← No Offseason: The Athletic Women's Basketball Show
No Offseason: The Athletic Women's Basketball Show
Is the Las Vegas Aces dynasty over? Can the Minnesota Lynx become champs? + more on the WNBA Western Conference
00:42:22
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- [00:00]
Zena Cata
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- [02:02]
Sabrina Merchant
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- [03:34]
Ben Pickman
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- [05:18]
Chantel Jennings
Hello everyone and welcome to no Off Season presented by Massmutual Zena. I'm Zena Cata.
- [05:24]
Sabrina Merchant
I'm Sabrina Merchant.
- [05:25]
Ben Pickman
And I'm Ben Pickman.
- [05:26]
Chantel Jennings
And today on the show we are diving into some of the most burning questions in the Western Conference. This time you know, for instance, will the LA Sparks ever be good again? I know that Sounds very existential, but it's a real question folks. How do the Las Vegas Aces get back on top after having been back to back champions? And is Nafeesa Collier the best basketball player in the world? But before we go into that, let's just round up some quick news around women's basketball world. First up, Sarah Williams is officially off the market or at least out of the transfer portal. The two time all Big Ten forward out of Wisconsin has chosen the Yukon Huskies. So Husky nation, get ready. This person is third leading scorer in the Big Ten last year. Once a co defensive player of the year candidate award winner actually. So yes, Gino, don't retire just yet then. On the other side of women's basketball in the WNBA world, some sad news. Out of Washington, Georgia Amore, incoming rookie for the Mystics, has suffered an ACL injury. That's how it has been reported in her right knee. She has not been ruled out for the season, but that is what we know as of the time that we're recording. So definitely sending her some strength, some care, hopefully some fast healing for Georgia Amor. And of course, you know, we think about her Virginia Tech team mate, Elizabeth Ketley. That probably can be a really good source of support in this moment. Okay, so now let's dive into the Western Conference. After doing such a great job of recapping the Eastern Conference, we gotta go into some of these big questions and we're gonna start with a team that had a recent dynasty in the wnba. And I know some of y'all might feel like dynasty. Hold up, Houston has something to say about that. You know, hold up, Minnesota may have something to say about that, but of course we're talking about the Las Vegas Aces. The Aces, they won their back to back championship in 2022 and 2023, but last year they didn't make it out of the second round of the playoffs. So I want to know, is the Aces quote unquote dynasty over? And assuming that Asia Wilson is still Asia Wilson, let's just be real, she's a one. She's always going to be amazing. But how do the Aces improve? Because she was still on that team last year. So Sabrina, I'm gonna start with you. Is the Aces dynasty over?
- [07:58]
Sabrina Merchant
I have so many thoughts on the word dynasty. I've always been really reluctant to use it for teams that don't win back to back. But we'll, we'll get that later. Uh, as far as the Aces dynasty, I realize you frame this as they didn't even get out of the second round, but they were one round away from the finals, right? Like semifinals are one round away from the finals. It's not like they completely were out of contention of being among the best teams in the wnba. And when you have a player as talented and as productive as Asia Wilson, I think the ceiling is always going to be championship for this particular roster. So putting that out there right now, when you have Asia Wilson, you deserve to be in that conversation. And I think the main problem last year was that Chelsea Gray was just not herself. You know, she suffers the broken foot injury in 2023 in the WNBA Finals in game three, misses game four of that series, misses the first part of the 2024 season. When she does come back, her numbers are just nowhere near what they, you know, had been previously. She had two months during the WNBA season where she shot below 40% from the field. Not just from three point range, but like from the field. She kind of had an uptick in September, but then her playoff numbers went back again, you know, 38% from the field, 29% from three point range. And it's just impossible to be as good as the Aces need to be if, you know the Robin to your Batman is not performing at all. World point God level. And I think the reason for optimism with the Las Vegas Aces is because we saw Chelsea Gradring unrivaled and I think that point got his back. You know, she leads that Rose basketball club to a championship in the inaugural season of Unrivaled. She obviously has a full list of receipts of things that have been said about her in the past year. As you know, her play took a little dip because of the injury. And so to me, that is why I believe that the Aces are firmly back in this conversation is because you still have Asia Wilson and now you have the player who looks exactly as good as she did during the 2022 and 2023 title runs.
- [09:41]
Chantel Jennings
I know it kind of feels as if the Aces have now reacquired another player after seeing the way that Chelsea Gray played in Unrivaled. She was third best leading scorer on top of also averaging about five assists per game. Like she was in top tip form and shape. And now that's not an off season move that required to go, you know, going on the market. But they did go on the market. The Aces did go and get Jewel Lloyd. And so you think about adding a Jewel Lloyd into that mix, losing Kelsey Plum, but switching that out. Ben, how did some of these moves in the off season you think maybe shaped the way that the Aces might look this season.
- [10:19]
Ben Pickman
I mean, Jewel Lloyd was, I think, the first player that I talked about last week when we did our most intriguing players list because, you know, she has been a franchise centerpiece with the Seattle Storm over these, you know, over since she entered the wnba. Now she's suddenly in a new destination with this Las Vegas Aces team and she's coming off a year that, you know, was an all star year and was an Olympic, but was a down year by her standards. I think I threw out some of her shooting numbers that, you know, both her three point percentage and field goal percentage were, you know, at or, you know, near at career lows for her last year while her usage rate was at its highest it's been over the past two seasons. So Jewel Lloyd is certainly one big player to watch. They also added some other, you know, guard depth, notably in Dana Evans and Tiffany Mitchell. To me, though, like, I'm not sure that the Aces resolved one of the things that I think a lot of people highlighted as an issue or potential, you know, point that opponents took advantage of and that is their front court depth. I think that is still a question. You know, Cheyenne Parker Tyus, who has been an all star center with the Atlanta Dream, she signed with the Aces this off season, but she's going to miss at least the start of the season because she is pregnant with her second child. So we'll have to see if and when she does return at all. You got to think Asia Wilson last year had one of the best, if not the best statistical seasons in WNB history. Her usage rate, you know, was the highest of her career, but her turnover percentage was the lowest of her career. Like, it just tells you everything you kind of need to know. But one of the statistics that sticks out to me is that it was the most minutes she has ever played in her career and only Derickah Hamby of frontcourt players played more minutes than her. And so I'm still wondering like, you know, is it Megan Gustafson? Is it Elizabeth Kitley? Is it Kia Stokes? Like, how are the Aces going to give Asia just a little bit of rest during the regular season so that she is as fresh as she can be during the playoffs? Because that to me is still, you know, it was a question people had last year. When you look at this Aces team, it seems like they kind of ran out of gas, right? A little bit. And part of that is not just Asia, you know, fatigue, but it is what Sabrina was saying with Chelsea Gray. So that, to me is still kind of an open question as this season approaches.
- [12:32]
Chantel Jennings
That's a great point.
- [12:33]
Sabrina Merchant
And speaking of that front court depth, it's going to be even more challenging for the Aces because they lost Alicia Clark, who was their primary power forward next to Asia in those small ball lineups too. So, you know, you look at that roster and there really isn't a power forward in that grouping who can move Asia to the center to give them more lineup versatility in those situations. So, yeah, like Ben said, I think the front court depth is a real concern. It's just, it's hard for me to get too worked up at that when you still have Asia, Chelsea Gray and Jackie Yong and presumably a rejuvenated Jewel Lloyd in this new situation.
- [13:00]
Chantel Jennings
No, it's a great point and I'm, I'm happy you mentioned that because what I was going to call out is the fact of it's how you use Asia Wilson. I mean, you look at her numbers from, you know, this past season in comparison to seasons before, she's putting up way more shots, field goal attempts on basket, she's having to be a hub of offense, putting up more three point shots, being involved in more assists, as you mentioned, Ben having less turnovers and just being more dialed in with her game overall and the way that she's contributed, but loving to do that in the four position as opposed to more so in that five position. But she's interchangeable. So the question is really around how does Asia Wilson season look? And my question is, can she get any better than she was last year?
- [13:46]
Ben Pickman
Well, I don't think it's necessarily a question of better. To me. One of the actual questions is can they make life easier on her? Right. One of the things that's kind of sneaky interesting about the Aces is that like last year, for instance, you know, Asia Wilson, arguably the best forward player in the sport, but they were only 10th in terms of paint points around the WNBA and their only league average in terms of points scored at the free throw line. Right. Those are two simple kind of categories that teams look at in terms of shot profile and say like, huh, can we make life a little bit easier by getting more easy pain points and getting more at the free throw line. They're not the only team that kind of is kind of looking at their shot profile. New York similarly, like sneakily doesn't get that many of their points in the paint or at the free throw line, much like the Las Vegas Aces. So they're not an outlier. The Aces aren't But like if I'm Becky Hammond and her coaching staff, which has also, we should say, gone through, you know, almost a total overhaul. Right. With her two top assistants, Natalie Nakase going to Golden State Valkyries and Tyler Marsh going on the Chicago Sky. Like if I'm that staff, I'm trying to come up with ways to get Asia easy offense and make life again. Like it's all about making things easier on her and the players around her so that when the games really do matter, like this is this team that is clicking on all cylinders and as fresh as it can possibly be.
- [15:07]
Chantel Jennings
Yeah, of course, with Asia, as you mentioned, having gone up, she averaged just 30 minutes per game, going up to almost 35 minutes the next season. That is a lot of of more stress on a body, especially when you are the focal point of a defensive scout. When you are the focal point of an offense moving and being in motion, it's a lot of strain on a body. And so making things easy is going to be key. You know, you mentioned overhaul, lots of movement for the aces in the front office. Obviously made some off season moves, trying to bring in some youth as well. A team that looks pretty much the same going into this season is the leads runner up from last season and that's the Minnesota Lynx. They got a player. She goes by Fee, also known as Nafisa Collier, who some on this very panel may argue is the greatest player in the world. So let's talk about it. Let's discuss it. Is Phi the best player in the world? She didn't win the MVP last year. You know, definitely was in the conversation, but didn't win it last year. Didn't win the title. Last year wasn't enough to will her team to a championship title, but we saw the numbers she was putting up. Two way player. We've seen the performance, of course, getting MVP in the unrivaled league. So now Fee star power, is that going to be enough to power the Lynx to the top of the league this year?
- [16:28]
Sabrina Merchant
I mean, speaking of players who absorb very high minute loads, I think Nafisa Collier is number one on that list. During the playoffs last year, she played 39 minutes per game and led the league in points, rebounds, steals, blocks, free throws, all of those categories during the post season. She also averaged 35 minutes per game during the regular season and I think, you know, she didn't seem to wear down at all during the postseason. So I can't imagine that the directive is to lessen that load at all during the regular season, especially because I'm sure that Nafeesa Collier would love to add a WNBA MVP to her trophy case, which also includes that one on one title. And unrivaled, for what it's worth, just a fantastic off season, WNBA off season, I should say, for Nafisa Collier. But yeah, I mean, I think we talked about this on the previous episode about how teams sort of have to go through one run together before they can really coalesce into that championship worthy team. And you know, New York had to do it in 2023 and Vegas had to do it in 21 and before they got to, you know, their back to back titles. And Minnesota now has that heartbreak to look back on. Right. They lost in five games and possibly the most excruciating way possible in the WNBA Finals and they are, I believe the last team in WNBA history to lose a title in five games and then come back and win the next year. So you look at all the ingredients they have, the continuity, the fact that Fee is on this incredible run, that they, you know, they did lose Chatgis and Delicini during the offseason in that expansion draft. I think Carly Samuelson is a really excellent placeholder though just to fill in that role pretty seamlessly. Add a little front court depth with Marine Badiem from France, their center, and they brought Jess Shepard back who has been in the organization before. So I just like everything they did on the margins. I think the fact that they have all of this continuity, know exactly what they're going to look like is going to be a huge advantage just in terms of building stacking wins at the start of the season. And do you get that? Game five in Target Center, I'm sorry, Game seven this year in Target center versus somewhere else. That's a big deal. So I love their chances of starting the season off strong, building a really good case for home court advantage. And then like you said, I'm of the belief that nobody's playing better than Afista Collier right now. I mean, in those matchups against the Las Vegas Aces, I think she outplayed Asia Wilson. So it's a high bar to set, understandably considering what Asia did during the regular season last year. But again, like I said with the Aces, when you have a player who is of that capability, like Anafisa Collier, like an Asia Wilson, you're in the championship conversation. And that Lynx should settle for nothing short of that this year.
- [18:40]
Chantel Jennings
Yeah, it made sense that Asia Wilson finished number one in the All Star or the MVP voting. Excuse me. And right behind her was Nafeesa Collier who ended up winning defensive player of the year. So sometimes people say that that kind of splits out and levels out, but with the fact that you've got an Ifisa Collier and she is rolling like there's been no stoppage in her game and the growth of her game and you've got the continuity, I love the way you put that. Of just this entire team. You're looking at training camp and you're like, okay, so what are we doing here, folks? Like, is this basically early practice? And it's been funny to watch Ben, their content coming out of their camp, their social media content of like, you know, Courtney Williams, Kayla McBride and Nafisa, like just having a ton of fun on one end of the court and then basically some peripheral players, like, I hope to join this team as well. Like, what does their training camp look like?
- [19:28]
Ben Pickman
I mean, their roster is super competitive and Sabrina kind of threw out some of the key additions or key changes to it. Samuelson body on getting just Shepard back, like all of it adds to this super competitive training camp so far, right? And some of the big questions, like I threw out in our most intriguing list, you know, what is going to happen with Dorica Yuhas? Is she even going to report? She hasn't reported yet. After a season in Skio, what happens with Alyssa Peely, who is their first round pick, number eight in the 2024 WNBA Draft? It's clear that, you know, Cheryl Reeve has been praising, you know, Diamond Miller so far, but I think it remains to be seen what the Lynx are going to get from Diamond Miller this year and just how they're going to use her after last year. And then they've, you know, they went outside Grace Berger, who is a super solid WNBA player to more than the league minimum. Like, we'll see if she even makes the team or if she gets cut and, or they deal her somewhere else. Like, you know, they brought in a player from Russia, KOSU, number 15 overall in their draft. She came over to camp. You know, it would seem maybe unlikely on the surface that they draft a foreign player, bring her over and then cut her right away. So we'll have to see what happens there. It's just a really interesting and very competitive camp, especially with Jess Shepard coming back after she had previously played internationally a couple years and didn't come back over last year when they won in this finals run. I would say, to Sabrina's point, Sabrina, can you like, can you just tell everyone like a little bit of the history of the 2016 WNBA Finals for context, because I think that is like the most. Like, that is so instructive when thinking about this team, this Minnesota Links team, because we have this team that obviously lost in a heartbreaking five games. And Lindsay Whalen and Rebecca Brunson, two Cheryl Reeve assistant coaches were on that 2016 team that lost to the Sparks in five games and then came back the next year. Can you just like paint that picture for people who don't know?
- [21:19]
Sabrina Merchant
Yeah. So the Minnesota Links were in the middle of this seven year run where they won four titles in the odd years, 11, 13, 15 and 17. And in 2016, they played the Los Angeles Sparks in the finals, which was the first year of the new playoff format, which is why two Western Conference teams were allowed to go up against one another. And they lose in this heartbreaking game five where they basically. Naka Gumake scores a game winner on the final Sparks possession of the game and it's revealed that she got the shot off after the shot clock expired and they were unable to review it. And Cheryl Reeve went into the off season with just like the most rage you could possibly imagine after this call went against Minnesota. And if you think about how the finals ended last year with all of those reviews and all of those foul calls that seemingly did not go in the links favor down the stretch of game one and game five, there is a very similar feeling to how, you know, they felt wronged by 2016, they feel wronged by 2024, and in 2017, they brought back the same band, you know, and they came back and they faced the Sparks again, and this time they won in five games and they're bringing back the same band this time. Right. And they have a player who is as good as any player in the league in FISA Collier, just like they did with Maya Moore back then. Maybe they don't have the same historical depth that they did with Simone Augustus, Lindsey Whalen, Rebecca Brunson, but it is a very talented team. I mean, did mention Caleb McBride. Her unrivaled season was also fantastic for the Laces. So I think there is a lot of similarity to be drawn just in terms of how that finals transpired. Just like the real rage and fury that must have been lingering after the way it happened. And it's still Charles Reeves team. And I think she knows exactly how to play those cards during this off season, during this training camp, to inspire the right amount of, like, motivation, but also, like, channel it into the right targets.
- [23:01]
Chantel Jennings
It is fascinating how history tends to repeat itself. Um, and you know, Coach Reeves referenced a little bit of that, alluded to the raise that she had from 2016 to the same feelings that she had in last season's ending. And, you know, the quote was, this was stolen from us. So let's see what Nafeesa Collier and band can do in this upcoming season. And on that point of unrivaled top scorer in unrivaled Nafisa Collier, second best score, Kayla McBride. Okay, so let's move it on over to the west coast. Again. I don't think the Aces are the west coast, but, you know, let's get back over to the West. I think they are.
- [23:50]
Ben Pickman
I think they are.
- [23:51]
Chantel Jennings
Okay.
- [23:51]
Ben Pickman
Okay.
- [23:52]
Sabrina Merchant
I mean, I just assume because we're talking about Minnesota. So back to the west, you know.
- [23:56]
Chantel Jennings
Exactly. That's exactly right. Okay, so let's talk about the LA Sparks. And you know, Sabrina, you're not a homer by any chance, but I'm not a dry bullpower. Absolutely not. Definitely not. So I got a very, very, very, very, very simple question for you. Will the Sparks ever be good again?
- [24:16]
Sabrina Merchant
That's such a rude question, Xena, just.
- [24:18]
Chantel Jennings
It is. I know, and I'm gonna blame our producers on this one. I. I don't think they're that bad, but dang. We gotta ask the question. We gotta ask it. Go ahead.
- [24:27]
Sabrina Merchant
All right, so just to lay out some context here, the Sparks have missed the postseason for the last four seasons. That is the longest streak that they have not been in the playoffs in franchise history. This is one of the league's original franchises, played in the first game in WNBA history, have three titles, including the aforementioned 2016 win over Minnesota. But things have sort of gone to shit since then. This is really the first offseason that I would say there has been a lot of hope for what could happen this year. Right. Because you have Kelsey Plum coming in a real bonafide all star, two time Olympian, two time gold medalist. You've got Derek Hamby, multi time All Star. Right. Also Olympic medalist from this 2024 3x3 run. And then you have Rekia Jackson coming off a great rookie season. Cameron Brink will return presumably around June from her ACL tear. And then, you know, some good depth around there, like Azaria Stevens, Julia Almond Ray Barrel Odyssey, Sims. Like, there's some things to work with. The problem is everybody in the league appears to be going for it this year. And Sparks are another one of those teams that is also going for it. So for them to have raised their talent level has to be commensurate. With how much everybody else raised their talent level because we're talking about a team that finished 8 and 32 in 2024. Like they had some really surprising wins, two against the Aces, one against the Liberty, and then shockingly, just got swept by the Atlanta dream. Things that happened during the 2024 season. But I think the Sparks can be okay this year. I don't know about good yet, but okay, okay. It's new coach, you know, a lot of new pieces, a lot of younger players. They have what I would say is a nice foundation to be good in the future. I'm not sure if this is the year that it's going to happen.
- [25:57]
Chantel Jennings
I mean, there is an opportunity, Ben, for some offense to kick off. Of course, we saw Rekia Jackson in her freshman campaign continue her walking bucket brand from Tennessee into the league. One of those players that everyone said she is pro ready. And now you pair her up against, you know, alongside a Kelsey Plum. You add Cameron Brink, who literally still, even having played only 15 games before going down with her ACL tear, was a defensive player of the year candidate. Like, could have been in that conversation. You put that all together. I mean, this could be some legitimate pieces out in la. What are your thoughts, Ben?
- [26:36]
Ben Pickman
Yeah, I mean, the offense is great and we're going to see like that is Lynn Roberts his calling card, I guess, like that I think is right, right, right. Part of the court. You would expect them to be, you know, towards the top half of the league with, you know, they're going to shoot a ton of threes, as her teams did at Utah. I would expect them to play fast. Kelsey Plum is really going to have the ball in her hand a ton. Like, if you told me that she led the league in usage rate at the end of the season, like, I wouldn't be shocked. Like, she's going to have to do a lot of creating for them. I still think the question, though, is on the defensive end of the court, where they were one of the three worst defenses in the league last year. And, and you know, one of those defenses that was not very good also was the Dallas Wings. And we saw them, you know, add one of the league's best defensive players in Dijonay Carrington, and. And I think, you know, you have someone named Chris Coclantis whose MO in the past has been on the defensive end of the floor. You have the Indiana Fever, who were slightly worse than the Los Angeles Sparks on the defensive end. And you know, if they want to be a championship contender, they sure as hell better be better on the defensive end of the floor. And that was the LA Sparks, who obviously want to be better on the defensive end of the floor. But we still don't know what we're kind of getting on that end. And camera bring should obviously help when she does return, but it's unfair to expect her to be, you know, at the level she was at the first part of her rookie season when she does return. So, you know, I think there are a lot of questions there. I mean, look like they have a lot of things that Sabrina said that people should like. Ray Barrell was a real bright spot in unrivaled. She was a player that from the very beginning of the league people called out as a name to watch. And they have some interesting young players like, you know, Shanice Swain is another one, was a second round pick of theirs in recent years who's coming over from Australia and should make, you know, an impact on this team. But it still feels like they, to me are still much more in the 7 to 10 conversation than anywhere else. Like they've gotten better, but so has the rest of the league. And so I don't know if it's going to net out that much different.
- [28:32]
Chantel Jennings
Speaking of bright spots, during unrivaled, I think people were very impressed with Rekia Jackson's defense and the way that she played. It was a lot better than a lot of people expected, I think. And then also Derek Hamby, I mean, she had to switch one through three, obviously during the three by three tournament in Paris. But also playing unrivaled basketball forces you to have to guard some guards as well. So maybe those two will step it up in a way that Los Angeles can capitalize on. Let's turn our attention to the team a little bit up north with the number two pick, Dominique Malanga, The Seattle Storm. Oh, just. Just a little bit of clouds around the Seattle Storm right now. But there is a bright spot in Dominique Malanga being able to join this team. What do you think her impact will be right away for the Storm, Ben?
- [29:21]
Ben Pickman
Well, first we should say she's not reported to training camp as we tape this, you know, at the end of April, Noelle Quinn said at the beginning of training camp that she expects to have an update on Dominique Malanga's status next week. So we shall see if and when she eventually does report. I mean, I think the benefit of the situation she is walking into Dominique Malanga, that is, is that like she doesn't have to be a star right away, like you have Neca Gumake still in the front court and you also have Ezzy, Magma Gore, who is coming off a really, really, really good Euroleague season. She actually led her team and was one of the key players for Prague as they won the Euroleague title this year and had upset a stack team Fenerbahce, the Turkish club, in the Euroleague semis. So like she's had a really good off season that she's coming off of. And Ezzy and Gabby Williams are actually reporting to camp right now. They are in camp, which is very rare for both of them. So I think that should certainly help in the continuity of this team. They still are talented like Magma Gore, Neko Gurumike and Skylar Diggins are all all star caliber players. And so this team is talented. And Malanga, who again, she's coming over from France with, you know, French competition having just ended for her. But like, can they make the leap? That's really the question. And I am not totally convinced. I don't know what Sabrina thinks on that either.
- [30:44]
Sabrina Merchant
Yeah, I think the problem with Seattle last year was their lack of shooting below 30% from 3 point range for the entire season, which is just. I can't even like really wrap my head around how bad of a number that is for a team that like had Jewel Lloyd on. It just doesn't make a ton of sense. But you know, obviously we've, we've mentioned how Jewel didn't have her best season in Seattle. So you look at the additions they made during the off season full season of Gabby Williams, I don't think is going to particularly help the shooting. But bringing in Alicia Clark, Lexi Brown, Katie Lou Samuelson, those are all players who should at least improve the spacing, if not like get them to an above average three point shooting team, you know. But I'm kind of with Ben here, like there's just, there's a lot of veterans that I really like on this team. It's just, it's kind of an old team other than Ezzy. And that's where I'm really looking for Dominique Malanga to have an impact because like, it's a long season. It's 44 games, right? It's. It may not be as condensed as it was last year because there is no Olympic break this season, but it is a slog to get through these 44 games. And when you have players who are all in their 30s on the latter half of their career, you need some young blood to just soak up some minutes to give you some verve on those days. When like some people just don't have it. And unfortunately, Jordan Horston, out for the season with a torn acl. Nica Mule, out for the season with a torn acl. So that young infusion of talent is going to come either from their later on draft picks like a Jordan Hobbs or Serena Sandel, or more likely it's going to come from Tomique Malanga. And we already know that she's going to be out for part of the season because of Eurobasket. How much time she spends with the French national team before that is still an open question. But I do kind of think they need her to just provide some pace, some like, energy to this team. Because as much as I like all of their individual players, they're kind of slow, they're kind of like methodical. It's very. It's a veteran team and there are good advantages to having veterans. But also I think there needs to be just some something of a balance. And it looks like Malanga and Ezzy are the only ones who are able to provide that.
- [32:31]
Chantel Jennings
Yeah, I'm hoping that Skylar Diggins will bring that from unrivaled too. That's something that we saw her do, try to push the pace, try to utilize her defense into offense a lot more. And so maybe that will give them a little bit of a boost. But you're absolutely right. I'm looking at this roster and everybody's older. And the crazy thing is they're all good.
- [32:51]
Sabrina Merchant
Don't get wrong.
- [32:52]
Chantel Jennings
They're all. That's what I'm saying. That's what I'm saying is everyone's older, but they're also legitimate all Stars. And so now you're trying to figure out how is that going to play across the rest of the league? Because as we just mentioned with the LA Sparks, yeah, they got better, but everyone else got better. It's like with the Seattle Storm, it's like, I don't know how much better they got, but everyone else also has youth and that's where they're kind of lacking in that regard. You talked about draft assets. Of course. They just got Dominique Malanga. Where does Seattle sit with their draft assets? Like, what could they do next year? And trying to fill this gap of age, I guess, on their, on their team.
- [33:31]
Sabrina Merchant
Well, they have three first round picks in the 2026 draft, so they could, you know, just wait it out and add those players to the roster. Because again, we've said this ad nauseam. Nobody knows what the rosters are going to look like in 2026. From basically every veteran in the league other than Kalani Brown, Lexi Brown and Yvonne Anderson or free agents. So you, you know, you could wait it out and just get younger next year or. That's a very attractive trade package if you want to do something during the course of the regular season. You know, if a team's team season isn't going the way they want it to and they're trying to unload some veteran players, well, Seattle has about as good of a war chest as anybody else to swoop in for a good deal. There's.
- [34:05]
Chantel Jennings
There you go. Okay, wait, you said it was Lexi Brown, Kehlani Brown, and who's the third player?
- [34:09]
Sabrina Merchant
Yvonne Anderson from Connecticut.
- [34:12]
Chantel Jennings
Perfect. The Browns. The Browns and Yvonne Anderson. I will remember it that way. Perfect. All right, let's move it over to Phoenix because we already did a deep dive on the Dallas wings. Definitely go back and check out that episode. And we're going to do a deep dive on the Valks next week. So those two teams are going to be covered extensively. But let's close it out with Phoenix because they're the final team that we haven't discussed yet. And let's just be real. Sabrina, you already said your thoughts on what you think the Phoenix Mercury or how they will land. And you know what's hilarious? I saw a tweet recently where someone said, I just looked at the Phoenix roster. Yeah, they don't look as stacked as I thought they would. And I think that that is the, the resounding effect of everyone like hearing big names coming, you know, Satu Sabley, Alyssa Thomas. But then you also have to remember Diana Taurasi, retired. Brittney Griner is gone. No more Sophie Cunningham. Like, no more Natasha Cloud. Like there's a lot of exodus as well out of Phoenix. So we gotta talk about this. Like, what are thoughts on Phoenix? Sabrina, you win already. I think you feel you've expressed your thoughts that you're like they might underperform. Ben, I want to hear what you think.
- [35:25]
Ben Pickman
Well, I thought you were going to say, like you have to remember that this is a 5 on 5 league and not a 3 on 3 league because their team looks a lot better if this was a three league, like unrivaled than it is elite.
- [35:39]
Chantel Jennings
Right, Exactly.
- [35:41]
Ben Pickman
And so like it's just you go down the roster and there are a lot of questions about who else is going to contribute and who else, what it's going to look like. I mean, some of the other names and you know, nobody loves. It's not exactly Great audio to just play name a player. But like, maybe this should have been a C block segment for us. Like we could just name the rest of the roster. Sammy Wickham is going to play a big role. It seems like Sevgi Ouzun, who's a Turkish guard who came from the Dallas Wings. She's well positioned to play Kit Laksa, who is a good shooter, European player, you know, veteran European player. She's also seems like she's going to play. Natasha Mack island should seemingly be in their rotation. Celeste Taylor, if she makes the team. I mean, Nate Tibbets, their head coach, has kind of been open so far in training camp that they are going to play position less basketball. And that makes a lot of sense because, you know, Alyssa Thomas is one of your best players and she can play any position and so you better play positionless to bring the best out of her. Because if you're not bringing the best out of her, then like, who else are you bringing the best out of? So like again, the Big Three is great and it really could work. Like, it's a really interesting trio of players who are super, super dynam. But what if one of them gets hurt? What if it doesn't click? What if it takes time to develop? Like, there's just a lot of question marks here with this team that it's hard to feel like convinced that they're going to be top four, which is seemingly what the top end talent would indicate. But if you go down the rest of the list, it doesn't really seem that way.
- [37:10]
Chantel Jennings
Yeah, and of course when you mention the Big Three, Kalia Copper, Tatu Sabali, Alyssa Thomas, and it's a interesting factor of, you know, Alyssa Thomas is someone that can bring the ball up floor just as much as she is someone that can post up and operate in the mid post, et cetera. She is someone that needs the ball in her hands. She's not a huge off ball mover. Um, Satsu Sable can be an off ball mover, but she also likes the ball in her hands. Kalia Copper definitely likes the ball in her hands. So I'm kind of looking at this offense and being like, hmm, I wonder what's going to happen here. Very interested to see how all of this shakes out. All right, let's dive into our rapid fire questions for the Western Conference. Ben, I'm going to start with you. Which free agent signing will have the most impact?
- [37:56]
Ben Pickman
I mean, I'm going to cheat here and go with the Golden State Valkyries player I will also cheat with international player and a player I've mentioned on this podcast. So it's, it's three, I guess, cheating caveats for me. I'll go with Janelle Salon, the French Forward who is 23 years old and set up to play a potentially big role on the Golden State Valkyries.
- [38:15]
Chantel Jennings
Okay. And then Sabrina, what about you?
- [38:17]
Sabrina Merchant
I'm gonna go with Alicia Clark. I know I have commented on the the age of the Seattle Storm and Alicia is not exactly a spring chicken, but she is a three time title winner and was very good for the Aces over these last two seasons. I think just her spacing, her ability to help Seattle play small a little bit because she can toggle between the three and the four and just the fact that like she really loves being in Seattle, clearly that was where she had the biggest stretch of her WNB career is gonna be a huge impact there.
- [38:42]
Chantel Jennings
Those two free agents sound great. Let's move it on to regime. Which new regime are you most interested in seeing?
- [38:48]
Ben Pickman
How can this not be the Golden State Valkyries? I mean again, we're going to go long them, but they're a totally new team and a totally new regime of Natalie Nikase. I know how many the general manager and it's an expansion team. Like how can you not be interested most interested in seeing how they play out. So a little bit of a cop out there, but I'm sticking with it.
- [39:07]
Chantel Jennings
I like it.
- [39:08]
Sabrina Merchant
I'm actually really interested in Las Vegas Aces. I realize they do not have a new head coach, but they did part ways with their general manager Natalie Williams during the off season and it's sort of unclear exactly who is making personnel decisions between Nikki Fargus, Becky Hammond. They have a lot of new assistant coaches too, which is a big change. So I'm wondering like how much of this success over the past few years was Becky and the core four and how much of it was a product of everything Tyler and Natalie and you know, Natalie Williams brought in. So yeah, I mean it's not an entirely new regime, but they have a very high bar for success. And when you have expectations, I'm just always interested to see how people are going to meet those.
- [39:42]
Chantel Jennings
Absolutely. Okay. First time all Star. Sabrina, you go first.
- [39:46]
Sabrina Merchant
Paige Beckers.
- [39:47]
Chantel Jennings
Nice. I got you, Ben.
- [39:49]
Sabrina Merchant
I don't really need to explain that.
- [39:51]
Chantel Jennings
Yep, I feel you. Go ahead, Ben.
- [39:54]
Ben Pickman
Alana Smith of the Minnesota Links, a player who has been on my all star ballot in the past, an all W second team defender, someone who's chronically underrated among fans and people in the general public who is super, super important to the Minnesota Links elite defense. I think she should have made the all star team last year. She's continued to be one of the most improved players in the league for like the last two or three seasons. Maybe this is the year she finally gets her due.
- [40:25]
Chantel Jennings
Okay, my rapid fire. It's just tough. That free agent aspect is so tough because a lot of these big time names going places were trades. So I'm going to, I'm just going to not answer that one new regime. Absolutely. Golden State. Absolutely. Very curious. Not only for them in general, but this sets up the other expansion teams. How is Toronto going to learn from them? How is Portland going to learn from them? What does this look like entering this new version of the wnba? And then last but not least, Sabrina, you and I, we right here. Paige Beckers all star. There's not much else she needs to say. Let's just be real. All right, let's close it out with one little fun game. So we are going to do another new game because we like to try new things. You know, it's fun. And we're going to do something called blind ranking. I'm sure you've heard of it before, but I'm going to, I'm going to throw out some names and I'm going to want Ben and Sabrina to do their individual blind rankings. And I'm going to tell you these are dynamic duos in the Western Conference now. They're particularly duos of a new player and an old player that's not necessarily like new in birth.
- [41:37]
Sabrina Merchant
Returning how old they would say.
- [41:39]
Chantel Jennings
Or returning player. Thank you. Returning player. Exactly. And I want to see, I want to have you guys blind break. I'm gave you five. I'm going to have to be the.
- [41:48]
Sabrina Merchant
Number one open for Kelsey Plumbing. Dear Hamby, clearly you don't, you don't.
- [41:52]
Chantel Jennings
Know if that's what I'm going to ask. You don't know. Yeah, because that's the thing. The pairings may not be exactly what you think because again, who never knows? You never know if they'll be dynamic. But the point is blind rank them based off of these five. Put them in position. I want to see where you guys end up. You guys ready?
- [42:09]
Sabrina Merchant
So just to clarify, you want me and Ben to do this separately or together? Ooh.
- [42:13]
Chantel Jennings
Actually, you know what? Do it together. Do it together. I think it should be a group exercise now that I think about it. Here we go. Ready? First up, Paige Beckers. Arike Gumbawale.
- [42:23]
Ben Pickman
They're pretty good. Sabrina, they're going to be pretty good.
- [42:25]
Sabrina Merchant
I mean pretty good.
- [42:26]
Chantel Jennings
Yeah.
- [42:26]
Sabrina Merchant
But the west is also very good. I'm thinking like 3ish. That's where I'm landing.
- [42:30]
Ben Pickman
I think that's reasonable. Yeah, yeah. As a potential old and new, I think that's, that might be the right spot.
- [42:36]
Sabrina Merchant
All right.
- [42:37]
Chantel Jennings
Okay. Okay. Kelsey Plum, Ricky Jackson.
- [42:43]
Sabrina Merchant
Way less fun. What do you think, Ben?
- [42:48]
Ben Pickman
Well, I'm looking at, I'm trying to project the pairings here is really where I'm at because I think, I think if Xena plays her cards right now the Phoenix. Mercury. Mercury are well positioned to be our number one. Right. And Alyssa Thomas and Satu or like Satu and Ka is your kind of best new returning pair. That is still out there. But if she throws it out with a wild card like then I think we're screwed, you know. So where are you at? That's, that's my logic.
- [43:16]
Sabrina Merchant
I was, I was thinking like four because I assume like Jewel plus Ace will be one of the top two as well.
- [43:22]
Ben Pickman
Great call. Let's go four. Let's go four.
- [43:24]
Sabrina Merchant
Yeah. Yeah.
- [43:26]
Chantel Jennings
Okay. Okay. This is gonna be fun. Dominique Malanga, Ezzy Magor.
- [43:33]
Sabrina Merchant
That's really fun. That's my number one in my heart. But not in production.
- [43:39]
Ben Pickman
I guess we should have asked as a setup question. We should ask the setup question. Are you gonna pick. How are you picking five teams, five pairs here? Because like are you including.
- [43:49]
Chantel Jennings
Yeah. Not every team will be represented.
- [43:51]
Sabrina Merchant
That's awesome. Like absolutely screwed.
- [43:53]
Ben Pickman
If the aces are, if the aces and, and Mercury are not in, we are screwed. This bind ranking. Yeah. Let's say five and let's take a chance here and we could totally.
- [44:02]
Sabrina Merchant
I think the longer is five.
- [44:04]
Chantel Jennings
Five, five. Okay.
- [44:06]
Sabrina Merchant
There's a lot of good players left.
- [44:08]
Chantel Jennings
Chelsea Gray. J.
- [44:10]
Sabrina Merchant
Okay, so we have Golden State, Minnesota or Phoenix left, Right?
- [44:15]
Ben Pickman
Yeah, she better pick.
- [44:16]
Sabrina Merchant
I don't think Golden State's going to be better than this. I mean Chelsea Gray is fantastic. I was hoping it'd be Asia than it'd be like a no brainer number one. But then like, I mean the thing is like if we go Minnesota it's going to FISA Collier plus like what Carly Samuelson.
- [44:27]
Ben Pickman
No, no, it has to be Phoenix or we're screwed. So.
- [44:30]
Sabrina Merchant
Okay. I kind of just want to leave it at number one for the vibes.
- [44:35]
Ben Pickman
But yeah, let's do it. Let's do. We'll do one there.
- [44:39]
Sabrina Merchant
Okay.
- [44:39]
Chantel Jennings
Okay. Last but not least, Kyle Copper. Alyssa Thomas. Great.
- [44:46]
Ben Pickman
All right. Perfect. We did it Right. Okay, we'll divide them into. Certainly a reasonable case can be made that they should be number one in this exercise, but I feel way better about how we did now. Now knowing that those were the last two. Had you picked the Golden State Valkyries, I would have. This exercise would have been really, really disappointing. Why don't you read it back for us?
- [45:08]
Chantel Jennings
Okay, so you guys started with number one, Chelsea Gray, Jewel Lloyd. Well done. Then Ka Copper, Alyssa Thomas at number two. And then Paige Beckers, Erika Gumbawale number three, Dominique Malanga, Ezzy McBagor at number.
- [45:26]
Sabrina Merchant
Four, five or five. And then we had Kelsey and Richia.
- [45:30]
Chantel Jennings
And then Kelsey Plum and Rekiya, number four. Okay, we're talking about that. This will be interesting. Now the thing about it is I couldn't do the Valkyries because technically everyone's. There's no returning players. There's no returners. So I was like, why are you guys. Why are you guys even including them? They're all new.
- [45:46]
Sabrina Merchant
I was think expansion draft players vs non expansion draft players in my head.
- [45:51]
Chantel Jennings
That's fair. That's fair. Well done, guys. Well done. All right, folks, that is going to be it for today. Like I mentioned, coming up next week, we are going to do a Golden State Valkyries deep dive. All non returning players, obviously. What does this upcoming season look like for the newest addition to the W? And what is next on the horizon for expansion? So we're going to get all into that and if you haven't yet, hit that follow button wherever you're listening so you never miss a pod. And hey, why not come check us out on YouTube. Sabrina's giggle is so much cuter on video. Also, drop us a comment wherever you're listening. We love to read them and if you'd be so kind, give us a rating. It really helps new people find the show. Also, don't forget, there's more to read and watch over our partner Yahoo Sports hub. So check it out. Sports.yahoo.com women n-sports on behalf of the Athletic, I'm Zena Keda. Thanks for listening. We will see you next time. No off season is hosted by Zena Kada with Chantel Jennings, Sabrina Merchant and Ben Pickman. It's produced by Tanika Perot. Our executive producers are Andrea B. Scott and Cassius Fleming. Our theme music is by Marcus Bogala. Brenna Haupt is our video editor. Shannon Ryan is managing editor of women's basketball at the Athletic. Jesse Burton is our head of audio and Tim McMaster is our director of audio operations.
- [47:30]
Sabrina Merchant
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- [48:50]
Chantel Jennings
Acast powers the world's best podcasts. Here's a show that we recommend. Hey guys. Welcome to Giggly Squad, a place where.
- [49:00]
Sabrina Merchant
We make fun of everything but most importantly ourselves.
- [49:03]
Chantel Jennings
I'm Paige desorbo.
- [49:04]
Sabrina Merchant
I'm Hannah Burner.
- [49:05]
Chantel Jennings
Welcome to the the Squad.
- [49:06]
Sabrina Merchant
Giggly Squad started on Summer House when we were giggling during an inappropriate time.
- [49:10]
Chantel Jennings
But of course we can't be managed.
- [49:13]
Sabrina Merchant
So we decided to start this podcast to continue giggling.
- [49:15]
Chantel Jennings
We will make fun of pop culture news.
- [49:18]
Sabrina Merchant
We're watching fashion trends pep talks where.
- [49:20]
Chantel Jennings
We give advice, mental health moments and games and guests.
- [49:24]
Sabrina Merchant
Listen to Giggly Squad on Acast or wherever you get your podcasts. Acast helps creators launch, grow and monetize their podcasts everywhere. Acast.com.