PG: Temeka Johnson/Ketia Swanier

SG: Diana Taurasi/Alexis Gray-Lawson/Marie Ferdinand-Harris(/Bonner)

SF: Penny Taylor/DeWanna Bonner

PF: Candice Dupree(/Bonner)

C: Kara Braxton/Nakia Sanford/Olayinka Sanni(/Bonner)

—–

Head coach: Corey Gaines

Significant additions: Sanford, I guess, and Braxton from the start of the season instead of the middle. So not much, except the hope that Taurasi’s rested and angry.

Significant losses: Tangela Smith.

—–

It was tumultuous offseason for the Mercury, despite the minimal changes made to the actual roster. Diana Taurasi’s reported positive drug test, later rescinded by the Turkish lab that performed it, led to all kinds of debates about whether Taurasi could play in the WNBA while FIBA suspended her, a potential lifetime ban from the Olympics, and whether all the Americans playing in Europe every year could trust that they’d be treated fairly. Continue reading →