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Zena Kaeda
For the Athletic I'm Zena Kaeda and this is the Athletic Women's Basketball show presented by Michelob Ultra. Welcome back to the Athletic Women's Basketball show presented by our partners and friends at Michelob Ultra. We got a very special guest in the building today. She is an actual OG of the athletics. Been covering women's basketball for us for quite a long time. You probably have liked and favorited a few of her tweets. I'm sure you've retweeted it. I know I have. We got Lindsey Dark Angelo in the building. She covers WNBA for us. Covers women's college as well. And what I love Lindsay, is that you've got these wonderful roundups. You do a lot of mailbags, you do a lot of roundups. It's for people that are learning about women's basketball. I think that your content is phenomenal to be able to get like a landscape of what's going on and be able to see. And I'm happy to have you in the building. Welcome to the show.
Lindsey Dark Angelo
I'm so happy to be on with you and I really appreciate that compliment because that's exactly the point of the column, is to just give you a wide view of what's going on in the league every other week and catch you up on all the action. So, yeah, I'm glad it's coming across that way.
Zena Kaeda
Oh, yes. Oh yes. Even as someone that knows women's basketball, I, I sometimes there's pieces you don't remember. Right. Like you forget, especially in leagues that have moving players. You know, nowadays there wasn't as much movement in the past as there is now and there's a lot of free agents and all the above. We're going to get into all of that today, but I just appreciate someone keeping it on track for me and you very much do that in your column. So earlier this week you actually, you wrote a few questions about what each WNBA team should do or should look at potentially doing or considering as they go into the 2024 season. Of course, we had such an amazing, calamitous season that just came to an end last week with the Aces going back to back champions. But there's people that want to take them down and they got some decisions to make. Right. And so I want to start, you know, we talked a lot about the Aces and the Liberty. Of course, Ben Pickman, Sabrina Merchant followed them all season. They were the super squads. There was a lot of attention on them. But outside of that, outside of them, what teams are you anticipating making a big leap for this upcoming year that will make them really have a chance to be in that conversation with the quote unquote, super squads?
Lindsey Dark Angelo
Yeah, I mean, even New York has some big questions. Right. Because both Brianna Stewart and Jonquill Jones were on one year deals, so they're both restricted free agents. And while Stewie has, I think sort of indicated that she's happy in New York and I would be surprised if she didn't return at least on another one year contract. Jean Paul Jones is up in the air. I think she might look around a little bit. And so that would lead, you know, the Liberty not in a spot, but that would, you know, prompt Them to maybe do a little, little looking in free agency themselves. And then you go down the next tier to Connecticut and I mean Connecticut, man, what's that saying? Always the bridesmaids, never the bride. Because they have come close so many times. Right. And the way Alyssa Thomas played, I mean she just had just the kind of season we will remember for a long time, just as historic season. And the fact that they came up short yet again, it's kind of heart wrenching in a way. But dejuana Bonner is a free agent. They're going to have to lock her up if they want to keep this team together. And I anticipate them doing so. And also at staying. She's already locked up. Brianna Jones is the question for me. She's unrestricted free agent. I mean Vegas, Vegas. If Candace Parker doesn't return to Vegas and decides to retire in her stellar career, I could see them going after Brianna Jones to, you know, shore up the front court and Ed Death there and that would leave Connecticut with a hole. But let's say Brianna Jones does resign with Connecticut then for me, in order for Connecticut to get over that hump, they have to upgrade the backcourt. And I personally think Skyler Diggin Smith would be a, would be a great fit for this team if they can afford it. And just because they, they need that point guard, they need Thomas played, played point throughout the season, but they need someone to really who is fitted for that position, does well at that position, is suited for that position. And I think Skyler would be a great upgrade.
Zena Kaeda
Yeah, when you think about what Alyssa Thomas was doing bringing the ball up the court, especially that transition right where she would get the rebound, get up the court, that's her bread and butter. But in that half court she needs someone else to help her kind of facilitate, I think and allow her to create space and get positioned where she wants to be in that free throw area, in that post area. And Skylar Dickensmith would be a very nice pickup for Connecticut. They would definitely be a scary team with the way that Skylar Diggins directs traffic and also creates for herself. It's so funny because when you think about Skylar Diggins, I feel like you could just put her anywhere. Like she's like, you just go through the list and it's like, oh, she could be really cool in Seattle, she could be really cool in Indiana. Look at Minnesota and what happened in the playoffs with them. Like shout out to Lindsey Allen. She did her best in that point guard position and stepping up. But they really do need a True point guard in Minnesota. So I'm very curious as far as, like, the free agency. Thinking about Brianna Stewart. Jonathan Cobb, GM at Liberty, already said that he's going to look to core her. As you mentioned. She'll probably stay there. But there's also Neca Iguima K out of Los Angeles. There's Brittney Griner as well, probably. I would imagine there's gonna be some emotional tie to Phoenix. Right. Thinking about how they supported her through her ordeal. But Elena Deldawn as well. Talk to me a little bit about what you think some of those free agents will probably end up doing in the off season.
Lindsey Dark Angelo
Yeah, I think starting with Sky, I think there's like. I mean, I'm looking at the league, and I see like, five, at least five teams that could use her. She's not gonna have, I mean, any shortage of suitors, let's put it that way. Like, in fact, it's gonna be opposite. I think she's gonna have a hard time deciding where to go. And for her, I think it might come down to where the team is at, how far away they are from a championship, because at this point in a career, you definitely know that that's. That's something. That's a goal. That's what she wants. Also, you know, team chemistry and then the system fit and then the area, you know, I mean, Chicago is up there. I think, as far as all of those things, especially with Teresa Weatherspoon coming into the picture. I like the fit in Minnesota. You know, there's. There's been talk about her maybe not getting along with Reeve. I don't know if that. I see that. I think this guy wants to play, and I think she'd be open. I mean, they. Reeve is a point guard coach. That's a position she's always highlighted, and she's always champion. Skylar would get prime attention and usage in that role with Minnesota. But I also like Seattle alongside Jewel Lloyd. I mean, what a backcourt, right? Jewel, Lloyd and Skyler. And then, you know, they can. They can use the draft pick, their lottery pick to maybe get a big. Like Cameron Brink or somebody that could come in and really impact the team right away, depending on where they fall in the draft. So I think Skyler's got. She's looking good heading into free agency. Daladon, another player you mentioned. I don't know, man. I feel like she's getting so. She's so close to retiring right now. I think it's hard to step away, but she just has not been consistently healthy for the past few seasons, and I don't know that that's going to change. And then you sort of hamstring the Mystics right from moving forward and starting a complete rebuild if they're spending money to keep her and keep that core together. And I'm not really sure she would go anywhere else. She's got such family ties to the Washington area. As far as Griner goes, I agree with you. There's such an emotional tie there and she's got such a relationship with dt. I couldn't. I don't know if I could see her moving on from, from them unless DT retires. But there's so many questions to that team. I don't really know what that their outlook is that good to make another championship run next season unless they just went all in and just, you know, try to hit a home run for one more season.
Zena Kaeda
What's so exciting about this is this. And actually I want to ask you, for someone that's covered the league for so long, when's the last time that you've seen this sort of. I don't want to necessarily call it volatility, but like, there's just so many factors up in the air as far as where players could end up, what they could do. I would say, I think this new CBA and also these new owners that are courting players, there's now a marketplace for where players are trying to figure out where do I want to end up? That's best for my family, that's best for my career, that's best for my, you know, my situation in terms of if I'm trying to rehab or I'm trying to get better, whatever. Like, I feel like there's just so many more elements now that are causing movement across the league. When's the last time you've seen something like this? And do you think it's good for the league?
Lindsey Dark Angelo
It's great for the league. And to answer your question, never. The CBA changed what happens in free agency now. It completely changed the landscape. I actually wrote a column a couple years ago right after the new cba because free agency and the off season, the WNBA was like crickets. There was like nothing going on unless you and you would have like maybe one big name player who fulfilled their five or six year contract and then finally was like, oh, maybe let's see what's out there, or forces a trade. That's pretty much it. Now you have, we have WNB newsbreakers, like doing like the hot stove thing in the middle of February, like just dropping news left and right about player movement and it's exciting and it's so great. And then what else it does, it levels the playing field. Right. You know, teams that have to rebuild were forced to rebuild through the draft and it would take years to put it together. Now they can pluck a couple free agents and instantly become a super team, you know, and instantly become a championship contender and is able to compete. And the parody is off the charts. And you know, that is just so. It's so great for the league. It's so great for the off season because it actually brings attention and storylines and so, yeah, it's never been like this before. And it is just, it's so much fun to watch and to see how it kind of shakes out. And it's also players signing less, like signing one year, two year, three year deals. So then you have more player movement happening on a regular basis. And then to wrap that up, like you said, owners, big time owners coming into play now, they want to empty out, they want to win. So, you know, they're doing, they're building practice facilities and paying coaches top dollar and wanting to attract, you know, top tier players to the city. I mean, the league, as far as this goes, has never been in a better position.
Zena Kaeda
I love it. I agree. I think that. And it's coming at the perfect time, right? Like, right when everyone's paying. I think it's. It goes hand in hand. Right. Why are people paying attention more? Because of all of this buzz. Cause of all of this movement. And I love that this WNBA Finals or just this WNBA season, the viewership numbers. Right. And it also trickles down into NCAA numbers and this upcoming season, I think that there's more buzz around what's going on the NCAA level, which that connection has been pretty disjointed in the past years that I think it's made a connection more than anything, more so than I've ever seen it before. So that's very, very exciting. I'm curious. We, you know, we're talking about free agency. We're talking about, you know, some of these players that are already on the teams. Are there any players coming off of injury that you're excited to see back on the court?
Lindsey Dark Angelo
I mean, first one that comes to mind is Breanna Jones, right?
Zena Kaeda
Same. Yeah.
Lindsey Dark Angelo
That was a devastating injury, not, not just for her, but also just for Connecticut, like we already mentioned. And it's, you know, it's hard. We've gotten used to the fact that players come back from ACL tears or Achilles or sprained ankles like that. Right. We expect them to be back. And it takes hard work not only to get back to using whatever injured limb or ankle or whatever that happened, but also to get back in the basketball shape. They work their butts off. And I imagine that by. I'm hoping by the start of next season, Jones is ready, is ready to go wherever she ends up. Candace Parker. I. I did an article with Candace Parker at the beginning of the season, and she did not retire after last season because she didn't like the way it played out with Chicago getting eliminated, the way they were eliminated playoffs. And I can't see her going out like this either, you know, on an injury, even though ace is repeated, you know, she.
Zena Kaeda
But that's not how she wants it.
Lindsey Dark Angelo
Yes. So I would like to see her recover from her, from her injury and then, you know, maybe try to run it back one more time for a three peat.
Zena Kaeda
I mean, Sabrina told us they got the money. They got the money. They got the cap space to bring her. To bring her back. Yeah, that's. Those two are huge. I think Breonna Jones, I think, is probably the one that everyone's got on their calendar to see back with the Connecticut sun, because had they had her, this super squad conversation may have gone a little bit differently. And I think everyone's aware of that. I've said this before. I'm really excited to see Isabel Harrison come back. I think she was on a really great trajectory, especially coming out of Athletes Unlimited into the league. I just think that she was just playing really, really strong. I'm also excited to see some of these babies, some of the NCAA babies. We're not going to get into them just yet. We're still wanting to. We got to round up the wnba. But speaking of the babies, I'm particularly thinking about Seattle. I'm thinking about Indiana, these very young teams that are on the brink of good. Right. And you think about Seattle and they've got a great coaching staff out there, great development staff out there. So you're going to see growth in that team. Of course, you think Indiana. That's another reason why I would love to see a Skylar Diggins, Aaliyah, Boston link up. And you mentioned that. But that veteran backcourt with that young but very talented front court. I'm curious what you think about these younger, these younger teams and their trajectories and what do they need to do in order to really make a mark in this league and continue to grow.
Lindsey Dark Angelo
Yeah. Before I answer That I just want to say Lexi Brown, too, is another one I'd like to see. I know she had a really tough season with like the undisclosed illness, and then she, you know, obviously explained what that was. But for her, I would just like to see her again because she started off the year so well and I just like to see her rebound and just have a full season healthy.
Zena Kaeda
That's a good one. Yep.
Lindsey Dark Angelo
But yeah, to answer your question, Indiana, I mean, they're so close. They're so close. You saw the evolution this year and they lost multiple. Multiple regular season games by single digits. And that comes down to. There were plenty of close games where they just had a hard time shutting the door, closing it out, pulling out the win. And I think that has to do.
Zena Kaeda
You know what can help with that, Lindsey?
Lindsey Dark Angelo
Experience.
Zena Kaeda
Veterans experience. That's it. You know, that's what it comes down to.
Lindsey Dark Angelo
Yes, definitely. It has more to do with experience than talent. They have the talent, you know, Aaliyah, Boston. What more can you say about her? They do have unrestricted free agents on the team, Emma Cannon and Amanda Zawiebee. And I think they can afford. I know Emma has an emotional tie to Indiana, but if they really want to get over that hump, I think they can let those two walk and see what else they can attract. Get a big name free agent, perhaps like Skylar Diggins Smith or Natasha Cloud is a possibility as well. I mean, what a great veteran. I know that the. They paid significantly for Erica Wheeler, but Cloud is a much better defender. I think she's more of a calming presence, more of a vocal leader on the court and off of it. So, yeah, that could be an upgrade for them as well.
Zena Kaeda
And you know, Cloud says she's in her villain season. Yeah, right. She felt a way about those awards playing out the way they had played out. And so she said she's in her villain season, so wherever she ends up, it will be fun to watch. But that's a really good point. And when you think about what Cloud did, even for the Mystics this year, she was always that poise for them to be able to calm them down when things were getting a little erratic or, you know, when Brit Bundles was trying to do her thing and just getting. Things were just getting a little too much in the half court. It was always Natasha Cloud to be like, let's settle down. Let's run our stuff. And I think that a young group and a young core, like what Indiana has would be really good. I'm also really excited to see Lexi hall. Take a step like a leap, too. Ooh, you got some ideas brewing in my mind now. I'm really. I completely forgot about that. That's good. That's good. What about in Seattle?
Lindsey Dark Angelo
Seattle, I think we mentioned earlier. I mean, again, Skyler. Skyler's a topic of conversation.
Zena Kaeda
Skyler, Skyler. Skyler.
Lindsey Dark Angelo
Multiple teams. But, you know, pairing her with. With Jewel would be. Would be a dynamic duo, a fun backcourt to watch. For me, it's the rookie class, right. For Seattle. Jordan Horston made an incredible leap throughout the season. I thought I did a rookie rank for the first three months of the season, and she just kept climbing up the charts. She was playing in the post when in college, she was more of a wing and. And a taller three. And now she was playing the four. Seattle and having to guard Asia Wilson and all the, you know, and John Quill. She had some big assignments bumping up against Jonquil Jones. Yeah, huge assignments. Huge assignments. And so she had to learn on the fly how to do that. And I thought she made great strides. And, you know, there's Seattle. They drafted well, I thought. And the rookie class is definitely going to evolve as things go on. But I also like the fact that Noelle Quinn has been locked up for the foreseeable future, and I think that's important going forward because that removes that question mark, and she deserves it. You know, she. She. I know last season was a. This season was a tough season, but considering what they lost and kind of Jewel kind of had to carry the team on and off the court herself, I feel like, you know, Quinn. Quinn had. Quinn earned the extension, in my opinion, for. Not For. For previous seasons as well.
Zena Kaeda
Yeah. I mean, again, people could see what Quinn was doing and what she's building in Seattle in terms of developing that young core. And I'm also biased. My boyfriend's cousin is on their coaching staff, but so she's got a good coaching staff over there as well. And so I think that there's a lot of excitement for the leap, I think for the leap that they're going to take next year. But they do need to get Jewel a little bit of help in the backcourt because she can't keep doing it all by herself and also keep scoring the numbers that she's scoring and then not getting the accolades for it. But that's okay. I actually am really, really happy that we're talking to you, because I have always wanted to ask you when you do your rookie rankings or you do, you know, your WNBA rankings, all of the above, what do you factor in? Like how do you, how do you. Each week, what do you take into consideration when you do those rankings?
Lindsey Dark Angelo
Yeah, so it's not just about how many points they're put, you know, especially when it comes to rookies, how many points they're putting up because that can get, can be deceiving because there's other areas that they could be excelling at. But so I take a look at overall stats, of course, but also usage percentage, you know, how much are they being used throughout the game and their efficiency rating. Like how efficient are they when they get the ball. Like Alia Boston's efficiency rating was just mind boggling for, for a rookie for her rookie season. She was consistently in the top 10 or even, I think she was even in the top five at one point for, for efficiency rating. And then I also, I also look at, you know, watching games just, you know, their, their evolution as far as them knowing where to be like on defense or, or, or smart plays like making the extra pass or things like that. Just seeing their evolution throughout the season is a good, is a good way to, you know, is a good thing to take into consideration when it comes to team rankings. I mean that's obviously different, but that's more, you know, considering the whole team, not just wins and losses, but how they play against other teams and you know, the margin of, the margin of the win, the margin of the loss. Because you could have like the Aces play New York and beat them, but maybe only lose by by one and then Indiana play New York and lose by, I mean lose by 20. So you have to take all that into consideration. But this year was hard, man. Ranking teams. I feel like outside of the outside aces, New York and Connecticut, those were pretty much my 1, 2, 3 for most of this. For the bulk of the season. Yeah, everything below that was like a toss up, right?
Zena Kaeda
This was the season. And we kept saying this and I kept like on my tweets and things where I just kept saying that this is a season where you are seeing night in, night out. These are all of the best players in the world playing on all these different teams. Any night could be any team's night. Like you mentioned this. I think it was like maybe top, like one of the first five games of the season for Indiana. Like yeah, they weren't winning games but they were close. They were close, but they were close. Right. And you were seeing really early that at any point it could be anyone's night. And just like you said, they just couldn't close. And so you're seeing that that gap of being able to figure it out and then excel and win games is so tight. And particularly when you looked even at the wnba, the playoff matchups, right, like the Mystics being ranked where they were. Did that make sense? Probably not, right? Like, probably not for the actual caliber we know them to be, but that's just how the games played out, for them to end up being ranked that way. So this is definitely a competitive league. We know that. We know that with the small amount of teams that there is and the sheer amount of amazing players that there are, there's not enough spots. Every single team is stacked. And that's why this whole conversation around the Big Threes was. I get why some players found it comical. I get why Dallas was looking like, excuse me, why are we not in this conversation? Right. Like, I get why there were certain teams that were just like, we could easily be the big Three. We could easily be that super squad. It could just be one player. It could be any given night. I can imagine your job was very difficult. And I'm curious, like, how are you watching all these games? How are you keeping up with everything and being able to watch all this stuff with such detail?
Lindsey Dark Angelo
Wnba, shoot. What's the league pass? Why did I blank on that? Yeah, WNBA league pass has the. One of the best things about that that's available is rewatching games. You can rewatch.
Zena Kaeda
It's true.
Lindsey Dark Angelo
So if I say I'm able to watch, you know, two games one night, and then I don't have time or there, because obviously during the season, multiple games are on it at the same time.
Zena Kaeda
At the same. Same time.
Lindsey Dark Angelo
So I'll go the next morning. I will. While I'm sipping my coffee, I'll rewatch. I'll rewatch the game I missed. And also they have what's called quick games. So it's the games with all these highlighted plays or important plays that happen that are. That are condensed down to 10 minutes, which I use that. I use that a lot, just. Just to stay on top of things, you know, as much as I can. Because, you know, It's. You know, 12 teams is manageable. I don't know what's gonna happen when we expand to, like, 20 or something. Eventually my head's gonna be spinning.
Zena Kaeda
But I was just. I was like, this is gonna be a lot. And especially when there's more players to keep up with, more explosive, dynamic, amazing, energizing players to keep up with. Yeah, it's exciting.
Lindsey Dark Angelo
Oh, it's Big.
Zena Kaeda
But it is for you, especially for someone like you, that's gotta keep us with what's going on. I am, like, nervous for you, but I'm not gonna keep giving out secrets. And no, this is not in a commercial for League Pass. But, yes, League Pass stepped up their game. They did step up their game, and I appreciate that. The WNBA is clearly tapping into their partners and tapping into what fans are saying of what they need. There was a lot of really cool content on League Pass. I really, really liked the little stories that were like previews to the. To the games.
Lindsey Dark Angelo
I thought so, too.
Zena Kaeda
Just.
Lindsey Dark Angelo
Yeah.
Zena Kaeda
Just to give you a little bit of insight of, like, what you're about, like, what you should look for, what you, you know, who are the players that are gonna perform really well. So I thought that was really cool that you can see the WNBA making those leaps as a league, too, because as much as we critique them and they deserve critique, there are really good things. And, you know, I don't think we give enough credit to the fact that they did make that experience better for their fans this year. But I am. I'm very excited to keep having you back, Lindsey. Definitely.
Lindsey Dark Angelo
College basketball season around the corner. I got my top 25 most intriguing players dropping next week. That's going to be fun. Yeah. So it's a list of not just the best players, but the most intriguing. So we got. We got transfers in there, we got people coming back from injuries and, you know, dynamic players. It's. It's. It's. I've been working on that this week, so that's been fun.
Zena Kaeda
I'm excited to read that. So. All right, that's already two plugs. Go read this. WNBA roundup. And Lindsey gives us all her insights on what she thinks the teams should do in the off season and questions they have to ask. And then, of course, coming up, NCAA season's around the corner, and I like this. Not the top players, necessarily, but most intriguing.
Lindsey Dark Angelo
Yep.
Zena Kaeda
Because we love a good storyline. Heck, yeah, we love a good storyline in the W. Well, thank you so much, Lindsey, for joining and giving us that little breakdown. Not little, very big breakdown. But now it's time for me to go off the script. For today's off the script. I am going very off the script. I'm not even talking about women's basketball anymore. I want to just give a quick shout out and encourage you all to go read about Travis Dermott. Travis Dermot is a player for the Arizona Coyotes in the NHL. And if you haven't Heard he is a longtime supporter of the LGBTQIA community. And the NHL made a very interesting decision to not allow players to use their sticks, to have stickers around their sticks to support certain causes, particularly around Pride Month. And this was banned. They said they didn't want any distractions, ultimately. And Travis was the first player to break that rule. And he put a rainbow sticker around his stick, and he did this on Saturday. We're recording now. It's on Wednesday. So he did this last Saturday, October 21st. By Tuesday, the league changed their position. The NHL said, okay, we are reversing our position. You can support Pride Month, Pride Night, and the Coyotes, I think, I believe they have their Pride Night coming up this Friday, so we'll see how they decide to respond and celebrate. But I do think this relates to women's basketball in a way, because we know women's basketball players are the most vocal athletes when it comes to advocating for themselves, for their communities, for others around them, marginalized groups. And I really think that this was a great stance that Travis made, especially in a league that struggles with their position on supporting this community. We know that there's issues with a lot of players being from Russia and their feelings around the LGBTQIA community, and in trying to balance capitalism and their relationship with those players and that fan base. This community has been ostracized from the NHL. And so it was really beautiful to see Travis Dermott make a stance and not only make a stance, make a stance that made a difference. The NHL changed their position. That was one person deciding to go against the norm, and I just thought that was beautiful. And go read about it. Go read about him. I ain't gonna lie to you. I only know that they won the game. They won the game. 2, 1. I don't know much about Travis Dermot beyond that, but he definitely made a mark in my book for making a stance. And I know there's a lot of women's basketball players that are very proud of him and other athletes that are very proud of him for making that stance. His team was proud of him. His coach was proud of him, and I just want to give that quick shout out in my off the script. All right, folks, well, that is all for today's show. Thanks again for tuning in again. I keep teasing it, but it's coming, y'all. NCAA is right around the corner. Make sure you stay tuned on the Athletic women's basketball Show. We will give you all the deets and talk about the best players, the most intriguing players as Lindsey mentioned, talk about, you know, the teams that you gotta keep an eye for. And we're really excited to get some more interviews out there. So give us your feedback, what you think about what's going on on the show right now, what you want to hear, what you want to talk about. We definitely want to make sure we stay in tune with what our fans want. All right. For the Athletic, I'm Zena Kada encouraging you to keep listening, keep learning and keep loving the game because that's the only way we're going to grow it. Until next time.
Lindsey Dark Angelo
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Zena Kaeda
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Hey guys, we have an exciting announcement about our podcast.
Lindsey Dark Angelo
For the past seven years, the Holderness Family Podcast has been the most favorite thing we do.
Zena Kaeda
We love getting to talk to experts.
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We love having meaningful conversations, just the two of us. And we also love hearing from you.
Lindsey Dark Angelo
But the thing we love most is being a place where you can laugh.
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A lot has changed in the last.
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Seven years and we feel very lucky that our audience is growing older with us.
Lindsey Dark Angelo
So in the spirit of that, we are relaunching our podcast. We are excited to Introduce Laugh Lines with Kim and Penn Holderness.
Zena Kaeda
The Laugh Lines podcast will be all.
Salesperson
About aging together better and also being.
Zena Kaeda
Able to laugh about getting older.
Lindsey Dark Angelo
We hope you'll join us. Search Laugh Lines with Kim and Pen Holderness. New episodes every Tuesday.
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Podcast Summary: "No Offseason: The Athletic Women's Basketball Show"
Episode: "It Will Be An Eventful Offseason"
Release Date: October 27, 2023
No Offseason: The Athletic Women’s Basketball Show dives deep into the dynamic landscape of women's basketball during the offseason. Hosted by Zena Kaeda, Chantel Jennings, Sabreena Merchant, and Ben Pickman, this episode features an insightful conversation with Lindsey Dark Angelo, a seasoned WNBA and women's college basketball reporter. The discussion centers around free agency moves, team strategies, player injuries, and the evolving competitive nature of the league.
Timestamp: [04:51]
Zena Kaeda opens the episode by welcoming Lindsey Dark Angelo, praising her comprehensive coverage of women's basketball. The conversation quickly shifts to the recent conclusions of a tumultuous season, highlighting the Las Vegas Aces' back-to-back championships and the challenges facing other teams aiming to dethrone them.
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Timestamp: [07:39]
Lindsey delves into specific teams poised for significant changes in the upcoming offseason, analyzing potential moves that could reshape the league's competitive balance.
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Timestamp: [18:02]
The conversation shifts to the significance of player injuries and their anticipated returns, which could dramatically influence team dynamics and performance.
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Timestamp: [15:09]
Lindsey provides an overview of how recent changes in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and new team ownership are transforming free agency, making the offseason more vibrant and competitive than ever.
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Timestamp: [21:35]
The focus shifts to younger teams like Seattle and Indiana, exploring what they need to do to make a substantial impact in the league.
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Timestamp: [26:52]
Lindsey discusses her methodology in creating rookie and WNBA player rankings, emphasizing a comprehensive evaluation beyond just points scored.
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Timestamp: [34:02]
Zena Kaeda transitions the conversation to a broader social issue, highlighting NHL player Travis Dermott's support for the LGBTQIA community and drawing parallels to women's basketball's advocacy efforts.
Key Discussion Points:
Timestamp: [33:15]
The episode concludes with a preview of upcoming content, including Lindsey's top 25 most intriguing NCAA players and plans for future interviews.
Key Discussion Points:
"It Will Be An Eventful Offseason" offers a comprehensive analysis of the current state and future prospects of women's basketball. Lindsey Dark Angelo's expert insights provide listeners with a deep understanding of team strategies, player movements, and the evolving competitiveness within the WNBA. Additionally, the episode underscores the importance of advocacy and social impact, linking the experiences of women's basketball players to broader societal issues. With the NCAA season on the horizon, the show promises continued engaging content for basketball enthusiasts.
Notable Quotes Recap:
This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the intricacies of women's basketball, providing expert analysis and highlighting the exciting developments shaping the future of the league.