Nelson-Ododa could end up as Connecticut's backup center but I don't see the other two players having much of an effect at all. The Sun dumped Jasmine Thomas' contract - mission accomplished for them. I wonder if Hiedeman would be more inclined to follow her partner to Los Angeles even if the Sun expressed interest in keeping her and were willing to offer decent money for her to stay.
You have to wonder about Connecticut's long-term viability in the league. This is a complete teardown, in part because JJ for sure and maybe Jasmine just don't want to play in such a remote location that lacks any kind of diversity.
The Sun will be bad next year, and I wonder if there's a path for them to get better.
They need more outside shooting than that. If I was them, I'd shop Rebecca Allen around for a better shooter or to clear some cap space to make a run at a free agent shooter (Mabrey? Cunningham? Lexie Brown?).
It's funny - Alyssa Thomas and Brionna Jones are playing on the same team in Czechia (USK Praha) and their team has the same problems as the Curt Miller era Sun lol. Good transition game and Thomas and Jones can score off post ups and offensive rebounds but limited outside shooting so they're susceptible to teams packing the paint defensively. They also play three big lineups with Thomas at the 3. One day Alyssa and Brionna, you will be surrounded by good shooters who will help you win more games when it counts.
There's talk on Twitter that Hiedeman and Thomas are no longer in a relationship because they have unfollowed each other on social media. I don't usually care about players' personal lives but this may mean Hiedeman to Los Angeles is not a possibility now.
So, the Sun have converted three pieces (JJ, JT, #10) into six (RAllen, Harris, #6, ONO, JWalker, rights to KSmith). All of those six should be playing this year, other than maybe Smith – though at least she may not have to sign before Training Camp if she isn’t healthy by then. (Although maybe the Sun just end up renouncing her rights anyway out of indifference.)
Time to start turning people they still [may] have the rights to into 2024/2025 1RPs if the fire sale is still on. They could legitimately trade away Bonner, AThomas, BJones (cored), and Hiedeman (RFA) at this point. It’s really not gonna be super beneficial towards their rebuild if they have all these odds and ends this year to have to parse through like they already are starting to have with the JJones and JThomas deals.
If those players aren’t necessarily wanting out but are still open to a trade, that’s when you can jack up the bidding price and bid buyers against each other. May as well trade them anyway at this point and commit to the hard reset. I no longer see a contender with the current roster. That it’s only mid-January and the Sun roster looks very different already suggests more moves will be coming.
Last Edit: Jan 17, 2023 22:32:45 GMT -5 by Deleted
I can see them keeping Brionna Jones because she's really good and even your post rebuild teams will need a veteran presence of some sort (whether she wants to hang around is another story, of course). The others though, ship 'em out!
So, the Sun have converted three pieces (JJ, JT, #10) into six (RAllen, Harris, #6, ONO, JWalker, rights to KSmith). All of those six should be playing this year, other than maybe Smith – though at least she may not have to sign before Training Camp if she isn’t healthy by then. (Although maybe the Sun just end up renouncing her rights anyway out of indifference.)
Time to start turning people they still [may] have the rights to into 2024/2025 1RPs if the fire sale is still on. They could legitimately trade away Bonner, AThomas, BJones (cored), and Hiedeman (RFA) at this point. It’s really not gonna be super beneficial towards their rebuild if they have all these odds and ends this year to have to parse through like they already are starting to have with the JJones and JThomas deals.
If those players aren’t necessarily wanting out but are still open to a trade, that’s when you can jack up the bidding price and bid buyers against each other. May as well trade them anyway at this point and commit to the hard reset. I no longer see a contender with the current roster. That it’s only mid-January and the Sun roster looks very different already suggests more moves will be coming.
I can see them keeping Brionna Jones because she's really good and even your post rebuild teams will need a veteran presence of some sort (whether she wants to hang around is another story, of course). The others though, ship 'em out!
I can see Bonner doing a contract divorce if absolutely no one wanted her, though I think someone would, since this is the last year of her egregiously overpriced deal (already! seems like just yesterday her trade from Phoenix happened pre-pandemic times, whew), though I could also see her just sticking around, especially if her kids enjoy the Connecticut area
Last Edit: Jan 17, 2023 23:10:24 GMT -5 by Deleted
also, active players who played for Stephanie White when she was last in the league – 2016 in Indiana – include Natalie Achonwa (trade [dump] candidate?), Tiffany Mitchell (UFA), and Erica Wheeler (UFA)
Key takeaway from this article is Darius Taylor says that the Sun aren't rebuilding and they intend to build around Thomas and Bri Jones. Fair enough, but I don't see how they're better than last year unless you think Rebecca Allen is a better fit for this team than Jonquel Jones lol. Even with dumping Jasmine Thomas' salary, most of that is going to go to retaining Bri Jones and Natisha Hiedeman. It would help if they could dump Bonner's contract somewhere but I don't see that realistically happening.
Another article from the Next says they're interested in Azura Stevens which is a little odd because she's not getting more than 20 minutes per game on that roster unless they decide on playing another 3 big lineup with Thomas, Jones and Stevens. Also, where is the cap space for this signing? Probably more trades on the horizon.
Doesn't appear they want to sign Courtney Williams which leaves them to start either 1.) Carrington 2.) The #6 pick 3.) Slide Bonner over to SG, Thomas to SF and have Stevens and Jones inside.
Doesn't appear they want to sign Courtney Williams which leaves them to start either 1.) Carrington 2.) The #6 pick 3.) Slide Bonner over to SG, Thomas to SF and have Stevens and Jones inside.
There is also 4) start Rebecca Allen with Bonner at the 2/3.
Doesn't appear they want to sign Courtney Williams which leaves them to start either 1.) Carrington 2.) The #6 pick 3.) Slide Bonner over to SG, Thomas to SF and have Stevens and Jones inside.
There is also 4) start Rebecca Allen with Bonner at the 2/3.
Allen would probably be the 2 in that scenario, she played the 2 at times for New York – not that it matters much
Looks like Courtney Williams could be another player who ends up in LA
Last Edit: Jan 21, 2023 11:32:48 GMT -5 by Deleted
I was reading a Spanish article (I used Google Translate of course lol) about how Rebecca Allen and Valencia agreed to a contract termination due to her ongoing collapsed lung health problem. Apparently she's still not allowed to fly yet and isn't even playing any contact sport. I don't know if she will be better in 4 months time but considering she was the key asset from the Jonquel Jones trade, this is definitely concerning for the Connecticut Sun.
Also I saw on Twitter that people had spotted Courtney Williams doing season ticket sales promos for the Sun so she'll probably be back for them?
Hopefully Allen heals up asap. If she still isn’t healthy at a certain point, the Sun could probably just suspend her contract for the season. (And obviously the point becomes moot if she somehow still can’t fly by Opening Night.)
If the Sun knew she was having these ongoing lung issues when they traded for her, then they broke the cardinal rule that you should never trade for an injured/unable-to-play player.
The Liberty are probably breathing a sigh of relief that they got rid of her contract, especially in the way that they did.