Closing Thoughts And A Look Ahead

Summary

No Offseason: The Athletic Women's Basketball Show Episode: Closing Thoughts And A Look Ahead
Release Date: October 3, 2023
Hosts: Sabrina Merchant, Zena Kaeda, Ben Pickman
Presented by: Michelob Ultra

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Introduction

In the episode titled "Closing Thoughts And A Look Ahead," hosts Sabrina Merchant and Zena Kaeda dive deep into the recent WNBA semifinal matchups, analyze team performances, discuss offseason strategies, and explore insights from a recent survey conducted among WNBA general managers. The conversation provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of women's basketball, highlighting key players, team dynamics, and league-wide issues.

Semifinal Series Analysis

Las Vegas Aces vs. Dallas Wings

The hosts begin by dissecting the semifinal series between the Las Vegas Aces and the Dallas Wings. Las Vegas secured a 3-0 sweep with a decisive Game 3 victory of 64-61, marking the Aces' attempt to repeat as champions—the first team to do so since the 2002 Los Angeles Sparks.

Key Points:

• Dallas Wings' Resilience: Despite the loss, the Dallas Wings showcased a commendable defense and effort. Sabrina Merchant notes, “Dallas’s defense, their effort, the way they didn’t give in… they almost won Game 3” ([06:26]).
• Critical Moments: Zena Kaeda highlights the Wings' ability to compete fiercely even when key players like Satou Sabally were under pressure, citing, “Support Aboli can play 27 minutes in a crucial game, have four fouls, go 2 of 15 from the field and they can still almost win” ([06:26]).

New York Liberty vs. Connecticut Sun

Transitioning to the Eastern Conference, the New York Liberty triumphed over the Connecticut Sun with a 4-2 series win. This victory propels the Liberty to their first Finals appearance since 2002.

Key Points:

• Jonquill Jones’ Impact: The standout performer for the Liberty, Jonquill Jones, transformed her game in the postseason. Sabrina emphasizes, “She was the most important player, the most consistent player” ([19:38]).
• Banaj Laney’s Growth: Banaj Laney emerged as a crucial player, stepping up offensively and defensively, demonstrating versatility and aggressiveness. Zena observes, “She can create her own shot off the dribble… her fearlessness” ([21:07]).

Team-Specific Offseason Outlook

Dallas Wings

The Wings face significant roster challenges moving forward, particularly concerning their point guard position. The conversation underscores the need for a more experienced or differently skilled point guard to enhance their offensive execution.

Key Insights:

• Point Guard Dilemma: Sabrina discusses the complexities of upgrading the point guard role, mentioning potential candidates like Skylar Diggins-Smith and Natasha Cloud, and the financial constraints involved ([10:21]).
• Potential Trades: Zena suggests that the Wings might consider consolidating talent through trades, although finding the right fit remains a challenge. She states, “They have a lot of developmental pieces and also some proven players… they’ll figure out a way to make the math work” ([12:36]).

New York Liberty

The Liberty’s success hinges on the continued performance of key players like Jonquill Jones and Banaj Laney. Their strategic playmaking and defensive prowess are pivotal as they advance to the Finals.

Key Insights:

• Jonquill Jones’ Evolution: Jonquill’s improvement from a hesitant start to a dominant force is highlighted as a cornerstone for the Liberty’s Finals run. Sabrina remarks, “It is a star on this team, a star member of this cast” ([19:38]).
• Banaj Laney’s Versatility: Banaj's ability to adapt and excel in multiple facets of the game makes her indispensable. Zena notes, “She is a crucial defensive player… she is expected to play a big role” ([22:59]).

Connecticut Sun

Despite consistent performances, the Sun have yet to secure a WNBA title. The offseason for Connecticut involves evaluating roster changes and addressing weaknesses, particularly in the guard positions.

Key Insights:

• Guard Stability: Zena identifies guard play as a critical area for improvement, stating, “Maybe it's the easy answer… their guards” ([25:18]).
• Free Agency Moves: Sabrina discusses potential moves and the challenges Connecticut faces in enhancing their guard lineup, emphasizing the importance of players like Breanna Stewart and Tiffany Hayes ([26:57]).

Survey Insights: WNBA General Managers

Sabrina and Zena delve into the findings from their survey of nine out of twelve WNBA general managers, focusing on team-building priorities and league-wide concerns.

Key Highlights:

• Visibility and Media Exposure: A significant number of GMs emphasized the need for increased visibility and media exposure as a top priority. Zena cites, “They talked about the importance of visibility… more TV games” ([30:37]).
• Travel and Financial Flexibility: Other common themes include concerns about travel schedules and the desire for greater financial flexibility to facilitate trades ([30:37]).
• Franchise Player Selection: Both players and GMs largely agree on Asia Wilson as the preferred franchise cornerstone, with 31% of players and 33% of GMs selecting her ([32:34], [33:21]).

League-Wide Issues: Scheduling and Overseas Play

A critical discussion centers on the WNBA's scheduling challenges, particularly the conflict with international leagues where many WNBA players compete during the offseason.

Key Points:

• Condensed Schedules: The hosts express concerns over the demanding schedules that require players to juggle WNBA playoffs with commitments to overseas teams, leading to player fatigue and potential burnout. Sabrina notes, “Five games in 34 days… unnecessarily long” ([41:21]).
• Prioritization Policies: The conversation explores the implications of the WNBA's prioritization policies, which compel players to choose between WNBA and international play, often without sufficient support or flexibility from the league ([37:00]).
• Potential Solutions: Zena and Sabrina discuss the need for better partnerships with international leagues and more accommodating scheduling to support player well-being and league growth ([40:50]).

Conclusion

The episode concludes with a reflection on the current landscape of women's basketball, emphasizing the depth of talent and the complex challenges teams face in building competitive rosters. Sabrina and Zena highlight the importance of strategic offseason moves, enhanced visibility, and improved scheduling to foster the growth and success of the WNBA.

Closing Quotes:

• Sabrina Merchant: “Keep listening, keep learning and keep loving the game. We’ll talk soon.” ([42:00])
• Zena Kaeda: “I think we could do better in that regard.” ([41:21])

Looking Ahead

Listeners are encouraged to tune in for the next episode, which will feature a deep dive preview of the WNBA Finals, offering further analysis and insights into the concluding championship series.

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Notable Quotes:

• Sabrina Merchant ([06:26]): “Dallas didn't even play that great of a game… that comes down to the final possession. That is a good sign for the Dallas Wings going forward.”
• Zena Kaeda ([10:21]): “The Wings have so much money committed already to who they have on the roster… the Wings have to figure out a way to make the math work.”
• Sabrina Merchant ([19:38]): “It really did seem like she was the most important player, the most consistent player… the one that Connecticut didn’t have an answer for.”
• Zena Kaeda ([22:59]): “She is a crucial defensive player… She is expected to play a big role.”

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This comprehensive summary captures the essence of the "Closing Thoughts And A Look Ahead" episode, providing detailed insights into the WNBA semifinals, team strategies, player performances, and overarching league challenges. Whether you're an avid listener or new to the podcast, this summary offers a thorough understanding of the critical discussions surrounding women's basketball as of early October 2023.

Transcript

[Unknown Host]

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[Sabrina Merchant]

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[Sabrina Merchant]

You'Re listening to the Athletic Women's Basketball show presented by Michelob Ultra. I'm Sabrina Merchant, national women's basketball writer for the Athletic, joined by Ben Pickman, fellow national women's basketball writer. Our host, Zena Kaeda is currently off on assignment, but rest assured she will be returning for our second episode this week when we get to our deep dive previewing the WNBA Finals. For today though, we're going to give our closing thoughts on the semifinal series between New York and Connecticut and Las Vegas and Dallas and look ahead to the off seasons for the sun and the Wings. We'll also touch on the anonymous WNBA General Manager poll that Ben and I conducted that is currently live on theathletic.com so let's start with that. Aces Wings semifinal Las Vegas won 30 winning game three, 64 to 61. The Aces become the first team since the 2017 Los Angeles Sparks to make it to the finals as the defending champs and they are seeking to become the first team to Repeat since the 2002 Los Angeles Sparks. You can see why the LA native on this pod got to do the intro then. The Aces were really tested in this one. What did you like about Dallas's performance even in defeat?

[Zena Kaeda]

I mean I thought that game three went a little bit like I thought it would, right? Dallas looking pretty good early, especially in the first half and playing the Aces really tough and Las Vegas never going away and in the end pulling it out and sweeping the Dallas Wings. I mean I think there was a lot to like about Dallas's performance. How can you not like their defense, their effort, the way they didn't give in. And I would say that Dallas didn't even play that great of a game. Like it is a good sign for the Dallas Wings going forward that Satus Aboli can play 27 minutes in a crucial game, have four fouls, go 2 of 15 from the field and they can still almost win. Like it comes down to the final possession. That is a good sign for the Dallas Wings going forward. I think. Obviously disappointment. I think you could see it in some of the faces and comments post game but also a sense of pride that they really did leave it all out there and they did push the Aces, especially in game three.

[Sabrina Merchant]

You know, this kind of reminded me of the Aces mystics semifinal in 2019 when the Aces were this up and coming team and the Mystics had been to the finals the year before, you know, lost to Seattle in that 2018 series and they just looked more composed throughout the course of that series. I believe that one went went four games. So the Aces got one on their home court. But it was really a matter of the Mystics looking like they'd been there before and the Aces not really knowing how to execute down the stretch of games. And we saw that in these games with the Wings and the aces in 2023, because a couple of these are pretty close. I think Dallas covered in both game two and game three. But you just can't go five minutes without scoring in an elimination game. Five minutes to end the game without scoring, now that I think about it. And there weren't a lot of possessions during that stretch where I was watching the Wings thinking like, oh, they just got unlucky with a shot here or like in another game, like Arique makes that shot or like this is, this is a good set. It was just a lot of rushed possessions, you know, Vegas getting what they wanted on the other end, some ill timed fouls. Like you said, it kind of gives me hope for the Wings going forward, but it also made it very clear that there is a stark divide between these two teams as is. And I think this was a fair results of how the performance across the series went.

[Zena Kaeda]

Yeah, I mean, think back also another series to think about is the Chicago Connecticut series. Right? And obviously the Chicago sky from last season, 2022 season. We're in a very different place coming off a championship. But the way Connecticut closed out game five, it felt reminiscent of this series right here. Of course again, Dallas is not a defending champions by any means, but you mentioned the final five minutes and I think that's something we should dwell on and break down a little more because like Dallas, not only did they not get a make a field goal, they didn't even make a free throw. Like they didn't score a point. And I think that's really telling because it is indicative not only of rush possessions, they're not attacking the basket. Certainly they didn't draw any fouls, they didn't even get a lucky break. You know, the Wings have a ton of talented offensive players and I think that's why it was so surprising as the clock ticked down that they still had not scored. It speaks to, I think though one of the things, and maybe we get into it now, that I think the Wings need to look at going forward and just figure out and that's their point guard position. Right. And what are they going to do at the point guard? Because Veronica Burton, she played I would say pretty well in game three. And Latricia Trammel, the head coach of the Wings, praised her afterwards, you know, noting that she had a plus 14 LT, called her the calm in the storm. But you know, if you plug a more experienced point guard and it speaks to your point, Sabrina earlier about, you know, maybe having some more experience into that spot, who can ensure you're getting better shots, then you probably don't go five minutes in a crucial game three without scoring or you perform better down the stretch. And so, you know, I guess I'm wondering what you think of how do they handle the point guard situation going forward. Where do you think Dallas kind of needs to go? What do you think they need to look at from here?

[Sabrina Merchant]

Yeah, I mean that point guard position is so interesting because we talked about how Odyssey Sims had brought a level of stability to that position like three games ago. Right. And then all of a sudden now your starting point guard from the whole season, Crystal Dangerfield, is getting two minutes in an elimination game. Your starter, Odyssey Sims, who is supposed to be your veteran, is getting 11 minutes, which is really not that much, you know, all things considered. And you're relying on a second year player who hasn't been playing all that much over the course of the regular season who like you said, Veronica Burton had some really great minutes offensively. She's just not there yet. In terms of what the Wings need to organize their offense and get a good shot in five minutes of consecutive basketball, the cap is kind of interesting for the Wings going forward because they have, you know, three max players basically in Arike, Natasha Howard and Tierra McCowan. A walk who ears got that fourth year option guaranteed a fun series for a walk. No doubt about that. But you know, even, even the rookies like Lopez Seneschal, not really a point guard, Matty Segrist is not a playmaker, more of a play finisher. They just have so much money committed already to who they have on the roster and like who's the best point guard in free agency? Skyler Diggin Smith, like that's not happening. She's not returning to Dallas. So I guess you're kind of in that Jordan Canada Natasha Cloud market. But I'm not sure that the Wings have the financial flexibility to make competitive offers to both of those based on the seasons they had. Right. Like Jordan Canada has a first team all defense season. Natasha Cloud arguably an all defensive worthy season. Had it been a position voting, I'm sure Natasha Cloud would have made an all defense team. I'm not sure that I love the fit of either of those players because I think you need a point guard who's a committed spacer, you know, like I think part of the reason Crystal Dangerfield works so well is because she's got that mid range jumper that's so deadly and you really have to pay attention to her from the perimeter. Whereas Canada great three point season this year is it going to continue going forward. Natasha Cloud, the knock on her has always been the shooting. Right. She makes it work during the playoffs, but such a small sample size, I'm not sure that we can count on that. So I don't know what the solution is. Like I kind of think you just need to draft a great point guard. But this is a team that just made the playoffs in the semifinals. They don't have a great draft pick like the great point guards that are coming out. Like is this a Georgia anymore destination? I don't know.

[Zena Kaeda]

I mean to me they're just an obvious consolidation candidate for a big trade. And we know that Greg Bibb in past off seasons has been unafraid to trade all Star level or all star players to try and improve their roster. Greg Bibb, their general manager and CEO. Like this is a team that maybe could have diamond to Shields back. They obviously traded for her in the off season. She did not play this year. They have Stephanie Suarez, a 6 foot 6 center from Iowa State who was their number 4 pick in the draft, also did not play this year because of injury. You mentioned Lulu Pez, Shana Shaw. Where does she fit in? She was the number five pick in the draft, another kind of big guard, a big win who can score and then you just go down the roster. There just aren't enough spots for all the talented players. Right. You threw out a walk away. It seems clear that she is blossoming into a pretty good player in this league and that I think is someone who I look at and would benefit from a bigger role. And I'm not exactly sure what team that looks like and I don't necessarily see her getting that much bigger of a role on the Dallas Wings as the team is currently constituted. Right. You have Maddie Segrist again, another player who they invested high in early in the draft this past year. I don't imagine they're ready to give up on her. She showed some flashes during her rookie year for sure and so they have a lot of developmental pieces and also some proven players in Satu and Arique and Tierra McCowan who all seem like core pieces and they'll figure out a way to make the math work. So I think I would be surprised frankly if Satu and Arique and Tierra McCowan all were not on the team next year. I know they have to probably do some cat juggling to make everything work. I mean if you told me they were trading Natasha Howard and she fit in really well with the Dallas Wings, but she to me Also seems like the kind of player maybe they move her and you go down the list of guards around the WNBA who might be available, you don't really see like a clean fit. Like you know, I don't know why Indiana would want to trade Kelsey Mitchell for instance. You know, see someone you would plug her in on the Dallas Wings. I think she would look pretty good. Right? I mean I don't know what you think of that name but like what's the incentive for for Indiana to trade, you know, an all star point guard who looks really good next to Leah Boston? Like they want good players and they are building in Indiana. So I don't really know. And maybe that's why we're in this chair and not in a GM chair. I just don't know what that trait is. But it does feel like they're going to have to shake things up a little bit to really take that next step going forward.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Yeah, I think you're right about the consolidation and I mentioned the financial flexibility or lack thereof going forward. I totally forgot that SATU is a restricted free agent coming up and she will be commanding a max I am sure after they didn't release the all WNBA teams but I'm sure Satus ability made her name onto an all WNBA team this year.

[Zena Kaeda]

Did not release it yet. Did not release it yet.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Yes. So four players on max or near max contracts you would assume going into next year. It's just hard to build a roster that way money wise. And then you mentioned all of those players who are expecting wins. We didn't even get to Kalani Brown who is going to be a free agent probably looks like a future piece on the Dallas Wings just based on her chemistry with Tierra McCown and the ability to provide, you know, that big look for all 40 minutes. Just a lot of players who are going to demand minutes and yeah, like you said, like some of those, those bigs need to turn into a guard and I think Natasha Howard is probably the most obvious name on the way out just because she was the veteran in the room this year. But now they have this playoff experience and maybe you don't necessarily need a player who has been, you know, a three time champion and is on the last year for a deal and probably could stand to give away some minutes to an AWA Kuir or Satisagli at the four or something like that. But yeah, lots of really interesting questions for the Dallas Wings and yeah, that makes their draft pretty interesting when we get to that point. Many, many months down the line.

[Zena Kaeda]

I mean, they seem too good. Their roster is too deep right now to bring everyone back the way it is, I think.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Yeah, definitely too deep to bring everyone back. Which is interestingly not the case in the other semifinal that took place this weekend. Fun thing about both elimination games, Game three in the Vegas series and Game four in the New York series this weekend. Both of them ended with the losing team down three with the ball on the final possession in position to tie. Neither of them actually happened. That's why we're talking about elimination games and not future games in these series. But let's get to the most closely contested semifinal as New York beat the Connecticut Sun 8784 in Game 4. They had lost Game 1 in that series, but rallied to win the next three, including two in Connecticut, to make it to the WNBA Finals. It is the first Finals appearance for the Liberty since 2002 when a 25 year old guard named Becky Hammond suited up for the New York Liberty. She, of course, will be on the opposite side of the series this time as the head coach of the Aces. I believe it is the first time in WNBA history that two former players will be coaching teams in the Finals. So that's another fun subplot that we can get into a little bit later. But Ben, I wanted to start with a player you wrote about after game four, Jonquill Jones. How did we get here with JJ after her uneven start to the season?

[Zena Kaeda]

I mean, it's definitely been a little bit of a journey, I think back to training camp, frankly, when it felt like there were times during early practices for the Liberty that JJ was spending more time watching practice than she was actually on court. The Liberty and Jones were really cautious and she told us at the start of training camp that she had suffered some kind of stress reaction in her left foot during last year's finals. And she still went overseas and played during the winter, the early part of the winter, up through December last year, and then came back and did not play return to Turkey to finish off the season. But she started slow. She didn't get a double double with the Liberty until her 10th game this year. Now it seems like you might as well just start her stat line with 10 points and 10 rebounds because it is seemingly guaranteed every single night. Through the season's opening 18 games, she averaged just 22 minutes. It was really slow. And she told me earlier in the season, Sabrina, that she said my body just felt kind of disconnected from my brain. And I think you kind of saw that she was thinking a lot. She was Slow to react on defense. She admitted her cardio wasn't there and she was also learning a new system. And so it definitely did take her time. But I think we saw in the second half of the year her really start to excel. She said at one point she just stopped overthinking it and I think we see that right now. And New York is also really intentional. Give some credit to the coaching staff about getting her involved early on. And right now it's kind of standard in a lot of these games. But they feed her the ball in the first quarter, they make sure she gets touches and they push her, you know, to establish position and she doesn't have to necessarily shoot, but she's down by the block early in these games and she establishes her presence early on. Sandy Brandella, I think joked after game four or not so joked that JJ was working bloody hard. I think that was Brandella's phrase in her Australian accent.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Better in an Australian accent, yes, than.

[Zena Kaeda]

Me, but that was the phrase she used and it's right. I mean, JJ works really, really hard to establish position. And I think she's just worked herself into really good shape and obviously into a key, key, key reason that New York is headed back to the Finals.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Yeah, I thought on balance she was the best player for the Liberty over this four game series. I know we don't give MVP awards for individual series in the playoffs unless until we get to the Finals. But it really did seem like she was the most important player, the most consistent player, and just the one that Connecticut didn't have an answer for. It had to be so frustrating for dejuana Bonner to have been teammates with Jonquil Jones for the last two years and then have to just be battling with her in the post for all these offensive rebounds. The amount of fouls that JJ drew on all of those Connecticut sun players. A really satisfying moment, I'm sure for Jonquill and probably a little bittersweet considering the relationships I'm sure she still has with all of the sun players. But just another person I wanted to talk about on the Liberty before we get to Connecticut. We know Jonquil had the injury, you know, to start the season learning a new system. But I. Laney also seemed to flip a switch for the Liberty somewhere near the midpoint of this season. Not so much an injury situation. I know she missed a lot of the 2022 season with an injury, but it seemed like she was healthy coming into the off season and she was in Sandy Brandella's system last year with New York Liberty, you know, I guess potentially getting into a new role. You know, all of the influx of talent that came in during the off season. What do you think switched for Laney over the course of this year? Like, if Jonquil was the most consistent player, perhaps Benijelini was the second most consistent. And, you know, really providing that offense for the Liberty in those first quarters when it seemed like they just always took 10 minutes to figure out how to deal with Connecticut's defenses in this game. Like, you don't win the series without Benaj Elini, obviously. How do we get to this point with her? You know, what happened to her over the course of the season.

[Zena Kaeda]

It is another crazy journey. And I actually asked Sandy Brandello about it post game. And Sandy reflected just on Banaj's journey and last year in 2022, I think she just, I want to say nine games in the regular season due to injury. And Sandy was talking about that like, you know, she's playing as well as she ever has and she still has room to get better. And I think we've seen just her become more comfortable, frankly, with the other starters on the New York Liberty roster as the season has gone on. But I think Banaj's game is also, you know, it's really malleable. Like she can do a lot of different things. She is not just a three and D wing, right. She doesn't just stand in the corner in shoot threes. She can create her own shot off the dribble. She cuts back door really well. We saw that at the start of game three that she was really key in getting stops, getting out in transition and diving to the room on back cuts or just being aggressive on different layups, driving to the hoop. And in the first quarter of game four, we saw a similar aggressiveness that we saw in game three. She took nine field goal attempts, the most of any player in the game. In the first quarter of game three, she only made three of them. But I think that aggressiveness just spoke to her approach and that, you know, her fearlessness that in this key game, like, she knows she can step up and make these big shots. I also asked Sandy, you know, on Banaja, if anything surprises her. And Sandy said no, like nothing surprises her. And this is the Banaja Laney that they have come to expect. I think we said it on the last pod. I think she averaged something like 17 points over her final 10 games in the regular season. She scored 19 or more in five of the six playoff games that New York has played this year. Like, this is what we can expect from Beni Jelaney. And I think, you know, we'll talk later in the week, as you mentioned, about the Finals. Like, she is a star on this team, a star member of this cast. She is not just a supporting role and an X Factor. She is someone who I think they expect to play a big role. And she should play a big role. She did in this Connecticut series, as you mentioned, and she will again in these Finals.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Yeah, I mean, we talk about her as like the fifth starter on New York, and that definitely does her a disservice because this is a former All Star, right? Like, she signed a max contract with New York Liberty when she came in free agency in 2021. This was like the big get for the Liberty that off season. And it's just really honestly gratifying as, like, a fan of Benjulaney to watch her rediscover this part of herself because this was the player she was when she was an All Star. You know, the reason why she was in consideration for Team usa, like, she played on that World cup team. This is not just some random player who fills in the small fourth slot for the New York Liberty. Right. And so you think about just all the collection of talent that's assembled on these two teams and probably miscalculation on our part to not mention her more at the start of the season. But that will not be the case going forward, that is for sure.

[Zena Kaeda]

And it's defense, too. Like, some general managers across the league tout her as one of the best defenders I know. She was all WNBA second team. She was first team on my ballot in terms of defense.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Same on my ballot.

[Zena Kaeda]

She is a crucial defensive player. She played a big role in the Connecticut series. Her versatility is so important there. And it again will be against Las Vegas in the Finals.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Yeah. And I mean, I don't want to get too far into New York, but, like, she definitely gets some opportunities in this offense because of all the tension you have to send to the paint for Jonquil Jones. But, like, she takes advantage of those opportunities, right? Like, she gets an open shot, she takes it, she drives the basket. Just so many great plays from Laney in that series. And again, what a fun, fun matchup that's going to be with Jackie Young or whoever has to guard her on Las Vegas Aces in the next round. But moving on to Connecticut, this is the fifth straight year in the semifinals for the Connecticut Sun. Just statistically speaking, you would think four teams make the semifinals if you make it for five straight years. You probably win a title in one of those years. Has not happened for the sun yet. They are one of three teams, I believe, in WNBA history, current WNBA teams who have never won a title, the New York Liberty being one of those as well. But where do we go from here with Connecticut? They obviously had a massive roster overhaul during the off season. Coaching overhaul. Right. And you had coached entirely new staff still. Velissa Thomas, you know, a lot of big free agents hitting the market in the off season. Tawana Bonner among them. Bree Jones is also going to be a free agent. Tiffany Hayes, Rebecca Allen, I mean, what do they need to do? Like, what do you think was the biggest weakness that you saw out of the Connecticut sun, not just in this series, but in 2023?

[Zena Kaeda]

Maybe it's the easy answer or the convenient answer, but it's again, their guards. Right. Like, you know, if you plug and I think, you know, we'll see what dejuana Bonner does. I have a hard time believing she's going to sign with another WNBA team. You know, maybe Brie Jones again coming off an Achilles tear. Like, she's been really loyal to Connecticut before. My guess is she again goes back to Connecticut. Like, I think they're going to run it back pretty closely to the team that we've seen in past years. And maybe you disagree with that and I'd be curious if you did, but I guess it goes back to their guards and how are they upgrading there? I mean, Ty Harris really came on strong towards the end of the season and in the playoffs, and I think she really showed both some fearlessness, but also just ability to shot make and shot create. She almost shot them back into Game 4 and into the entire series in the waning seconds and waning minutes of their game against New York. And so if she continues to take a leap, I think that would be huge. I'm curious. Beck Allen, I think will be a hot name on the free agency market in terms of a lot of teams having interest in her. Who doesn't want a wing who can shoot it like that? Like, every team in the league could use a player like that. And so, you know, we'll see if they have the, the financial situation to be able to keep Dewana and Bree Jones and Tiff Hayes. But I think I, I kind of would expect Connecticut to look pretty similar and hope that if they upgrade a little bit on the edges, Darius Taylor will be entering his second offseason as general manager, that that alone is good enough. They Almost beat New York shorthanded with the roster they have. I do think they are right there. To me it again is about finding those right pieces on the edges.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Yeah, I think you would expect I want to Bonner to take a little bit of a discount going forward. I realize she performed like a max player this year, but just 14 years into the league. I don't know that you can sign a full four year supermax at that age and expect the team to continue to be able to build around you, you know. But I'm with you. I don't see her going anywhere else. I mean, she's marrying Alyssa Thomas for crying out loud. Like this is probably the place to be. Re Jones. I would expect to come back to Connecticut, especially just with all the unfinished business of not being able to play on this team this year. And the guard situation is just so interesting to me because I don't think you need all four of Heideman, Hayes, Carrington and Harris. But you know, it's also nice to have that optionality. But some of them are going to demand to be paid a little bit more. Right. So maybe Heideman is the casualty there because you know, you saw down the stretch it was a lot of reliance on Tiffany Hayes and Ty Harris and Dijonay Carrington is obviously a little bit younger, has some more upside there. But yeah, this is such a confusing team for me because of the way they're built. You know, Alyssa Thomas handles a lot of the playmaking. You don't necessarily need a traditional point guard around her. But at the same time, like it's hard to find guards who can function well without the ball in their hands that often, you know, those complimentary players are just a tricky fit. So I'm not seeing anybody in the free agency market that looks like an obvious slam dunk for Connecticut. I do think that having Brew Jones back would just be a monumental difference though, like just in and of itself. I think that vaults them up another level. So maybe they don't need to do anything more. You know, maybe you just rely on internal improvement from Harris and Carrington and Olivia Nelson and Dota and maybe restless Thomas like at all during the regular season. I didn't think that she was getting tired necessarily, but she certainly looked a little beat up during the series and perhaps a lighter load for the first 40 games would help her out.

[Zena Kaeda]

I mean, that point of at being the point guard I think is a really important one when we think about their roster construction because I think it's why Beck Allen has been so important and I think retaining her will be so key because it's important to surround AT with shooters who can really stretch the floor and so you don't have defenses that can just sag and pack the paint and make it difficult for AT to get anything around the rim. And so yeah, maybe you're right that instead of a true point guard or traditional point guard, they look for guards who can just stretch the floor on the free agency market. And so it's kind of a rethinking of what they need. I mean, I agree with you. I think we'll see some changes there. Courtney Williams, obviously she was one of the players who left after that Finals run to go get more money in Chicago and play a different role. And so I wouldn't be surprised if we saw, you know, as you mentioned, some similar changes there. I think if they surround AT with some more shooting, I think we saw it in this postseason that when you can surround her with the shooting, especially like Connecticut is really, really hard to beat with the offense they play and with the physicality and just how they play on defense.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Yeah, just another fascinating team building situation heading into the offseason and another reason why you and I are in these chairs and not Darius Taylor and Craig Pibb. But on the topic of Taylor and Bib and team building, you and I conducted a survey of the general managers in the WNBA over the past month on a variety of topics. But building a roster, both players and coaches, factored heavily into that poll. For some background, we reached out to all of the 12 GMs in the league to answer seven questions about the state of the WNBA. Nine of them agreed to participate, but not all of them answered every question. You can see the full results on theathletic.com no sub needed for those two pieces courtesy of Michelob Ultra. But I wanted to talk today about what stood out to you from this survey, Ben. My favorite question was which player you would pick to start a franchise around. And I'll get to that why in a second. But what was your favorite part of the survey?

[Zena Kaeda]

I thought the question that we asked about CBA priorities going forward was really interesting. I think it gave you a little bit of insight as to how general managers think and about how they approach their jobs and how they approach the league like and that's not to say that one is approach is better than the others, but I thought it was kind of telling just in how they tackled the question. You know, the most common answer I think we got was related to travel and we also heard a bunch of people talk about soft cap and, you know, creating more flexibility, financial flexibility for trading, to increase trading, facilitate trading during the regular season. But I thought one of the most interesting comments we heard it was from two general managers was about visibility. And we talk a lot about visibility in the WNBA and the need to grow the game, expand viewership, TV ratings. We talk about all that and know that a new TV deal is coming in the future. But what jumped out to me in talking to general managers who mentioned the importance of visibility was it very much was in line with kind of how I think Kathy Engelbert sometimes talks about some of these issues. I talked to Kathy, the commissioner, back in August, about travel, and she really stressed in those conversations the business aspect and how we figure out a media deal. We figure out a media rights deal, we have more income coming in, and that will sort travel out from there. Two general managers kind of made that exact point where they talked about that if we get our exposure for our players, our players deserve a national scale with more TV games. The general manager said, I think that's the biggest thing and everything else will follow. And that really is in line with what Kathy Engelbert was talking about in terms of getting better visibility, improving TV slots, ratings, and the deal and everything else will change. And, you know, I think from a business perspective, there probably is some truth to that. That kind of jumped out to me because I think I was expecting a lot more of those team building answers. But hearing some people take the business approach and be in line with someone in the league office, I think was a perspective I was not expecting heading into this exercise.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Yeah, it's true. These general managers have, I think, more expanded roles than you would expect from their counterparts. On the men's side, like in the NBA, the front offices are so spread out. There's so many people in these executive roles that, like a general manager can focus on just the nitty gritty of salary cap and how to acquire players and things of that nature. But in the wnba, when there are just fewer people involved at the top, you know, general managers have to take a more holistic approach of the franchise. Right? They have to be involved in not just team building and roster construction, but also building the brand and building the business experience and player experience and all these other things. And so I think just that larger, wider lens was something that I necessarily wasn't prepared for either. But I'm glad that you pointed it out, too.

[Zena Kaeda]

Why did the question about team building and, you know, starting a franchise what kind of struck you about the responses there?

[Sabrina Merchant]

Well, first of all, I just like that we kind of asked a similar question to the players. And so it was an interesting comparison point. What we asked to the players was, who's going to be the best player in five years? And frankly, if you don't think that you want to build around the best player in five years, then why are you even starting franchise? So that was just a nice like jumping off point to see who the players picked and who the team or who the general manager picked. The fact that they arrived at the same answer basically was also very interesting. 31% of the players picked Asia Wilson as best player in five years. And 33% of the general managers, which is three out of nine, I don't need to say percentages, picked Asia Wilson as the player they'd want to build a franchise around. And, you know, I just think that's a useful comparison point to like, at least there's something that everybody in the league sees eye to eye on and that's Asia Wilson being the player you'd want to build around. But then like the other players in that exercise were all completely different, which is also fascinating to me because, you know, the players obviously have different perspectives with who they work out with on a regular basis and who they have to guard and compete and match up with against. But we finally saw some GMs like look a little bit beyond the WNBA pool in terms of this question, which is what I was hoping for. In the player question, a couple Caitlin Clark answers the Chelsea Gray answer, which I don't think Chelsea Gray showed up at all in our five year question. Again, she's a little bit older. So if you're starting a franchise now, like it makes more sense to build around a 31 year old than a 36 year old. So that's, I guess a different answer altogether. But just the way the GMs approached this question after Asia Wilson I thought was quite fascinating too.

[Zena Kaeda]

I would agree. And this question also jumped out to me, but for a slightly different reason. And for me it was that we made sure that general managers were not allowed to say a player on their own team. Or we did not accept that in our survey results. But in conversation with a lot of these people, a lot of them frankly did mention people on their own team.

[Sabrina Merchant]

If I couldn't say this player, then right.

[Zena Kaeda]

And frankly, a lot of the players that those general managers mentioned, like, there's a lot of really good players around the WNBA that you can make a case that it's perfectly reasonable to build around. And I think the exercise, not that we needed another reminder, revealed that like there are a lot of franchise caliber players around the wnba. And I think it's one of the things that, you know, makes this off season so interesting. It makes future off season so interesting. And I think you heard it a little bit when we talked about the wings in the sun. Like there's just a lot of talent out there and it's hard to kind of move the talent around. And so, you know, I guess we saw it in New York this past offseason how quickly things could change. And so, you know, maybe that's we could see something different this year. But it struck me that like there's a lot of teams that feel really good about themselves and are really good positions going forward. And just the reality is a lot of teams are going to come up short next season, especially when the league is presumably still going to be 12 teams because of just the logjam of talent. And I am one in these surveys, like we've heard a lot of. Another question we asked was on expansion versus roster spots. Like roster spots is something you can add right now and you can expand the pool, but it doesn't, you know, it doesn't disperse the talent any further. It keeps things concentrated. And I would be curious, you know, in maybe two years or three years or we'll see whenever expansion and these teams fully come to effect, when there is a little bit more dispersal of talent and some of these franchise players go elsewhere, do we also see more player movement? Like that was another thing that kind of popped into my head as we were asking that franchise player question. Because right now, like there's just so much concentrated talent that again, it made all those answers pretty reasonable.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Yeah, concentrated talent is something we'll be talking about a lot over the next two weeks as the WNBA finals begin. But again, we will get to that later in the week on our second show. One of the questions I kind of wish we would have asked the GM's is about prioritization. And I think this is where we're going to end today. I'm not going to go off the script like Xena does, but just consider this our, you know, usual closing on the Athletic Women's basketball show. I really wonder how GMs feel about the idea of keeping players away from foreign leagues. Because we're seeing the situation now during the WNBA playoffs where we're in a week long break between the semifinals and the WNBA finals. And even if both of These series had gone to game five, there would have been at least a five day break between, you know, end of one series and the start of the next. I was in Las Vegas earlier this year for a stretch when the team played five games in nine days. And they are currently in a stretch where they have played five games in 29 days. And that is a number that is about to grow. The 29 until the start of the WNBA finals. And you know, Richard Cohen of her hoop stats pointed this out that like European seasons have already started, right, like the Minnesota Links, as you've pointed out, Ben, have already gone to Fender box, right. Multiple players on the Minnesota Links have already gone to Turkey, started their seasons. Like the London Lions are already eliminated from Euroleague qualifying. Like all of these things have already happened in Euroleague and yet we're just waiting all of these additional days for the start of the WNBA Finals. This schedule is insane. And I can't help but wonder like how GMs feel about the WNBA like hogging players for this long. I mean, like we're forcing them to come back early from their European seasons, you know.

[Zena Kaeda]

Yeah, I mean, I think it's a really, really good question. I think players, certainly when I talked to players last offseason about prioritization, many of them who were overseas, a lot of them were really against prioritization because it makes them choose and it makes them, you know, among other choices, make a really difficult financial choice to potentially make more money playing for a Euroleague club or come back for the wnba. In conversations I also had with general managers and people around the league last year, you know, I think how WNBA decision makers view international basketball really varies by the person. Like some never go overseas on scouting trips and some really have an affinity for international players and see it as a market that is untapped and players that they can, you know, find rookies on cheap contracts that can help a team immediately and there's a middle ground. I think maybe it will change a little bit. I mean, I'm curious. Like, you know, Nafisa Collier is overseas right now. Now, I'm not sure how long she's actually going to be with Fenerbahce for. I wouldn't be shocked if she only played. You know, this is not reported, but it, you know, we've seen in recent years star players or big name players only go for the first half of the season. Natasha Howard, for instance, last year played for Fen up through Christmas and then came back to the United States and didn't play overseas. So, you know, it Wouldn't be fully shocking if Collier did that though. Again, we have no reason to to suggest that. Which is to say, like, it only takes, I think it will take one really, really big name player, a franchise star who is signed to stay overseas to I think reignite conversations and maybe lead to some change. And it's frankly, from the player perspective, like you can make the case it probably shouldn't have to come to that to see some changes or reevaluation of the rule. But you mentioned it like, like so many players. WNB players are already playing overseas. Caleb McBride's playing in games. Dorka Juhas is now in Skio. Another Minnesota Links player who went abroad, Carly Samuelson, again, London Lions playing there in these EUROLEAGUE qualifying games. I don't really know how this will play out other than I think the WNBA is just going to leave the rule in place and players are going to be left to decide and the schedule is going to be condensed and until the finances kind of sort themselves out, like we might just see status quo on a number of these issues.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Yeah, but the schedule being condensed is kind of the problem here. Right. Because during the playoffs it has not been condensed. And I think the wnba, if they're going to implement a policy like prioritization, needs to be a better partner with leagues around the world. So if you are, you know, going to require that your players return early in May, then do what you can to make them available in October, November. Like we don't need a situation where the first round takes 13 days to get through for a maximum of three games per team. You know, I think we can do better in that regard.

[Zena Kaeda]

Yeah, I mean it is something in the CBA in the end, an interesting CBA comparison. In the NBA cba, they require, I believe it's every quarter months with meetings with FIBA officials that is literally written into the contract that NBA officials have to meet with FIBA officials. The WNBA doesn't have that. And you know, obviously the leagues are in very different positions, but you know, there definitely is a disconnect between FIBA and the wnba. It's something we'll talk more about throughout the off season. But I think the point you make about scheduling and how the playoff scheduling, there was a monkey wretch in European schedules and Euroleague and Euro cup schedules is a really good one, especially around this time with that crazy stat you mentioned about the Aces schedule.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Yeah, it's going to end up being five games in like 34 days, which is just wild. And I realize it could have been eight, but still eight games in 34 days is an unnecessarily long time to be scheduling those games out. So I just think, you know, if you're trying to capitalize on momentum, even in terms of WMA playoffs, it's really hard to keep people excited for another eight days after the finals or if the semifinals end until the finals start. So just something to consider going forward, you know, in terms of viewership here, being better partners with our leagues around the world. I would like more games Sooner for the WNBA. Something to think about in 2024. But anyway, that has been our show for today. Make sure that you are subscribed to the Athletic Women's Basketball show wherever you listen to your podcasts. Come back on Friday for our episode previewing the WNBA Finals. And as Yuna says, keep listening, keep learning and keep loving the game. We'll talk soon.

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[Sabrina Merchant]

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