briona Jones who is recovering from a torn Achilles was re-signed to a new one-year deal and it’s reported that DeWanna Bonner is returning to the Connecticut Sun as well. They still have their engine, Alyssa Thomas to run their offense through. Tiffany Hayes, another quality player on their roster retired this off-season. That is another player they have lost. I feel the Sun aren’t quite as good as they were a year ago but I could still see them finishing in that 3-5 range like Seattle.

Dallas finished 4th a year ago and mostly maintained the status quo. They were able to re-sign Kalani Brown and most importantly Satou Sabally. They did suspend the contract of Awak Kuier who will not play in the WNBA this upcoming season. Arike Ogunbowale leads their squad with Teaira McCowan and Natasha Howard. Dallas has the chance to improve upon their 4th place finish from a year ago.

The Atlanta Dream made some noteworthy moves including a sign-and-trade for point guard Jordin Canada. They suspended the contract of Iliana Rupert but that allowed them to add Tina Charles, who was last seen playing in the WNBA with the Seattle Storm during the 2022 playoffs. They also added Aerial Powers who struggled to gain playing time in Minnesota but can score in bunches when given the opportunity. The team still has All-Stars Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray. They finished 5th a season ago and should remain around that in 2024 with a chance to move up.

Teams like the LA Sparks, Chicago Sky, and Washington Mystics have lost more talent than they’ve brought in. It would be a surprise if they make the playoffs with an initial glance at their rosters.

Seattle’s Lofty Expectations

The term “Super Team” is tossed out there a little too much these days. As I said in my previous article, if the league has four or five Super Teams, are they really Super Teams or are we just returning to a league balanced by parity?

With that said, when you add six-time All-Star Skylar Diggins-Smith and eight-time All-Star Nneka Ogwumike to your lineup, the expectations are going to be sky-high. Seattle should be one of the league’s best teams this season if everything works out. They will have a ton of talent on their roster and on a game-to-game basis, their starting five will likely have the advantage over the majority of other teams in the WNBA.

There aren’t a lot of teams (if any) that will have a more talented backcourt than Jewell Loyd and Skylar Diggins-Smith. Seattle’s frontcourt pair of Nneka Ogwumike and Ezi Magbegor should allow Seattle to be more competitive against the league’s best teams.

However, the New York Liberty should be a reminder that building a team takes time even if you’re adding multiple elite talents to the roster. New York struggled at times during the regular season in 2023. Especially, during the first half of the season. As time went on and they were able to gel more as a team, the wins started to pile up. Over the final two months of the regular season, the Liberty went 14-2. Then went on to challenge the Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA Finals.

If Seattle can go on a title run, expect there to be a long learning curve during the regular season before that happens.

Coach Noelle Quinn will also have to deal with higher expectations. The team hasn’t had quite as much success since she took over in 2021. However, there have also been extenuating circumstances that have led to less successful results. Including Breanna Stewart tearing her Achilles towards the end of the 2021 regular season. And then Stewart left in Free Agency in 2023. Assuming this roster stays healthy for the majority of the season, the floor should be a first-round home playoff series that is awarded to the top four teams of the regular season.

Concerns and Remaining Moves

One area that is still a concern for me is the team’s depth and bench talent. I project the team’s depth chart to currently look something like this.

PG: Skylar Diggins-Smith, Jade Melbourne
SG: Jewell Loyd, Sami Whitcomb
SF: Jordan Horston, Joyner Holmes
PF: Nneka Ogwumike, Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu
C: Ezi Magegor, Mercedes Russell

Remaining Roster spots: 1

Per HerHoopsStats, the Seattle Storm have roughly $153,000 left before maxing out their salary cap. Thanks to Cija, for correctly pointing out that the above salary camp doesn’t include Joyner’s contract for $76,000. This means the team really can only add one more player, either a rookie or a player on a minimum deal. Or two more players if they cut Joyner Holmes.

Despite trading away the 4th overall pick, Seattle does still own their 2nd and 3rd round selections (14 and 26).

When looking over the depth chart, it feels like Seattle needs to add another guard/wing.

After one of my recent articles suggested her, the Connecticut Sun did a sign-and-trade with Rebecca Allen and sent her to the Phoenix Mercury. I also thought about the team adding Diamond DeShields, but it was announced on Monday that she’s signing back with the Chicago Sky.

There isn’t another major player that could be added to the roster that would make waves. The team could look to bring back a familiar face or two. Players like Evina Westbrook, Arella Guirantes, Kaila Charles, Jasmine Walker, and Kiki Herbert-Harrigan are all still out there and remain unsigned. I wouldn’t be shocked if at least one of them received a training camp contract.

They could also make a play for Stefanie Dolson. Although that wouldn’t necessarily help the team’s lack of depth at the guard/wing position. That move could require cutting either Joyner Holmes or Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu. But from a talent standpoint, it would be something to consider.

Tianna Hawkins is a player the Storm have had interest in the past. She hasn’t signed anywhere yet.

Asia (AD) Durr is another option. They are currently a restricted free agent with the Atlanta Dream, so Atlanta could match any offer Seattle would give them (assuming they have the cap space). But that would be another scoring guard.

Seattle currently has 10 players on the roster. The draft picks would bring them to 12 players. Usually, the team has around 15-16 players join training camp before cuts take place. With that in mind, I would expect to see the Storm sign another 3-5 players before training camp begins in April.

Final Thoughts

The 2023 season was a year of developing young players like Ezi Magbegor, Jordan Horston, Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu, and Jade Melbourne. It can be fun to watch young players develop and grow. But it can also be painful. Storm fans heard Aaliyah’s “Dust Yourself Off and Try Again” after almost every home game last season.

2024 has the potential to return the Storm to greatness. Skylar Diggins-Smith and Nneka Ogwumike should add a lot to the team. SDS will take a lot of scoring pressure off Jewell Loyd. Her ability to break down defenses and get to the rim will not only create scoring opportunities for herself but for all of her teammates. I can envision Diggins-Smith creating lots of good looks for Nneka Ogwumike, Ezi Magbegor, and others by running the pick-and-roll.

Nneka Ogwumike will bring efficient scoring inside the paint. She might be the most effective low post scorer the Storm will have had since Crystal Langhorne’s peak seasons. There is something about having a trusted low-post scorer that can be crucial in the closing moments of a ball game. I think of times when the Phoenix Mercury must get a basket to tie or win the game and they feed the ball deep to Brittney Griner in the low post. More often than not, she scores the game-winning basket. I fully expect Nneka will have at least one or two clutch game-winning plays this season for the Storm.

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