The Los Angeles Sparks trade Noelle Quinn to the Washington Mystics for Marissa Coleman.
The first move of the WNBA free agency signing period turned out to be a trade that would’ve been perfectly legal back before free agency started. LA and Washington decided that their underperforming backup wings might do better if they swapped them around, so Noelle Quinn and Marissa Coleman both face a change of scenery next season. Given how they played in 2011, it probably can’t hurt.
Cored: Deanna Nolan
Unrestricted Free Agents: Jennifer Lacy, Betty Lennox, Sheryl Swoopes
Restricted Free Agents: Amber Holt
Reserved: Abi Olajuwon
I’ve said it over and over again, so it won’t be a surprise to hear it one more time – this team just needs talent. It doesn’t matter where, although they have bigger holes at some spots than others, they just need as many players as they can find who are true WNBA quality and are willing to sign and play for the Tulsa Shock. Bringing in Indiana assistant Gary Kloppenburg as their new head coach looks like a good move, introducing someone who knows the league and the women’s game to a franchise that desperately needed that infusion. He already turned Andrea Riley into Temeka Johnson, so they would seem to be heading in the right direction.
As with last year, and even after acquiring Johnson from Phoenix, the Shock basically have more cap space than they know what to do with. They’ll probably keep Amber Holt, even though I’m yet to see much real WNBA talent from her in the four years she’s played in the league. Jennifer Lacy can fill out a post rotation, so they might give her another deal (although as with Holt, I wouldn’t go much past the minimum, even with all that cap space to burn). It’s probably time for Betty Lennox to retire and stay retired. Sheryl Swoopes may be a different story, after suggesting she at least has a little gas left in the tank last season. Continue reading
Unrestricted Free Agents: Sue Bird, Katie Smith, Belinda Snell, Tanisha Wright
Restricted Free Agents: Allie Quigley
Reserved: Ewelina Kobryn
It’s a good thing that Storm fans have grown to trust head coach/GM Brian Agler, or that would be a pretty damn scary list. With Lauren Jackson missing for the first half of the 2012 season training with Australia for the Olympics, and having traded away both Swin Cash and Le’coe Willingham at the start of this month, now every guard worth anything from last year’s roster is an unrestricted free agent. In fact, Seattle’s current opening day lineup is TBA/TBA/TBA/Little/Robinson. However, the fact that Agler chose not to use his core designation on anyone has to be a sign of confidence. If there was less than a 100% chance in his mind that Sue Bird was going to stick around, he’d have used it on her. And once he was sure about Bird, he could easily have used it on Tanisha Wright instead – but didn’t. That almost certainly means that both will return, and it’s largely a matter of when, not if, they’ll sign. Wright should get a decent little raise as well.
With Cash gone, the Storm will probably also hope to retain Katie Smith’s services. She took a significant pay cut to join Agler – her former ABL coach – in Seattle, so they may have to make it up to her with a bit more cash this year, but she’ll probably stick around. Continue reading
Unrestricted Free Agents: Ruth Riley, Scholanda Robinson, (Ann Wauters)
Restricted Free Agents: None
Reserved: None
It’s a short list of existing players that San Antonio have to deal with this year. Riley’s been a stalwart for them for five seasons now, but no longer seems particularly vital to their roster. Her size and willingness to fight for the cause are useful, but she’s their starting center and they’re an appalling rebounding team – which tells you a lot. She comes with her own faults, but Jayne Appel is probably ready to fill Riley’s limited role, which would then just leave the problem of filling Appel’s spot. They’d probably like to keep Riley around, because 6-5 centers don’t grow on trees, but they’d also probably like her price to come down quite a bit. She’s no longer worth the sums they’ve been paying her in prior years. There’ve also been suggestions from some quarters that she’s considering retirement. Scholanda Robinson wandered in and out of Dan Hughes’s rotation in 2011, despite starting over half their games. With her limited production, it’s hard to see them paying her much more than the veteran’s minimum, and she may find a more favourable situation somewhere else.
The Silver Stars already have some cap space to explore free agency, and if they don’t re-sign Riley they’ve got a whole lot more. The primary need is glaringly obvious – rebounding and interior presence. One potential source for that was Ann Wauters, the Belgian center who last played in the WNBA for San Antonio in 2009. She’s reportedly made some indications that she wants to return to the league this year. However, the Silver Stars cored her in 2010, but decided not to keep the designation attached to her in 2011, which made her an unrestricted free agent. The expectation was that if she ever decided to return to the WNBA, her loyalty to her former team would take her back to San Antonio even without being cored. Rumour has it that Wauters may be returning, but that it could well be to a different city, which will leave San Antonio searching for other options. Continue reading
Unrestricted Free Agents: Marie Ferdinand-Harris, Sidney Spencer
Restricted Free Agents: Ketia Swanier
Reserved: Alexis Gray-Lawson, Krystal Thomas
Unlike so many other teams, this is all about who the Mercury might be able to bring in, not who they’ll be able to keep. They obviously have little interest in Sidney Spencer, because they didn’t even give her the qualifying offer that would’ve made her a restricted free agent. Marie Ferdinand-Harris was wildly overpaid yet again last season, and may return if the Mercury strike out on more appealing options (but hopefully at a lower figure than last season). They’ll probably want to keep Swanier around after the years she’s already played in their system, but they’ll be hoping it’s at the veteran minimum (if anyone else wants to pay her more than that – which admittedly seems unlikely – I’d let her walk). Alexis Gray-Lawson and Krystal Thomas will both probably receive minimum deals for the chance to make the squad in training camp.
Now for the meaningful bit. They dumped starting point guard Temeka Johnson in a trade for Andrea Riley a couple of weeks ago, and the only way that move makes sense is if they use the consequent cap space to make a splash. Having given away Kara Braxton during the season, and with Ferdinand-Harris’s contract expiring, they already had some room to work with – and with Johnson gone they’ve added an extra $50,000 or so. The most obvious hole is at the point, because none of Swanier, Riley or Gray-Lawson are likely to be the answer. Sue Bird would be the first choice by a mile, but Seattle would’ve cored her if they’d felt there was any chance that she would leave. Candice Wiggins may well be the next option, and with Diana Taurasi’s passing ability they may well feel that Wiggins wouldn’t have to play as any kind of ‘true’ point guard to fit easily in their backcourt. Continue reading
Cored: Taj McWilliams-Franklin
Unrestricted Free Agents: None
Restricted Free Agents: Alexis Hornbuckle, Charde Houston, Candice Wiggins
Reserved: Jessica Adair
After cantering to the championship in 2011, it’s almost unfair how little the Lynx have to worry about in the offseason. They did precisely what some of us suggested New York should’ve done last season, and used their core spot on Taj McWilliams-Franklin to prevent her wanderlust taking her elsewhere. The mild danger was that she’d be offended by her choice being taken away and retire or demand a trade in response, but she’s already confirmed that she’s coming back to the Lynx (she’s not technically allowed to have officially signed yet). That immediately solidifies their post rotation for next season. Everyone else is at least somewhat under Minnesota’s control.
The restricted free agent most important to them last year was Candice Wiggins, who I’m sure they’d like to keep, but with some hesitation. They’ve got the cap room to pay her this year, but with her injury history and other youngsters they’ll need to pay in the future, they may be reluctant to go too high or for too many years. We’re also going to see teams and players start wondering about what might change in the next CBA soon, because the current one runs out after the 2013 season. Would the Lynx risk giving Wiggins a three-year deal when that third year would be part of a future agreement which they can currently only guess at? Continue reading
Unrestricted Free Agents: Ticha Penicheiro, Tina Thompson
Restricted Free Agents: Candace Parker
Reserved: Natasha Lacy, Jenna O’Hea, LaToya Pringle
As with Chicago, LA’s biggest piece shouldn’t be too complicated. Parker gets the max for as many years as she’s willing to sign for (the maximum is four years when re-signing or extending your own players, three years otherwise). She’s not going anywhere.
The golden oldies are interesting cases. Ticha Penicheiro has only been signing one-year deals for ages now, so she’s a free agent yet again. The legs might not go quite as fast as they used to, and her scoring remains virtually non-existent, but there are still plenty of teams who’d love to have a point guard like her who knows how to run a team. Given that they still haven’t found her successor (Kristi Toliver, Noelle Quinn and Natasha Lacy all seem better off as wings), that list of teams who’d love to have her still includes LA. Seeing as Penicheiro still hasn’t played a single WNBA season outside of California, they’re probably favourites to re-sign her, but they’ll have competition. Tina Thompson has looked disgruntled and miserable for much of the last couple of years in LA, and had an ugly 2011 season. With plenty of other options at power forward, and the #1 pick in the draft (expected to be yet another 4 in Nneka Ogwumike, unless someone unexpected declares), the Sparks don’t really need her any more. There’s always the chance that she’ll retire, and her legacy might earn her another year or two in LA from mercurial GM Penny Toler, but part of me wouldn’t be surprised if Thompson’s playing somewhere else in 2012. Continue reading
Cored: Monique Currie
Unrestricted Free Agents: Alana Beard, Kelly Miller, DeMya Walker
Restricted Free Agents: Matee Ajavon, Nicky Anosike, Crystal Langhorne, Kerri Gardin
Reserved: None
The decision already made by the Mystics in this free agency period is an interesting one. For so long Alana Beard was considered the cornerstone of the franchise, but after two years without seeing her set foot on a WNBA floor, Washington chose to core Monique Currie instead. Given all the injuries, it was an understandable choice. There’s still a chance that Beard returns, but she’s not even back playing in Europe at this stage. If someone takes a chance on her again, it seems like it might be a different franchise – you get the feeling that the Mystics are tired of paying her to sit around in street clothes, and both sides might benefit from a split.
Currie shouldn’t be a problem now that they’ve cored her – just a matter of how many years she signs for – but after finishing 6-28 last season they have some decisions to make with their restricted free agents. How hard do you try to keep the key pieces from a roster that only won six games? Continue reading
Unrestricted Free Agents: None
Restricted Free Agents: Essence Carson, Leilani Mitchell
Reserved: None
Not a huge number of decisions for John Whisenant and the Liberty, but a couple of interesting ones. Essence Carson showed the skills last season to be an effective scoring wing in this league, along with her defensive skills, so someone’s going to pay her high-end money. But after growing up in Jersey, then going to Rutgers, she obviously has strong ties to the area and seems unlikely to want to leave now that she’s a key part of the rotation. I’d expect the two sides to come to an agreement, but they’re going to have to pay her properly.
Leilani Mitchell has become a more complicated choice than Carson. Continue reading
Cored: Tamika Catchings
Unrestricted Free Agents: Shyra Ely
Restricted Free Agents: Erin Phillips
Reserved: Shannon Bobbitt
Taking no risks whatsoever, the Fever cored Tamika Catchings again. Here it gets a little complicated. In the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) they introduced a five-time limit for coring. Once a player has played under the core designation for five seasons, teams are no longer allowed to core her. By my count, Catchings has played the last four years as Indiana’s cored player, making this the last time the Fever (or anyone else in the WNBA) would be allowed to core her. Under one reading of the CBA, that also means she’s only allowed to sign a one-year deal (because any longer would take her past the five-time limit). That’s not how I read it, but if she does sign a one-year deal – either through choice or because that’s how the league interprets the rule – 12 months from now could be a scary time for Fever fans. For the first time, the player their team revolves around would be a true unrestricted free agent with open choice about who to play for. Anyway, unless they decide to trade her before potentially losing her for nothing, Catch should be in Indiana for at least the 2012 season. Continue reading
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