Storm sign Candice Dupree, Langhorne announces retirement
This week brings more news from the Seattle Storm
By 12:00 PM Pacific time, early Monday afternoon, the Seattle Storm had already made two significant announcements for the franchise. First, they announced that Crystal Langhorne has decided to call it a career, retiring from the WNBA after 13 seasons in the league. Langhorne played her final seven seasons in Seattle after being traded away from the Washington Mystics; winning two WNBA Championships on the Storm in 2018 and 2020.
She was drafted 6th overall in the 2008 WNBA Draft. Crystal won the WNBA’s Most Improved Player of the Year award while with the Mystics in 2009. She more than doubled her points per game from her rookie season going from 4.8 PPG to 12.0 PPG; while also doubling her rebounds from 4.0 RPG to 7.9 RPG in her second season.
Langhorne was named a two-time WNBA All-Star while playing for the Mystics in 2011 and 2013. She scored a career-high 18.2 PPG during the 2011 season; while averaging a career-high 9.7 rebounds per game in 2010.
Langhorne arrived in Seattle after six seasons with the Washington Mystics. In a major draft-day trade in 2014, the Storm traded away their first-round pick (6th overall) from the year prior, Tianna Hawkins, as well as the 7th overall pick in the 2014 WNBA Draft which turned into Bria Hartley.
The trade by former Storm Head Coach and General Manager Brian Agler was somewhat controversial as two first-round picks was a steep price to give up for Langhorne at the time. However, most would argue Seattle ended up getting the better end of that deal overall.
Langhorne led the Storm in scoring in her first two seasons with the team in 2014 and 2015. She also played and started in every single game in four straight seasons between 2014-2017 in Seattle. Lang also averaged above double-figures in three of her first four seasons with the Storm.
However, her role was reduced over her final three seasons with Seattle seeing her minutes decline with the additions of Natasha Howard, Mercedes Russell, and eventually Ezi Magbegor (in 2020).
An injury in the 1st game of the 2018 season allowed Natasha Howard to take over her role in the starting lineup. Howard flourished with the increased playing time and cemented herself as one of Seattle’s top players.
While Langhorne’s playing time on the court was reduced over the final three seasons. She was able to achieve the crowning achievement of any professional athlete by winning the WNBA Championship twice in 2018 and 2020.
Langhorne spent much of the 2020 season on the bench, but also worked a lot with the development of Ezi Magbegor, helping mentor the talented 21-year-old Australian Center.
It was quite the career!
Off the court, Langhorne was known for her creative outfits and flashy dress style. She was also very gracious to the media in my experience.
New Opportunity for Lang
In a really positive piece of news, Langhorne, similar to Noelle Quinn, will be staying with the Storm organization after her retirement. The Seattle Storm have created a brand new position and Crystal will become the Director of Community Engagement for the Force4Change program.
Per the Storm’s web site, “The Storm created this social justice platform in 2020 to combat racism and support diversity, equity, and inclusion. Langhorne will collaborate with ownership, leadership, players, and community partners to promote the Storm’s engagement in supporting meaningful change in our local community.”
While it’s never easy to call it a career as a professional athlete. I’m really happy that Crystal is being given a new opportunity, especially one as important as working to combat racism and inequality in our communities.
You can read their full article here: Langhorne named Director of Community Engagement.
This also helps Seattle free up some money for the 2021 salary cap. Something I felt they were going to need to do in order to retain most of their core pieces. It also allowed them to work out new deals, which brings us to our next big topic.
Seattle signs 7-time All-Star Candice Dupree
In a somewhat surprising piece of news, it was announced that the Storm had signed Candice Dupree to play in Seattle for the upcoming 2021 season.
Dupree is a 15-year veteran and 7-time WNBA All-Star. Dupree spent her first four years with the Chicago Sky after being drafted 6th overall in the 2006 WNBA Draft. She was then traded to Phoenix where she spent seven seasons (2010-2016) with the Mercury, winning a WNBA Championship in 2014. Most recently, she has spent the past four years playing for the Indiana Fever suffering through multiple losing seasons as the team has been trying to rebuild the franchise after their franchise player, Tamika Catchings, retired after the 2016 season.
Dupree has averaged double digits in all 15 of her WNBA seasons which is quite an impressive feat. Throughout her career, she’s averaged 14.4 PPG, 6.6 RPG, and 1.9 assists per game. More notably, in 2020, she averaged 12.5 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 2.5 APG. She is definitely a player that can give you a bit of everything out on the court. She’s also a career 50% shooter, shooting 46.2% from the field last season. She isn’t known for her three-point shooting but excels at getting to the basket and the midrange game.
The Storm set up a media call with Dupree, Monday afternoon, that I was able to participate in. Here is a transcript of the main questions and answers from that interview.
Media: “Why did you choose to sign with Seattle?”
Dupree: “It was kind of a no-brainer. They are a first-class organization. A winning organization. 15 years in, looking at the tail end of my career, and just looking to go out with a bang. I thought Seattle was my best chance at winning another championship.”
Media: “How do you see yourself fitting in with the team and what role you might play?”
Dupree: “They are a veteran team. They play very well together. Shooting, moving the ball. I spoke to Dan Hughes a little bit about what my role would be and how I would fit in. He mentioned stepping right in at the 4 position (Power Forward) and mentor Ezi a bit. I’m looking forward to playing with a group of vets, with a high basketball IQ, and winners.”
Media: “Did you speak with any Storm players beforehand and how did that impact your decision?”
Dupree: “I did speak to Sue a little bit (before signing). I don’t know that it had a huge impact. Her and I both know I’ve been in this league for 15 years. It didn’t take much coaxing from them for me to want to sign with such a great franchise.”
Media: “As the veteran leader of the Indiana Fever the past few years, what did you learn about that opportunity, and can you apply that to this Storm team?”
Dupree: “Playing in Indiana forced me to be more of a vocal leader there. I’ve always been a lead by example type of player, let me game speak for myself. But playing with a younger group in Indiana definitely helped me come out of my shell. It’ll be great to take (what I learned) there, communicate and help with the younger players they have in Seattle as well.”
Media: “What’s your most memorable moment playing against Seattle in your career?”
Dupree: “In the (2011) playoffs, hitting the game-winning bucket. At the time I was playing in Phoenix. I know Seattle still had Lauren Jackson on the team. We ended up winning that series off of that bucket. That’s my most memorable experience.”
Media: “When talking with Coach Hughes, did he talk to you about playing alongside Breanna Stewart, possibly sliding her out to the wing?”
Dupree: “He said we would be playing together a lot. He’s looking to play Ezi more at the 5 (Center) position. So it’ll be interesting to see how all of that works. He didn’t specify that Stewie would be out on the wing. But that we would definitely be on the floor together.”
Media: “Can you talk about what other teams expressed interest in you?”
Dupree: “My agent was given strict instructions. Unless teams come at you with a number, I don’t want to hear about it. I’m sure there were quite a few. I told him I wasn’t interested in rebuilding, I wanted to win. So that narrowed the field a lot. She was only looking at serious (higher-paying) offers.”
Media: “What’s stood out to you about the Storm over these recent championship seasons?”
Dupree: “They’re tough! Aside from playing well on the offensive end. They’re really good on defense! Over the last few years, Seattle’s been known to have really great help-side defense. It’s like everyone is on a string with each other. The chemistry is awesome. To be able to mesh well on both ends of the floor is why they’ve been so successful.”
Media: “Being in the league for 15 years, how has Free Agency changed from back then to now with the new CBA?”
Dupree: “It’s funny, I’ve been thinking back to the times I was a free agent. Like when I was with Phoenix, I didn’t even explore free agency. I would re-sign before the season was even up. Then there was the trade from Phoenix to Indiana. I’ve always just re-signed with the teams I’ve been on. But with the new CBA, there’s more money. So players are going to teams who are going to offer them the highest dollar amount. For me, I wasn’t going to just take anything, but at this point of my career winning is a factor as well. I didn’t want to put myself in a situation where ‘OK, you might be making max but you’re still losing throughout the season.’ So I thought Seattle was the perfect fit because the money was pretty good and they’re a winning franchise.”
Thoughts on the Deal
The signing of Dupree is an interesting one for Seattle as she is one of the more talented players left to sign in Free Agency, but the Power Forward position isn’t the greatest need for the team.
Even with Langhorne’s retirement, the Storm currently have a surplus of talented post players including Breanna Stewart, (presumably) Natasha Howard, Mercedes Russell, Ezi Magbegor, Morgan Tuck, and now Candice Dupree.
The team currently appears to be lacking wing players and guards. The loss of Alysha Clark still looms large. As does the uncertainty of Sami Whitcomb’s status. Whitcomb is currently a Restricted Free Agent but has not signed with Seattle or any other WNBA team two weeks into Free Agency.
There is some speculation that Whitcomb could sit out the 2021 WNBA season due to a variety of reasons including the pandemic, the recent birth of her child late last year, and the travel restrictions between Australia and the United States with the Olympics still tentatively scheduled for this year (Whitcomb is playing for the Australian National Team). This would explain why Whitcomb has yet to re-sign with the Storm or sign a new contract with any other WNBA team. However, this is purely Internet chatter at this time.
We’re also missing clarity on the Storm’s first-round pick in 2020, Kitija Laksa. Laksa, who appears to be a natural replacement for Whitcomb if Sami opts to sign with another franchise, is not currently listed on the team’s official roster.
In 2019, the Storm drafted Ezi Magbegor but kept her overseas in Australia for an extra year. Magbegor joined the team in 2020 and played a solid role off the bench in helping Seattle win their 4th WNBA Championship.
The plan for Laksa appears to be the same. With her staying overseas during the 2020 season with the potential to join the team during the 2021 season. But as of right now, she is not listed on their 2021 roster. And until she officially joins the club, there will be questions on whether she’s playing with the team this year or not.
Currently, Seattle only has three guards on the team in Jewell Loyd, Jordin Canada, and Epiphanny Prince (who re-signed this offseason). Bird is expected to re-sign with the team once the front office has a clear idea of their salary cap situation, but she is technically still a Free Agent at this time.
Coach Dan Hughes, Alisha Valavanis, and the Storm still have plenty of options as we get further into the offseason. The team currently owns the 11th and 18th overall picks in the upcoming WNBA Draft and could select a Guard/Wing with either or both selections. The team could also opt to play with a larger lineup moving Breanna Stewart and/or Morgan Tuck to the Small Forward position. They could also opt to cut a player like Tuck in favor of signing a guard. Lastly, they could choose to trade a player like Natasha Howard or Mercedes Russell, in order to free up playing time for Candice Dupree.
While I personally wouldn’t advise trading away younger talented players like Howard or Russell in favor of the 15-year veteran Dupree. It is certainly one option that the team has as I previously discussed in this article: Pros & Cons to trading Natasha Howard.
The Storm currently have nine players listed on their 2021 roster which includes: Jordin Canada, Candice Dupree, Natasha Howard, Jewell Loyd, Ezi Magbegor, Epiphanny Prince, Mercedes Russell, Breanna Stewart, and Morgan Tuck.
We know Sue Bird is coming back, so that makes ten. Depending on the total salaries, the Storm will be able to add 1-2 more players to their roster. If Bird, Whitcomb, and Laksa all join the team, that means there wouldn’t be room for even their first-round pick this season.
If the team announces another free agent signing beside one of those three players, that means someone is likely being cut or traded away.
Make sure you’re following me on Twitter @WNBAStormChaser and checking back here for continued coverage of the Storm as we gear up for the 2021 WNBA season!
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