Haven't thought it through but I'll start with players I wouldn't bring back:
Hayes Coffey Vaughn Billings Wheeler
I like Hayes, Billings and Wheeler but I don't they are what you need to build around. Hayes may not be back anyway, Wheeler just hasn't been that effective or efficient, and Billings is hardly better than Hillmon now and won't get any better. They do need a 5 so they can move Parker to the 4. More to come.
In the Lottery you’ll likely have your pick of centers. While pretty much any of them can return for an extra Covid year like Ashley Joens did, it’s not like all the teams in the Lottery are gonna pick a center anyway – especially not Washington.
Between Boston (SoCar), Kitley (VT), Lee (KSU), and Key (Tenn), someone should be there for the Dream even if they pick 4th.
Last Edit: Aug 14, 2022 16:40:33 GMT -5 by Deleted
Although IMO Cheyenne Parker is more of a 5 than a 4 if you had to pick a true position for her, no matter what LaChina Robinson says. I don’t see her as mobile enough to defend 4s or good enough as an outside shooter to be a proper stretch-4.
That said, I think she’s a 4/5 tweener anyway, so it’ll simply depend on how Wright & Padover think she could best fit within next year’s team.
Last Edit: Aug 14, 2022 16:44:04 GMT -5 by Deleted
You're forgetting AD though she has been injury/illness prone. I wouldn't be that opposed to Billings and Wheeler coming back so long as they don't overpay. Both were overpaid this year and both might be in demand. The Dream seem to love Wheeler though and may even be grooming her for coaching in the future.
stormeo - Parker is not that good at the 5 and would be better than either Billings or Hillmon at the 4. Both of these seem like career backups too me. I'd also be looking for a trade for Parker.
Though Rhyne Howard will be Rookie of the Year, she still has a long way to go as a player. I watched her carefully in the first New York game this week and she gave up at least eight points through lackadaisical or non-existent help defense.
And Atlanta was 6.9 points better per 100 possessions with her off the court, second worst on the team (behind Nia Coffey).
According to Richyyy at HerHoopStats, it's possible that Tiffany Hayes' rights will be retained by Atlanta, rather than her becoming a free agent as previously scheduled, due to her contract being temp-suspended to end the season.
Suspended - Contract Expired: This status came to the fore in 2021, because of how many players skipped the 2020 bubble season and therefore fell into this category. If a player's contract expires while they are suspended they are deemed to have been "withholding services" in the language of the WNBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement. Their previous team then retains their rights and the player is not allowed to talk to or sign with any other team. In practice, it's very similar to the reserved status described above, although no qualifying offer is required. An unusual case has cropped up this year with Tiffany Hayes being suspended only a few days ago when she left the Dream to represent Azerbaijan overseas. She appears to fall into this category, but exactly how the league will designate her isn’t yet 100% clear.
Last Edit: Aug 15, 2022 18:39:56 GMT -5 by Deleted
According to Richyyy at HerHoopStats, it's possible that Tiffany Hayes' rights will be retained by Atlanta, rather than her becoming a free agent as previously scheduled, due to her contract being temp-suspended to end the season.
Suspended - Contract Expired: This status came to the fore in 2021, because of how many players skipped the 2020 bubble season and therefore fell into this category. If a player's contract expires while they are suspended they are deemed to have been "withholding services" in the language of the WNBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement. Their previous team then retains their rights and the player is not allowed to talk to or sign with any other team. In practice, it's very similar to the reserved status described above, although no qualifying offer is required. An unusual case has cropped up this year with Tiffany Hayes being suspended only a few days ago when she left the Dream to represent Azerbaijan overseas. She appears to fall into this category, but exactly how the league will designate her isn’t yet 100% clear.
I think it is probably moot because either Tip won't come back because she gets more money in Turkey, and prioritization may cost her too much to give up. She could have skipped the current NT Call Up but so doing would have likely cost her her Azerbaijan passport, which is worth a lot of money to her. So - I think she stay in Turkey and forgoes the Dream. Alternatively, the Dream may not want her back as this season which did not give them much playing time for $200k. For about 1/3 of the cap space they can probably get Caldwell who has pretty effective and some 10 years younger.
Dream are the Cap Space capital of the WNBA, but getting quality FA's seems like it will be difficult. My pipe dream is to work a SNT with the Sun for B. Jones (maybe taking Jaz Thomas who the Dream then waive) for Wallace or a bag of chips. I'd also like to see Mabrey coming here as well. That said, I'm pretty sure a lot of teams will be wrangling to get those players.
Dream are the Cap Space capital of the WNBA, but getting quality FA's seems like it will be difficult. My pipe dream is to work a SNT with the Sun for B. Jones (maybe taking Jaz Thomas who the Dream then waive) for Wallace or a bag of chips. I'd also like to see Mabrey coming here as well. That said, I'm pretty sure a lot of teams will be wrangling to get those players.
The Dream as both a team and a franchise though is undoubtedly on the up-and-up. The small arena and distance from the actual city of Atlanta may still come into play, but cap space, cap space, cap space.
Also, here is the snippet of free agents who would call Atlanta at least one of their "home" franchises. Atlanta is Rhyne Howard's (Cleveland, TN) "home" franchise already fwiw, which works out well.
Lexie Brown (Suwanee, GA) Alysha Clark (Mt. Juliet, TN) Kaela Davis (Suwanee, GA) Isabelle Harrison (Nashville, TN) Tiffany Mitchell (Charlotte, NC) Theresa Plaisance (Houma, LA) Victoria Vivians (Carthage, MS) Courtney Williams (Folkston, GA)
Sadly, none of those players are more than role players let alone superstars. (Harrison though seemed to be a bit dissatisfied in Dallas not too long ago. Ditto Allisha Gray possibly given her trade rumors, and while she's not a free agent she is from the Georgia area...) Perhaps the Dream are simply content to play the long game with A'ja Wilson, given their HC and GM are both from the Vegas franchise.
But with some pre-existing young raw talent and a ton of cap space, the Dream can approach this thing multiple ways. Stop the rebuild and spend spend spend, or take the same approach as this year by signing mid-level players to short-term deals and continue to stockpile & develop young talent (where two Top-8 picks in what looks to be a better-than-average Draft should help with that).
None of the players on the list appeal to me much and I think players that came from the "nearby" states on the list have little reason to come to Atlanta. Their families might be able to come to visit once during the season but that's probably about it and could the same no matter where they play.
The one player that might be a good fit would be Clark. She might be a very good mentor for young Dream players and be a good backup for Howard. I suspect she would have much higher ambitions than that.
I was thinking if the A. Gray rumors are accurate then the Dream might trade No. 8 + someone (Wallace?) and play her in Hayes spot. I think that's a long shot and Dallas may want to keep her or can get a better deal elsewhere.
I kind of the sign cheap players and stockpile draft picks by taking on salary dumps. Of course, if a Bri Jones, Mabrey or McCowan is interested.....
Plaisance needs to retire. I could see Kaela Davis given a shot in Atlanta if Phoenix doesn't grab her first. Lexie Brown may get a deal with Los Angeles considering they might be guard shy at free agency (especially if Canada goes elsewhere).
Last Edit: Aug 24, 2022 18:08:53 GMT -5 by toad455
Davis already got a shot at the Dream in 2020 and was pretty much glued to the bench. She only got into 2 games (but I think she was around longer than that) and played one minute. I think she also got cut from training camp in 2021. I always thought she had potential but she never found a consistent shot. She has posted on social media that she had been working on her shooting. It doesn't look like she has played overseas but it would probably help her if she did.
Kaela Davis appeared in 9 games this year for three different teams (incl. playoffs). She scored in double figures in half of them – once for the Storm, thrice for the Merc including her 23-point burst in that final game of the year.
Time for someone to give her another chance, it would seem.
By that logic, I guess the Dream/another team probably won’t be bringing Maya Caldwell (back) into the fold next year. 🤔
I wonder if we’ll see a Rebekah Gardner Effect next year where several GMs bring in these older overseas vets in hopes they can contribute right away. Might be better than the kids outta college!
Last Edit: Aug 25, 2022 15:57:05 GMT -5 by Deleted
I think Davis definitely deserves a long look, but the fact that two teams cut her this year, as opposed to in the past, does raise questions.
Gardner is a great story, and an odd one. It may speak more to the WNBA's lack of resources than anything else, or it also could be she added significantly to her game in the past couple years.