I agree with Toad455. Following this deal, EDD to Phoenix is pretty much impossible. Maybe she will just re-sign with Washington on a one-year, super max deal.
Someone on Rebkell made a good point, what if CP3 retires and EDD is traded to Vegas?
My main issue with EDD to Vegas is, what is Vegas sending to DC. None of their big 4 are leaving. I doubt Clark goes back there. Vegas doesn't have a first round pick until 2026.
i smell a 3-or-more-team trade coming for EDD regardless of which team she’s headed to. neither Phoenix nor Vegas respectively appear to have the assets anymore on their own.
I have been running over what occurred in free agency, and I believe that it's obvious that Phoenix and Seattle have both improved significantly from last year. I really don't see any way that both teams are not in the playoffs. Atlanta, with the addition of a good PG in Jordin Canada, has also improved, as has Minnesota with the addition of Courtney Williams, Natisha Hiedeman, and Alanna Smith, as well as the pending addition of Ceci Zandalasini. The addition of Katie Lou Samuelson through free agency and of Caitlin Clark through the draft improves Indiana significantly, and if everything gels, should also propel them into the playoffs.
Then there are a group of teams that may not have improved much, but that have been able to keep their core together, and that will almost certainly be playoff bound. I am talking about Dallas, which was able to hang onto Satou Sabally and Kalani Brown, and which will be adding at least one high pick through the draft. (I think that one of their first round picks is probably a deferral pick, for reasons mentioned in an earlier post.) Las Vegas and New York are also in this same group of teams, teams that have pretty much maintained what they had, if not improved slightly.
Connecticut, with the loss of Rebecca Allen, Tiffany Hayes, and Natisha Hiedeman, may have taken a slight step backward, but with both Brionna Jones and DeWanna Bonner returning, it is very hard to see them not in the playoffs.
Really, the only teams that have regressed significantly are Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington (especially if EDD decides to sit out when her demands for a trade are liklely not met). If you assume that Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington are all lottery bound, who do you see as the fourth team that joins them in sitting out the playoffs?
If you assume that Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington are all lottery bound, who do you see as the fourth team that joins them in sitting out the playoffs?
I definitely see those three teams in the lottery, even if EDD decides to play in Washington this season imo.
That last spot is so tough though for me right now it’s still Indiana 🥺 though I want Aliyah (and Clark) to lead them to the playoffs this season. It’s the youth, that’s why I have them on the outs over Minny and ATL. Also in contention for lottery for me are Minnesota and Atlanta. While they both improved, other teams have more star power.
Bluedevilsdsufan5, I think that I agree with you on your response to my question. While Indiana, Atlanta, and Minnesota are all teams that have/soon will be improved significantly from where they were last season, they are also probably the most likely to be the fourth team missing out on the playoffs. The only other team that I might add to the list is Dallas, which still has problems at the point. At least after Indiana drafts Caitlin Clark, I think that Dallas is/will be far behind Indiana, Atlanta, and Minnesota at the position.
Unless a new team surfaces for Delle Donne, I have a feeling she'll stay in DC. She could go back to Chicago...
EDD could very well stay in DC. that initial tweet said there wouldn’t be any chance of her re-signing with DC unless she was cored. why the Mystics would want that at this point, i truthfully don’t know. i mean, i do… but i don’t.
come to think of it, Chicago does have a lotto pick they could use to re-acquire EDD… as well as a post veteran contract or two they’d probably like to get rid of. hell, maybe Mabrey says, “this ain’t what i signed up for” – though EDD would find herself on a pretty empty Sky roster in the event Mabrey were part of the return package.
considering New York was going after Nneka, i don’t necessarily count them out of the EDD sweepstakes either even as we’ve heard zero connection with the Liberty & EDD – mostly since neither Stewie nor JJ have actually re-signed yet. really feels like New York’s waiting for someone/something, or to be part of something… not to mention, that’s the one other franchise besides DC that’s close to home for EDD. all that said, what they themselves would give Washington in return is its own sticking point.
in fact, which of the teams still entered in the EDD sweepstakes does have the assets to give up in order to get her? Vegas and Phoenix from my vantage point don’t. someone big would have to want out from either team, of which we’ve seen zero evidence.
still, Phoenix to me has a lack of PFs on their roster. and Candace Parker just re-signed for Vegas, giving them yet another post player. it’s staying in DC or going to Phoenix in a three-team trade for EDD in my view. maybe New York gets involved as a third team.
or, maybe something else big happens first that better clears things up on this front. not sure what it would be, but it feels likely that something else is coming.
with health being its usual wild card: while Vegas should finish 1st again, this is a year where coaching is really gonna make or break what the rest of the playoff picture looks like. as it relates to the talent & experience combination, there's really not a huge difference between 3rd and 8th IMO. and if for whatever reason things go wrong for particularly Vegas and/or New York as the season goes on, either team could potentially take a tumble down the standings.
with health being its usual wild card: while Vegas should finish 1st again, this is a year where coaching is really gonna make or break what the rest of the playoff picture looks like. as it relates to the talent & experience combination, there's really not a huge difference between 3rd and 8th IMO. and if for whatever reason things go wrong for particularly Vegas and/or New York as the season goes on, either team could potentially take a tumble down the standings.
I think Connecticut maintains top 3, pending full health for all 🙏🏽 I counted them out last preseason and won’t do so again haha…..I think minus Hayes and Hiedeman is tough, but Jefferson and Carrington will fill in fine. And getting Bri Jones back over ONO is huge if she’s close to last seasons pre injury production. And Coach White has proven herself to me, with a talented roster at least.
I agree 4-9 is all dependent on how quickly new stars gel together. Does Dallas continuity and potential growth/added depth keep them at 4? Or will Phoenix and Seattle star power outshine them and they slide? I’m excited to find out and it’s hard to predict imo! But I’ll keep my top 3 as LV, NY and Conn for now.
Be kind to yourself, the way you expect others to be kind to you.
I have to question what the delay is in New York re-signing Stewart & Jonquel at this point? Is there something up Kolb's sleeve that he's hiding? Is Delle Donne possibly in the mix now? Does Kolb have a trade being worked out?
I would love to know how all the GM calls went down on this one. I really hate to see the league lose stars prematurely. I was hoping at the least she’d play out the season in Washington. She’s just an insanely difficult contract to take on considering her injury history and availability.
for the sake of the teams trying to acquire/re-sign her, it’s too bad she only realized she needed a break now, as opposed to starting her break right after last season was over.
regardless of how long she's stepping away from basketball, the Mystics permanently need to step away from her.
her talent is damn near unmatched, but her body always seems to have other ideas. i feel like she’d save her body perhaps a lot of trouble by just retiring now. especially being in her mid-30s, the road to preserving her health ain’t gonna get easier from here on out…
imagine if the Mystics simply cored Cloud instead and let EDD walk [perhaps to nowhere anyway]. they’d still have either a Cloud return package or maybe even Cloud herself.
instead, it’s the worst-case scenario: Cloud’s gone, and they couldn’t benefit from coring EDD.
at least when the Storm cored Loyd over Stewie and effectively lost the gamble of holding onto Stewie, we still ended up holding on to Loyd. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
If you assume that Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington are all lottery bound, who do you see as the fourth team that joins them in sitting out the playoffs?
I definitely see those three teams in the lottery, even if EDD decides to play in Washington this season imo.
That last spot is so tough though for me right now it’s still Indiana 🥺 though I want Aliyah (and Clark) to lead them to the playoffs this season. It’s the youth, that’s why I have them on the outs over Minny and ATL. Also in contention for lottery for me are Minnesota and Atlanta. While they both improved, other teams have more star power.
You’re out of it if you think the Dream aren’t making the playoffs lol. We did last year and didn’t have a good PG. Now we do, and added talent in other areas too.
The Dream will be greatly improved from last season. They’ll prove the doubters wrong once again.
Last Edit: Feb 8, 2024 0:04:43 GMT -5 by dreamfan12