Storm Make a Splash, Sign Skylar Diggins-Smith

The 6-time WNBA All-Star will become Seattle's new starting point guard.

One year ago, the first day of WNBA Free Agency was an absolute nightmare for the Seattle Storm. After a flurry of coded emoji tweets, Breanna Stewart posted a video to announce she would be taking her talents to New York to play for the Liberty.

Seattle had lost out on other free agents because they were patiently waiting for Stewart to make her decision. The Storm then lost out on point guard Courtney Vandersloot, who was a target for the team after Sue Bird retired.

Determined not to be left out of the party this year, Seattle’s front office made an aggressive move the day before free agency parting ways with their coveted 4th overall draft selection in order to shed the guaranteed contract of Kia Nurse. This freed up over $140,000 in cap space and gave Seattle the flexibility to potentially sign two star players to near-max contracts.

It was then early in the morning on February 1st, the team announced that six-time WNBA All-Star point guard, Skylar Diggins-Smith would be joining the Seattle Storm. It’s a huge get for Seattle to land one of the top free agents in the league.

Coach Quinn and General Manager Talisa Rhea both emphasized that they needed a legit starting point guard moving forward. They get that in Diggins-Smith who has been one of the league’s best point guards since she entered the league in 2013.

Per the Storm’s press release, Seattle’s front office had this to say about signing the elite guard.

“I am beyond excited for the opportunity to coach Skylar, one of the best point guards in the history of our game,” said Storm Head Coach Noelle Quinn. “Skylar is an ultimate competitor, elite playmaker, and excellent defender. Adding Skylar to our dynamic backcourt will immediately elevate our roster as we continue this next chapter of Storm basketball.”

“The opportunity to add Skylar to our team is a moment that can’t be overstated,” said Storm General Manager Talisa Rhea. “Skylar’s impressive resume is one for the record books, but what meets the moment for the Storm is her leadership, competitiveness, and desire to be a part of this new era of Storm basketball. Welcome to Seattle, Skylar!”

Skylar averaged 19.7 PPG, 5.5 APG, 4.0 RPG, and 1.5 SPG during 2022. She missed all of last season on maternity leave but will be ready to start this season. The sharp-shooting lefty posted a clip of her knocking down three-pointers while practicing at the gym.

https://twitter.com/SkyDigg4/status/1753092819328377147

Diggins-Smith had this to say about signing with the Storm.

“Joining the Seattle Storm is the ideal next step in my basketball journey. The organization's dedication to its players and the progression of the league is commendable,” said Diggins-Smith. “I'm laser-focused for the upcoming season. Stepping onto the court alongside Jewell, benefiting from the leadership of Noelle Quinn, and feeling the energy of the Seattle Storm fans is a combination that I am confident will lead to success.”

Thoughts on the Move

Landing Skylar Diggins-Smith is a BIG get for the Seattle Storm. She fills a couple of massive needs that Seattle lacked this past season. As I wrote previously, the team was not good offensively. They lacked legitimate scorers outside of Jewell Loyd and Ezi Magbegor. Loyd had to carry far too much of the offensive burden each and every game. And as talented as Jewell is, the 2023 season proved that the WNBA as a league has way too much talent for a team to rely almost solely on one player for its offense. Despite having the best scorer in the league, the Storm as a team finished 11th (out of 12) in scoring at 78.8 PPG.

The lack of an established point guard hurt the team and their ability to run their offensive sets correctly. Most of the season it was a constant search for the right lead guard. The team went through Yvonne Turner, Ivana Dojkić, before settling on Sami Whitcomb. And while Whitcomb wanted to take on that extra responsibility and try to continue to grow her game, it’s not necessarily what she’s best at. The Storm averaged just 17.7 assists per game, which was dead last in the WNBA.

Diggins-Smith will be able to command the offense. She is also excellent at running the pick and roll which should lead to scoring opportunities for players like Ezi, Dulcy, and Jordan. SDS is also one of the most elite guards when it comes to dribble penetration and attacking the paint. She also is very good at drawing contact and getting to the foul line.

Her ability to score will be welcomed in Seattle where they need more offense. It will also alleviate some of the burden off of Jewell Loyd. Defenses will no longer be able to run a box and 1 against Seattle or throw constant double and triple teams at Loyd as they did in 2023.

Skylar will also bring feistiness and grit to the team. And I think that’s something that could benefit them.

What About Nneka?

Well, that’s the big question now. We know Nneka Ogwumike is not going to return to the Los Angeles Sparks as they are in complete rebuild mode. We also know that the Storm’s front office has recruited Ogwumike heavily during the Free Agency period leading up to February 1st. However, we are still waiting to hear if she’s going to sign with Seattle.

On the ESPN2 WNBA Free Agency special show, it was announced that Ogwumike had narrowed her decision down to three teams. Per her sister Chiney, Nneka will either sign with Seattle, New York, or Chicago.

The panelists - LaChina Robinson, Andraya Carter, and Carolyn Peck debated back and forth on which team she should choose. Robinson was mostly neutral. Peck was lobbying for her to join the New York Liberty. Whereas Carter listed several legitimate reasons why Nneka’s best fit would be with the Seattle Storm.

There are questions on whether Nneka would start or come off the bench if she joins the New York Liberty. She certainly would have her playing time reduced which she may not want but also could be a good thing at her age (33). Nneka isn’t a need for the Liberty. They didn’t lose to the Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA Finals because they didn’t get enough low post scoring or didn’t rebound the ball well enough. They primarily lost because their guards and wings were significantly outplayed by Kelsey Plum, Chelsea Gray, and Jackie Young.

With that said. We know New York is desperate to try and do whatever they can to win a championship and even if it means adding a talented piece that doesn’t really fit and isn’t a need, they’re still likely to try and get that deal done. The night before Free Agency officially began, Ogwumike was seen courtside at the Brooklyn Nets game seated next to Breanna Stewart and Betnijah Laney.

They are going to do their best to recruit her. The question is, can Seattle present a better counteroffer?

Putting any Seattle biases aside. I personally don’t like the idea of Nneka Ogwumike joining the Conglomerate Ultra Mega Super Squad in New York. I don’t think it’s good for the game. I don’t think it’s good for the league. It’s a bad look if several of the league’s different superstars try to join up with one or two teams and leave the rest behind.

The same can be said with an earlier report that suggested Elena Delle Donne was upset with the Washington Mystics for placing the core tag on her because she wanted to go join the Las Vegas Aces. I’m sorry but that’s weak. Charmin Ultra Soft.

We’ve seen that happen in the NBA over the past decade. The biggest superstars all go to team up to try and form these Super Teams. The funny thing is a lot of the time it doesn’t even work out.

Of course, if Nneka Ogwumike does join the Seattle Storm a day or two after Skylar Diggins-Smith joined the Storm, people will start calling Seattle the next new Super Team. And there are reports that Elena Delle Donne may end up being traded to the Phoenix Mercury. Her former Mystics teammate, Natasha Cloud, just signed there. And Phoenix still has Diana Taurasi and (soon to be signed) Brittney Griner. If that happens, I guess we’ll have to call Phoenix a Super Team too.

The great thing about that. If Las Vegas is a Super Team and New York is a Super Team. And Seattle and Phoenix might become Super Teams too. Then are they all really Super Teams if nearly half the league becomes Super Teams? Or are we just getting back to league parity?

If Nneka Chooses New York

If that happens I think it’ll be a big blow to the Storm. I am under the belief that if Seattle was only making one big signing in Free Agency then they could have still kept their 4th overall selection. Maybe General Manager Talisa Rhea would argue with me and tell me I’m wrong, but I feel they could sign Skylar to a near-max contract while keeping Kia Nurse and the 4th overall pick.

I 100% understand that if the team wants to try and quickly rebuild with star veteran players, signing two max players like Skylar Diggins-Smith and Nneka Ogwumike was going to require the team to part with their draft pick in order to dump some unwanted guaranteed salary (Nurse). But if they aren’t getting Nneka, shouldn’t they have just signed Diggins-Smith and then selected a player like Aaliyah Edwards, Rickea Jackson, or Kamilla Cardoso 4th overall? Any of those three players you could pair up with Ezi in the front court. Then have Jewell and Skylar as the starting backcourt and Jordan Horston as the other starting wing (Small Forward).

If Nneka chooses New York (I can’t see Chicago happening), who else could Seattle sign at this point?

A lot of the other top free agents have already been signed or re-signed to new deals. A few others that haven’t have been cored by their current team and Seattle no longer has anything to trade.

A couple of names to keep an eye on will be DeWanna Bonner and Rebecca Allen. I would take Nneka over those players, but landing either Bonner or Allen wouldn’t be a bad consolation prize after already signing Diggins-Smith.

I didn’t consider Bonner as an option previously because I assumed she would want to stay with her partner, Alyssa Thomas, in Connecticut. However, during that ESPN2 special, they stated that Bonner isn’t a lock to re-sign with the Sun and there was expressed interest in Seattle and Phoenix as options if she doesn’t re-sign with her current team.

Bonner is 36 years old so she is certainly getting closer to the end of her career. But she still averaged 17.4 PPG and 5.6 RPG last season.

Rebecca Allen isn’t quite as big of a name as Nneka Ogwumike or DeWanna Bonner but she’s still a talented two-way player. She’s a great three-pointer shooter and has great length to be a strong defender. I view her as an upgrade over Kia Nurse.

Other Options

Free Agency is starting to thin out after nearly 30 players signed new deals yesterday. One the Storm could take a flier on would be Diamond DeShields. DeShields has dealt with multiple injuries in recent seasons so she probably could be signed to a more affordable contract. The team would have to make sure she could pass a physical but that would be a strong depth piece to add to the team.

Whether Seattle adds Nneka Ogwumike or not, they have a pretty strong starting lineup. However, the bench could still use some work. Right now the only guards or wing-type players on the roster that would come off the bench are Sami Whitcomb and Jade Melbourne. DeShields would potentially boost the reserve squad by a good amount.

They could also look to add former Storm players to minimum deals by signing either Evina Westbrook or Arella Guirantes to training camp contracts.

Day 1 of Free Agency was good for Seattle. Let’s see what Day 2 brings.

Notes: Photo Credit to the Seattle Storm and their media team.

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