We were at this game yesterday and definitely weren't very enthusiastic after the first quarter. But I kept thinking they should be down more than they were, that Connecticut's poor free throw shooting was the only reason the Storm weren't getting blown out. Situations like that, where nobody's having offensive success, it's a question of which team gets it together first and thankfully it was the Storm. Once they got going, you could see they really had a great swagger and fire to them, absolutely nothing like the last couple of games. Hopefully they can make good use of this extended home stand. Plus, a solid win against one of the top teams should really provide some confidence and pride to build on.
Ezi and Jordan are my two favorite players these last couple of years. So, it's cool to see the growth and success.
With the team chemistry seeming to come together really well, I'm nervous about the upcoming expansion drafts. I think you've talked about this some already. But, what are your thoughts or insights into what that might look like? Who do you see as far as being protected and who could be at risk of getting picked?
I completely agree Corey about Connecticut missing all those free throws. If they had made 80% or more this could have been a completely different ball game. This was a great win and hopefully the Storm will take advantage of these home games and win maybe 7 out of the 9 games. That would put them in great position.
Regarding the upcoming expansion draft, it's difficult to say because we don't know when it'll take place or what the rules will be. I would expect teams will be allowed to protect at least 5 players. But it could be as many as 7 or 8 players. Looking back at the 2008 expansion draft with the Atlanta Dream, teams were allowed to protect 6 players from their rosters.
Thinking over it some more, we know for certain the expansion draft has to take place before the WNBA Draft which is usually held in April. Free Agency starts officially on February 1st but can technically go for the next couple of months after. If I had to guess, the Golden State Valkyrie's expansion draft will take place before February 1st. Either late 2024 (November/December) or January 2025. One thing I'm not clear on is how will Unrestricted Free Agents work. I believe when the Seattle Kraken had their expansion draft, they had maybe a 2 or 3 week window where hey could try negotiating with Unrestricted Free Agents before the rest of the NHL could. I'm not sure if the WNBA would do something similar or maybe their rules will be different.
Seattle currently has 3 players on guaranteed contracts for 2025. They are Jewell Loyd, Skylar Diggins-Smith, and Ezi Magbegor. I would expect all 3 of those players to be protected. If they sign Nneka Ogwumike to a contract extension before she hits free agency (similar to what they did with Loyd at the end of 2023 season), then I would expect them to protect Nneka as well. After those four players, the team has non-guaranteed contracts with Jordan Horston and Nika Muhl. I think Horston would certainly be protected but I'm not sure if Mühl would be.
The other remaining players would all be Unrestricted Free Agents except Kiana Williams who would be a Reserved Free Agent. But similar to Mühl, I don't think Seattle would use a protective slot for Kiana unless they had more protected slots than actual players on the roster (where they could protect everyone).
Mercedes Russell, Sami Whitcomb, Victoria Vivians, and Joyner Holmes will all be Unrestricted Free Agents. I'm not sure Seattle could protect any of these players because technically, they wouldn't be on the 2025 roster until after Free Agency which in this scenario would take place after the Expansion Draft. If Seattle were to protect any of those players, if that were even possible, I think they'd probably protect Mercedes first and then Sami.
If the Storm can protect only 5 players, I would think it would be Skylar, Jewell, Jordan, Nneka, and Ezi.
What's going to be really interesting and possibly annoying for Storm GM Talisa Rhea is that she's going to have to go through this process, potentially over the next 4 seasons. We know for certain an expansion draft will happen before the 2025 and 2026 WNBA season. Commissioner Engelbert has indicated she'd like 16 teams to be in the WNBA by 2028. Which means two more teams and two more expansion drafts happening either in 2027 or 2028.
Another thing that will factor in is that the Storm will have draft picks over these next years as well. That includes two first-round draft picks in 2026. It'll be interesting to see what type of players they can get with those picks. If they can add more talent like Ezi and Jordan, the list of who you would want to protect gets even larger.
I'm sure glad that we were able to pull this game out. I had my doubts after they were only able to produce 8 points in the 1st Quarter. They've had tons of problems on offense, especially with their miserable 3-point shooting. Fortunately their defense was stiff enough when combined with the unusually poor free throw shooting by the Sun, was enough for us to get the win. I was really glad to see Jordan starting again. I'm not a big fan of Vivians, but I am a big fan of Jordan's and of Ezi's, too. Nneka and SDS have been great additions to the team, but are they enough to take us to the Finals this year? We need to get better rebounding to have a chance to make the Finals. Jordan will help with that.
Yeah I guess there are just too many variables at this point. I had only started following the WNBA the year before the last expansion draft so I don't remember anything about it. Plus I wonder how a renegotiated CBA will play into all of this, with players leaving their options open. I agree with the 5 players you project that would be protected depending on the rules. I also agree that Mercedes Russell would be the 6th. I just really like the all the players right now. Will be unfortunate to see any of them go.
We were at this game yesterday and definitely weren't very enthusiastic after the first quarter. But I kept thinking they should be down more than they were, that Connecticut's poor free throw shooting was the only reason the Storm weren't getting blown out. Situations like that, where nobody's having offensive success, it's a question of which team gets it together first and thankfully it was the Storm. Once they got going, you could see they really had a great swagger and fire to them, absolutely nothing like the last couple of games. Hopefully they can make good use of this extended home stand. Plus, a solid win against one of the top teams should really provide some confidence and pride to build on.
Ezi and Jordan are my two favorite players these last couple of years. So, it's cool to see the growth and success.
With the team chemistry seeming to come together really well, I'm nervous about the upcoming expansion drafts. I think you've talked about this some already. But, what are your thoughts or insights into what that might look like? Who do you see as far as being protected and who could be at risk of getting picked?
I completely agree Corey about Connecticut missing all those free throws. If they had made 80% or more this could have been a completely different ball game. This was a great win and hopefully the Storm will take advantage of these home games and win maybe 7 out of the 9 games. That would put them in great position.
Regarding the upcoming expansion draft, it's difficult to say because we don't know when it'll take place or what the rules will be. I would expect teams will be allowed to protect at least 5 players. But it could be as many as 7 or 8 players. Looking back at the 2008 expansion draft with the Atlanta Dream, teams were allowed to protect 6 players from their rosters.
Thinking over it some more, we know for certain the expansion draft has to take place before the WNBA Draft which is usually held in April. Free Agency starts officially on February 1st but can technically go for the next couple of months after. If I had to guess, the Golden State Valkyrie's expansion draft will take place before February 1st. Either late 2024 (November/December) or January 2025. One thing I'm not clear on is how will Unrestricted Free Agents work. I believe when the Seattle Kraken had their expansion draft, they had maybe a 2 or 3 week window where hey could try negotiating with Unrestricted Free Agents before the rest of the NHL could. I'm not sure if the WNBA would do something similar or maybe their rules will be different.
Seattle currently has 3 players on guaranteed contracts for 2025. They are Jewell Loyd, Skylar Diggins-Smith, and Ezi Magbegor. I would expect all 3 of those players to be protected. If they sign Nneka Ogwumike to a contract extension before she hits free agency (similar to what they did with Loyd at the end of 2023 season), then I would expect them to protect Nneka as well. After those four players, the team has non-guaranteed contracts with Jordan Horston and Nika Muhl. I think Horston would certainly be protected but I'm not sure if Mühl would be.
The other remaining players would all be Unrestricted Free Agents except Kiana Williams who would be a Reserved Free Agent. But similar to Mühl, I don't think Seattle would use a protective slot for Kiana unless they had more protected slots than actual players on the roster (where they could protect everyone).
Mercedes Russell, Sami Whitcomb, Victoria Vivians, and Joyner Holmes will all be Unrestricted Free Agents. I'm not sure Seattle could protect any of these players because technically, they wouldn't be on the 2025 roster until after Free Agency which in this scenario would take place after the Expansion Draft. If Seattle were to protect any of those players, if that were even possible, I think they'd probably protect Mercedes first and then Sami.
If the Storm can protect only 5 players, I would think it would be Skylar, Jewell, Jordan, Nneka, and Ezi.
What's going to be really interesting and possibly annoying for Storm GM Talisa Rhea is that she's going to have to go through this process, potentially over the next 4 seasons. We know for certain an expansion draft will happen before the 2025 and 2026 WNBA season. Commissioner Engelbert has indicated she'd like 16 teams to be in the WNBA by 2028. Which means two more teams and two more expansion drafts happening either in 2027 or 2028.
Another thing that will factor in is that the Storm will have draft picks over these next years as well. That includes two first-round draft picks in 2026. It'll be interesting to see what type of players they can get with those picks. If they can add more talent like Ezi and Jordan, the list of who you would want to protect gets even larger.
I'm sure glad that we were able to pull this game out. I had my doubts after they were only able to produce 8 points in the 1st Quarter. They've had tons of problems on offense, especially with their miserable 3-point shooting. Fortunately their defense was stiff enough when combined with the unusually poor free throw shooting by the Sun, was enough for us to get the win. I was really glad to see Jordan starting again. I'm not a big fan of Vivians, but I am a big fan of Jordan's and of Ezi's, too. Nneka and SDS have been great additions to the team, but are they enough to take us to the Finals this year? We need to get better rebounding to have a chance to make the Finals. Jordan will help with that.
Yeah I guess there are just too many variables at this point. I had only started following the WNBA the year before the last expansion draft so I don't remember anything about it. Plus I wonder how a renegotiated CBA will play into all of this, with players leaving their options open. I agree with the 5 players you project that would be protected depending on the rules. I also agree that Mercedes Russell would be the 6th. I just really like the all the players right now. Will be unfortunate to see any of them go.
Thanks for the info!