Monthly Archives: May 2014

WNBA 2014 In-Depth Previews: Washington Mystics

 

Ivory Latta/Bria Hartley
Kara Lawson/Kalana Greene/(Tayler Hill)
Monique Currie/Tierra Ruffin-Pratt
Emma Meesseman/Tianna Hawkins/Jelena Milovanovic
Kia Vaughn/Stefanie Dolson

plus maybe the suspended Quanitra Hollingsworth at some point as an extra big, if she ever deigns to show up.

 

Significant additions: Lawson, Hawkins, Dolson, Hartley
Significant losses: Crystal Langhorne, Matee Ajavon, Michelle Snow, Hill for at least part of the season

—–

 

After a couple of embarrassingly terrible years, Mike Thibault took over and made this franchise respectable again last season. He turned over half the roster, created a cohesive and deep team, and just flat-out got them playing again. They didn’t have the most talent in the league, but they were organised and they worked hard, and finished the season at exactly .500. That’s a big step up when you were 11-57 combined in the previous two years. Now there’s a new test – whether they can take the next step. A risky trade gave up a player they’ve built around for a long time, but there are some other new pieces on a young team that’s still hoping to improve from within. Sometimes becoming ‘decent’ is a relatively straightforward first step. Getting to ‘good’ can be much trickier.

 

The Crystal Langhorne trade on draft night means that Monique Currie is now the only remaining player from the pre-Thibault era. But continuing the roster turnover wasn’t a good enough reason to give up a still relatively young all-star calibre player, unless Tianna Hawkins or Bria Hartley turn out to be very, very good. Hartley joins a backcourt that’s now going to have to be the driving force for this team. Ivory Latta will team with Kara Lawson as the starters in a pairing that will be hard to guard, with both players capable of running the offense or scoring in bunches. Latta’s a quick, dynamic player who’s learned how to distribute a little more rather than always looking for her own shot. Lawson’s one of the best outside shooters in the women’s game, and will be delighted to reunite with Thibault after being unhappy that he was dismissed in Connecticut. Hartley can do a little of everything as the backup to both, and they recently added Kalana Greene – another former Sun player – to be an extra defensive option on the wing. Sometime during the season Tayler Hill may also return from her pregnancy to provide another option – although after a disappointing rookie season and the baby, it’s probably best not to expect much from that avenue until 2015.

 

At small forward they’ve got a strong, physical pair in Currie and Tierra Ruffin-Pratt, who impressed last season after being picked up as an unrestricted free agent. Neither is entirely reliable on a night-to-night basis, but between them they can cover the spot competently and break out at times. Ruffin-Pratt should be more comfortable in her second season, and might take another step forward. Greene could get some minutes at the 3 as well when necessary.

 

Down in the paint is where they’re going to have to work things out as they go along. Langhorne may not have produced in the last couple of years quite as well as she had beforehand, but she was reliable. Now the only big on the opening day roster with significant WNBA experience is center Kia Vaughn. She’s a solid pivot, a decent defender, and capable of providing some interior scoring and rebounding, but you can’t consistently run your offense through her. She’ll be backed up by rookie Stefanie Dolson, another graduate of the UConn production line, just like Hartley. Jayne Appel was the most common comparison for Dolson, but Dolson’s a little more aggressive in looking for her own offense. She’s also a good passer from the high and low post, and Thibault will make use of that.

 

Continue reading →

WNBA 2014 In-Depth Previews: New York Liberty

 

Cappie Pondexter/Anna Cruz
Essence Carson/Chucky Jeffery/Sugar Rodgers
Alex Montgomery/Toni Young
Plenette Pierson/DeLisha Milton-Jones
Tina Charles/Kara Braxton

plus the injured Kamiko Williams, who they can’t replace because she tore her ACL in training camp and therefore has to be paid her salary for this season – and they don’t have the remaining cap space to sign someone else if they cut her.

 

Significant additions: Charles, Carson back from injury, black uniforms
Significant losses: Kelsey Bone, Leilani Mitchell

—–

 

There are lots of positives for the New York Liberty heading into this season. They got their second superstar when Tina Charles decided she’d had enough of Connecticut and wanted to come home. Essence Carson is back after blowing out her ACL four games into last season. They’re back in Madison Square Garden after three years exiled to New Jersey due to renovations. They’re reverting to the black road uniforms that no one ever wanted them to get rid of in the first place. Cappie Pondexter and Bill Laimbeer have had a full year to get to know each other and find a fit for this team that should work. So why does it still feel like this team has a lot more questions than answers circling around it going into 2014?

 

A central part of the problem is just what else is there besides the stars. Yes, Carson is back to help Pondexter out in the backcourt, take on some of the scoring load, and generally give them better options on the perimeter than they had last year. But we don’t know quite what she’ll produce coming off a serious knee injury, or if her body will hold up for 34 games. Talking of bodies holding up, that’s a question mark elsewhere as well. Plenette Pierson, a very good forward in this league for a lot of years, struggled through much of last season with a variety of injuries. Then she suffered another knee injury late in her season overseas that her European team called an ACL tear. Laimbeer has said it wasn’t as serious as initially reported, and apparently she’s been running in camp, but no one is remotely sure what she’ll be able to produce this season. Her body already seemed to be breaking down last year, so adding one more major issue on top is not good news for an important player for the Liberty.

 

That leaves lots of kids, unknowns and role players trying to fill holes on the Liberty roster. DeLisha Milton-Jones has an awful lot of miles on her clock, and looked just about done last year in stints with San Antonio and then New York. She’ll be playing significant minutes if Pierson isn’t ready. Kara Braxton will be her usual enigmatic self, showing flashes of real talent one moment, before Bad Kara emerges and does three things that make you want to throw something at her. Toni Young showed off her athleticism last season as a rookie, but not a lot else, and she’s still a combo-forward who hasn’t proven she can play either spot effectively until we see otherwise. Alex Montgomery is a hard-working, decent wing who might be starting at small forward due to the lack of alternatives.

 

The other perimeter backups are Anna Cruz, a Spanish combo-guard making her first foray into WNBA basketball. She has played some point guard, and she might be Pondexter’s backup on this roster, but this is by no means Celine Dumerc that they’ve added. Cruz is decent, but that’s about it, and the history of Euros translating their ‘decent’ play over to the WNBA isn’t great. Chucky Jeffery is back as well, and might be the alternative backup ballhandler if Cruz doesn’t work out. We didn’t see much of her last year in Minnesota or New York, so Liberty fans can only hope that she’s developed. Sugar Rodgers was also acquired from Minnesota – who otherwise likely would’ve cut her – and will happily come off the bench and start firing away. This bench is a lot of different random pieces with the hope that a couple step up and produce.

 

Continue reading →

WNBA 2014 In-Depth Previews: Indiana Fever

 

Briann January/Sydney Carter
Shavonte Zellous/Layshia Clarendon/Maggie Lucas
Marissa Coleman/Karima Christmas
Tamika Catchings/Natasha Howard
Erlana Larkins/Lynetta Kizer/Jasmine Hassell

 

Significant additions: Howard, whatever they can get out of Coleman and Kizer
Significant losses: Katie Douglas, Erin Phillips, Jeanette Pohlen and Jessica Davenport (although all four were missing for huge chunks of last season as well)

—–

 

While there is turmoil everywhere else, the Indiana Fever, Tamika Catchings and Lin Dunn just keep chugging along, showing up and winning games. That said, 2013 was a difficult season for Indiana. They suffered through so many injuries that it was hard to stay afloat, but the weakness of the Eastern Conference helped, they battled their way to the playoffs, and then made the Eastern Finals anyway after toppling Chicago in the first round. There’s been some re-shaping in the offseason as well, but if this franchise is nothing else, it’s reliable. With Catchings still there as the foundation, it’s hard to see them taking much of a backwards step.

 

However, they have lost players worth mentioning, even if they were largely players that they’ve grown accustomed to surviving without. Katie Douglas was Catchings’s primary partner-in-crime for several years, but after multiple recent injuries she’d missed a lot of time and the Fever didn’t want to guarantee her salary. She took a better offer from Connecticut. Before that, they’d already traded point guard Erin Phillips to Phoenix, which also weakened their perimeter options. Dunn never seemed to entirely trust Phillips to run the team, but she could hit shots and provide energy at either guard spot. More shooting disappeared in training camp when Jeanette Pohlen tore her left Achilles (and was later released). They also lost center Jessica Davenport to retirement earlier in the offseason.

 

But all those players, bar Phillips, missed the majority of last season due to injury (and Phillips missed a significant part, before playing hurt for much of the remainder). That gave them a head start on learning how to play without them and building the squad without counting on them. The poor regular season last year also presented them with the #5 overall pick in the draft, the highest they’ve selected since 2005. They won’t be worrying too much about the pieces that are gone.

 

Catchings will be their leader as always. A hard-nosed, constantly active defender, she’s also often on the ball offensively, driving and creating for the team. Her jump shot’s become more reliable over the years as well, although it showed a few cracks at times last season. Shavonte Zellous has developed into a useful complement to Catchings, stepping up last year in Douglas’s absence and earning all-star recognition. She’s worked on her perimeter game to add to her driving skills, and can take on most of the offensive load that Douglas used to carry. Briann January is also still there at the point to keep their continuity flowing. She’s become a little overrated over the years, and often has trouble finishing at the rim, but she’s a quick and annoying defender, and she can knock down the open shot from outside.

 

Continue reading →

2014 WNBA In-Depth Previews: Connecticut Sun

 

Alex Bentley/Renee Montgomery
Allison Hightower/Danielle McCray/Kelly Faris
Katie Douglas/Alyssa Thomas
Chiney Ogwumike/Kelsey Griffin
Kelsey Bone/Yelena Leuchanka

plus either Kayla Pedersen or Kelley Cain as the fifth post you hope never plays.

 

Significant additions: Ogwumike, Thomas, Douglas, Bone, Bentley, hopefully a little bit of giving a crap
Significant losses: Tina Charles, Kara Lawson, Mistie Bass, Tan White, Asjha Jones is even more injured this year, forgot to fire Anne Donovan

—–

 

Well if we thought Chicago’s offseason was messy, welcome to a team where a bomb went off. This franchise was a perennial contender under Mike Thibault, but in their first season under Anne Donovan last year they fell off a cliff. No one was happy about Thibault being let go, Asjha Jones skipped the year to rest her body, Kara Lawson and Tina Charles pouted their way through the entire season, Donovan produced a coaching stinkbomb, and they crawled their way to just 10 wins. On the bright side, that produced the #1 overall pick in the draft, and a clear direction to rebuild. When Lawson and Charles demanded out at different stages in the offseason, resulting in trades and several new young pieces, it only hastened the process. What they’re left with is an interesting squad that has a chance to be competitive pretty darn quickly, and that can grow together in future seasons. Even without their stars from previous years, there’s a sense of renewed optimism around this squad in 2014 (even if I’d rather have seen them start afresh with a new head coach as well).

 

Perhaps the most surprising move, and their only meaningful free agent pickup, was the return of Katie Douglas. She spent five years playing in Connecticut, developing into a star, before being granted her wish for a trade back home to Indiana in 2008. Various injuries in recent years made the Fever reluctant to give her guaranteed money this offseason, so she accepted the Sun’s offer when they were willing to take the risk. If she stays healthy, she’s still a very good player. She can light it up from outside, has those occasional sweeping drives (always to her stronger left hand, not that defenses ever seem to have noticed that), and she’s typically been one of the better perimeter defenders in the league. At the very least she’s a veteran leader for a young squad, but it’ll be a massive help for this team if she can stay fit enough to actually lead them on the floor.

 

Joining Douglas on the perimeter is a group of players that ought to be able to combine as a fairly effective group. Allison Hightower made the all-star team last year after taking on a bigger role when teammates were dropping like flies around her. She’s an excellent defender, has worked hard on her shooting and scoring, and can handle the ball well enough to take pressure off the nominal point guard (or just play point herself, at times). Alex Bentley and Renee Montgomery will likely be the players more frequently referred to as the official point guards on this team. Bentley was the main returning piece from the Lawson trade, an aggressive combo guard whose rookie season tailed off badly after a hot start in Atlanta last year. There’s some promise there, but some development is necessary from what we saw in 2013. Montgomery is Montgomery at this point in her career. A score-first point guard who won’t shoot a high percentage, she can still be an electric burst of energy off the bench and has won the Sixth Woman of the Year award in the past (although the voting that year made very little sense). She can also be a negative for her own team when she’s not clicking.

 

Continue reading →

WNBA 2014 In-Depth Previews: Chicago Sky

 

Courtney Vandersloot
Epiphanny Prince/Tamera Young/Allie Quigley/Aaryn Ellenberg/Jamierra Faulkner
Elena Delle Donne/Courtney Clements
Jessica Breland/Gennifer Brandon
Sylvia Fowles/Sasha Goodlett/Markeisha Gatling

subtract Faulkner, Ellenberg, Clements or Brandon whenever Prince shows up (or possibly by the end of today, depending on how they go about things)

 

Significant additions: Breland, and they hope Gatling and/or Goodlett
Significant losses: Fowles for a while to start the season, a little bit of Prince for undisclosed reasons, Swin Cash, Carolyn Swords, Shay Murphy, sense of optimism

—–

 

Last year was meant to be the breakthrough for the Chicago Sky. After years in the doldrums, the arrival of Elena Delle Donne was like a ray of sunshine brushing away the clouds. They finally forced their way to the top of the Eastern Conference, and made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. They were summarily dumped out in the first round by Indiana, which was a disappointing finish after such a strong regular season, but it still felt like they’d taken strides forwards. It’s kind of a shame that the offseason hasn’t managed to carry that positivity through to 2014.

 

After her season in China, franchise center Sylvia Fowles came home and had arthroscopic surgery on her hip to repair a torn labrum and impingement. The Sky kept it quiet for weeks, and once they released the information have been reluctant to put a date on when she might return. Somewhere in the middle of the season is about as good of an estimate as any of us can come up with. She said ‘soon’ in a recent interview, but that could mean anything as well. The absence of Fowles changes everything for this franchise. Delle Donne might’ve been the final piece that helped them break through, but Fowles was the bedrock that they were built on, especially defensively. She filled the lane and covered for mistakes made elsewhere, while also providing efficient scoring in the paint whenever her teammates could actually get her the ball. They need her back, and they need her back soon.

 

They also lost another frontcourt piece due to the Swin Cash saga, which again complicates their defense more than anything else. The plan in virtually every game last year was for Fowles to take the primary low post threat, put Cash on the most dangerous forward, and then Delle Donne could hide as much as possible on whoever was left. With Cash gone and Fowles out for an indeterminate period, Delle Donne’s going to have to work much harder defensively, even regardless of the extra scoring load Fowles’s absence will place on her shoulders.

 

Continue reading →

WNBA 2014 In-Depth Previews: Atlanta Dream

 

We’re back again for another year! As always, we’ll be going team-by-team with these previews, starting with the Eastern Conference (as tradition dictates). The East will be going up in relatively quick succession; you’ll have to wait a little bit for the West. Enjoy, and feel free to reply, debate, argue or whatever in the comments section below.

—–

 

Celine Dumerc/Shoni Schimmel/Jasmine Thomas
Tiffany Hayes/Matee Ajavon
Angel McCoughtry/Swin Cash
Sancho Lyttle/Aneika Henry
Erika de Souza/Nadia Gomes Colhado

plus either Inga Orekhova or Amanda Thompson (or maybe both, until Dumerc arrives)

Significant additions: Dumerc, Cash, Schimmel, Ajavon, new head coach Michael Cooper
Significant losses: Alex Bentley, Armintie Herrington, Le’coe Willingham if we’re already stretching ‘significant’, former head coach Fred Williams

—–

 

Dream fans were starting to get a little worried early in the 2014 offseason. For a squad that had reached the WNBA Finals in three of the last four years, there was still a clear weakness in perimeter shooting that needed to be addressed, and some question marks around their guard corps. Also, once again, they’d allowed two key players to become unrestricted free agents at the same time, and could only core one of them to make sure she couldn’t leave. They used that spot on center Erika de Souza, allowing wing Armintie Herrington free rein to choose her own destination – and she ultimately chose Los Angeles. Then they made a surprising trade that gave up young combo-guard Alex Bentley for veteran conscience-less 2-guard Matee Ajavon, opening up a big hole at point guard that there didn’t seem to be anyone around to fill. Even with the core of Angel McCoughtry, Sancho Lyttle and de Souza still in place, Michael Cooper’s first year as Dream head coach was looking tricky before it began.

 

Then the pieces started to fall into place. The big move was coaxing French point guard Celine Dumerc into finally giving the WNBA a try. The consensus best lead guard in Europe for quite some time now, Dumerc is a smart, heady player who can run a team, is comfortable playing a background role to other stars when necessary, but can shoot upwards of 40% from three-point range and has a fondness for making big shots. Almost the exact definition for what Atlanta needed in a point guard, considering their volatile star player and limited perimeter shooting. The only negative with Dumerc is that the French season is running long this year, and her Bourges team tend to win everything, so she’s there to the bitter end. She’s missed the whole of training camp, and there’s still a week to go in the French playoffs. So she’ll be late, and it might take her a little while to acclimatise, but by the time we reach the games that matter in August and September she should’ve fit right in.

 

The Dream also added Louisville’s Shoni Schimmel in the draft, and then picked up veteran forward Swin Cash for virtually nothing from Chicago. Schimmel was something of a loose cannon in college, a scorer who can let fly from anywhere and make showtime passes, who sometimes tried to do a bit too much. Cooper apparently wants to make her into a scoring point guard, which might take some time, but with combo-guard Jasmine Thomas as an alternative backup at the point he has other options to run the offense until Dumerc takes over. Cash was a surprise bonus when Chicago gave up on holding her and practically gave her away for free. While not the player she once was, she’s still a strong presence, a solid defender, and can give you reliable minutes without taking much off the table.

 

Continue reading →

WNBAlien Special – Grading the Trade Catchup: Charles forces her way to New York, Sun make the best of it

 

The biggest news of the WNBA’s draft night this year had nothing to do with the players being selected. The Connecticut Sun had the #1 overall pick, and everyone had known Chiney Ogwumike was heading there from the moment the lottery ping-pong balls handed it to them. But the Sun still managed to be involved in the central story of the night, sending malcontented star center Tina Charles to the New York Liberty for center Kelsey Bone, the #4 pick (which immediately became Maryland’s Alyssa Thomas), and New York’s first-round pick in next year’s draft.

 

Charles being traded wasn’t really a big surprise. Last season in Connecticut was an absolute disaster, with several players upset about Mike Thibault being fired as head coach, Anne Donovan unable to take control or win key players over after being handed the reins, and then various injuries (and ‘injuries’) piling on top. As a result, a franchise that had won 25 games and been inches away from the WNBA Finals in 2012, finished with the worst record in the league and became a punchline in 2013.

 

Charles herself had a dismal season last year. She looked half-interested much of the time (at best), and reluctant to join the scrap under the basket when she had limited help around her. Donovan’s schemes, which seemed to encourage her to play further away from the basket, didn’t help. The raw numbers of 18 points and 10 rebounds per game were pretty impressive in a strange way – Charles was still piling them up even while playing on auto-pilot. The 40% field-goal percentage, for a freaking center, was staggeringly atrocious.

 

Some of her quotes towards the end of last season showed how unhappy she was with the way the year had gone, and hinted at a wish to get out – or to sit out. As always, that’s the primary negotiating tool for any WNBA player remotely near star-level. They make significantly more money overseas, so simply sitting out the WNBA season to rest their bodies before heading back to Europe or Asia is always an option. More often, it’s a threat. Trade me (sometimes ‘trade me to the specific city I want to play in’) or I just won’t play, has become a fairly common refrain around the WNBA.

 

Continue reading →

WNBAlien Special – Grading the Trade Catchup: Storm swipe Langhorne, Mystics go young

 

In merely the second-biggest trade of 2014’s draft night, an All-Star power forward was traded for two youngsters with no WNBA pedigree whatsoever. Described like that, you have to wonder why Washington’s Mike Thibault – generally considered one of the smarter guys working in the WNBA – would be willing to give up Crystal Langhorne for two unknown quantities on the pro level in Tianna Hawkins and Bria Hartley. Certainly from the perspective of his counterpart in Seattle, Brian Agler, the move seemed like a no-brainer.

 

When Langhorne came into the league in 2008, taken by the Mystics with the sixth overall pick, many people had their doubts about her. She had limited success in her first year, due to defensive issues and a complete lack of range offensively. But even then there were signs of something pretty impressive, and by her second season she was already starting to look like an all-star talent. She worked on her shot, developing reliable range out to at least 15 feet, and while she’s never going to be a shut-down defender, she’s become solid enough on that end of the floor. She’s always been an impressive finisher around the rim and a decent rebounder, and with Lauren Jackson missing yet another season in Seattle that was something the Storm sorely needed. When you consider Agler’s well-known preference for veterans over youngsters, upgrading to Langhorne in the post for the cost of just Hawkins and the 7th pick in the 2014 draft made a lot of sense for Seattle.

 

There are a couple of factors that you can point to as to why Thibault might’ve been willing to let Langhorne go. While she’s missed very few games (just six in total over six years in the WNBA), she’s been troubled by various minor injuries in recent year. That includes back problems, which can be a persistent nightmare for posts that have to battle away in the paint. Maybe he felt she was starting to break down, and was willing to give her up a year too early in order to avoid moving her a year too late, when her value might’ve fallen more significantly. She’s also become less of a focal point of Washington’s offense in the last couple of years, and her numbers have dropped off a little as a result. Thibault got the Mystics playing as more of a collective last year, improving their results but somewhat minimising Langhorne’s role. They didn’t need, or want, to just dump the ball to her in the post every time down the floor. But she’s only 27, and Seattle will be hoping for several good years from her yet. Meanwhile Washington’s front-line suddenly has a much more questionable look about it.

 

Continue reading →

WNBAlien Special – Grading the Trade Catchup: Dream Cash in when Sky cave

 

Over the years, I’ve heard it referred to as a lot of things. A bag of chips. A bucket of balls. A hill of beans. Plenty of other things I’m probably forgetting. It’s what you metaphorically receive when you trade someone for essentially nothing. WNBA rules require something to go in both directions in a two-team trade, and we actually saw a deal earlier this offseason that came as close to nothing as something can get – when Sugar Rodgers went from Minnesota to New York for the right to swap third-round picks in next year’s draft. Given that as a comparison, Swin Cash and a third-round pick going from Chicago to Atlanta for Courtney Clements and a second-round pick wasn’t quite a bag of chips. But it was no more than a bag and a half, and it was one of those flavours that no one actually likes.

 

The story behind this deal goes back a little way. Cash was cored by the Chicago Sky when the offseason began in earnest, after the WNBA and the Players’ Association finally agreed a new collective bargaining agreement. The core designation is like the WNBA’s version of the NFL’s franchise tag – teams can place it on one of their outgoing players who would otherwise become an unrestricted free agent, restricting that player to only being able to negotiate or sign with their existing team. In return, the player automatically receives a one-year, maximum salary contract offer – although she and the team can negotiate a deal of up to four years at any salary from the minimum to the maximum.

 

Here’s where we get into rumours and whispers, which typically carry a grain of truth but often with a bunch of supposition thrown on top. Chicago reportedly didn’t want to give Cash any more than that automatic one-year max deal. Part of the problem there may have been that any contract signed when a player is cored ties up that team’s core spot for the length of the contract (or until the player leaves the team via trade or retirement). So if, for example, Cash had signed a three-year deal with the Sky, they wouldn’t have been able to core anyone else until 2017 (unless they traded her away). That could’ve been a big problem, considering Sylvia Fowles is out of contract after this year, and losing her would be a vastly bigger deal than losing Cash. Of course, the Sky may also not have wanted to give Cash more than a year because they felt like she was getting older and wouldn’t deserve the money in later years of a longer deal.

 

Continue reading →