Yvonne Turner came on in the final minutes and made a difference as she usually does in the minute or two she gets to play. Can anyone explain why she hardly ever gets to play.
I can give my best educated guess. I think it's a combination of a handful of things. Yvonne Turner is 35 years old and has played in 5 WNBA seasons with an established record. She's a player that's never averaged more than 6 PPG. When she did start the first handful of games, the team wasn't playing very well and she wasn't getting many assists at all despite starting as the team's point guard.
Some other things are beyond her control. Seattle had two rookies that could play as point guards in Ivana Dojkić and Jade Melbourne. Ivana is 25 and Jade was 20 (just turned 21). Both had a much higher chance of being a part of the future of the Storm organization and therefore the minutes should be invested in players like that.
When Dojkić was starting, she was immediately producing more than Yvonne Turner. As Dojkić was a rookie but only on a one-year deal, the team needed to see what they had in her. Ultimately, it didn't work out but the investment and time in her is better for the franchise than having Turner continue on as the starter.
Even as Dojkić was on her way out. The team had brought in Gabby Williams who can play the point guard role at times and obviously was producing more than Turner. Then they moved Sami Whitcomb into the starting lineup. I think it's fair to say that Sami it also producing at a higher clip than Turner was. Whitcomb is also making around double the salary of Turner. And is signed through next season. I don't see where it would make sense to take minutes away from Sami in favor of giving them to Turner when Whitcomb is producing more.
Same for Jordan Horston or Jade Melbourne. Both rookies need minutes and need the development time. The team almost certainly isn't going to make the playoffs this season. I can't see a scenario where it would be more important for the franchise to play Yvonne Turner over Jade or Jordan or Sami or Kia or Jewell.
Yes. It helps. Thanks. b/t/w, I wasn't wondering/asking why she wasn't a starter - just why doesn't get more minutes, just why she gets next to no minutes because she always seems to do something good when she comes on the floor.
I do think the reasons I listed above can still factor into why she isn't playing more. I don't think Vonnie is a bad player but I also don't see her making huge production. And if you give her 10 mins a game, who's 10 mins is she taking away from? Jordan? Jade? Kia? Sami? The team needs to develop those players and get them experience. Except for Sami. But Sami produces at a higher rate than Turner would.
Then if you only wanted to give her around 3-5 mins. Well, how much can a player really do if they're only given 3 mins of action in a game? And if you look around the league, it's more common for teams to go with an 8-9 player rotation where 2-4 players see little to no minutes than it is to see a team play all 11 or 12 players in the regular rotation.
Yvonne Turner came on in the final minutes and made a difference as she usually does in the minute or two she gets to play. Can anyone explain why she hardly ever gets to play.
I can give my best educated guess. I think it's a combination of a handful of things. Yvonne Turner is 35 years old and has played in 5 WNBA seasons with an established record. She's a player that's never averaged more than 6 PPG. When she did start the first handful of games, the team wasn't playing very well and she wasn't getting many assists at all despite starting as the team's point guard.
Some other things are beyond her control. Seattle had two rookies that could play as point guards in Ivana Dojkić and Jade Melbourne. Ivana is 25 and Jade was 20 (just turned 21). Both had a much higher chance of being a part of the future of the Storm organization and therefore the minutes should be invested in players like that.
When Dojkić was starting, she was immediately producing more than Yvonne Turner. As Dojkić was a rookie but only on a one-year deal, the team needed to see what they had in her. Ultimately, it didn't work out but the investment and time in her is better for the franchise than having Turner continue on as the starter.
Even as Dojkić was on her way out. The team had brought in Gabby Williams who can play the point guard role at times and obviously was producing more than Turner. Then they moved Sami Whitcomb into the starting lineup. I think it's fair to say that Sami it also producing at a higher clip than Turner was. Whitcomb is also making around double the salary of Turner. And is signed through next season. I don't see where it would make sense to take minutes away from Sami in favor of giving them to Turner when Whitcomb is producing more.
Same for Jordan Horston or Jade Melbourne. Both rookies need minutes and need the development time. The team almost certainly isn't going to make the playoffs this season. I can't see a scenario where it would be more important for the franchise to play Yvonne Turner over Jade or Jordan or Sami or Kia or Jewell.
I hope this helps.
Yes. It helps. Thanks. b/t/w, I wasn't wondering/asking why she wasn't a starter - just why doesn't get more minutes, just why she gets next to no minutes because she always seems to do something good when she comes on the floor.
I do think the reasons I listed above can still factor into why she isn't playing more. I don't think Vonnie is a bad player but I also don't see her making huge production. And if you give her 10 mins a game, who's 10 mins is she taking away from? Jordan? Jade? Kia? Sami? The team needs to develop those players and get them experience. Except for Sami. But Sami produces at a higher rate than Turner would.
Then if you only wanted to give her around 3-5 mins. Well, how much can a player really do if they're only given 3 mins of action in a game? And if you look around the league, it's more common for teams to go with an 8-9 player rotation where 2-4 players see little to no minutes than it is to see a team play all 11 or 12 players in the regular rotation.
Yvonne Turner has “coach” written all over her…
That would be nice but she's going to need a little more experience as a player first, I think.
Got it!