A long shot to be sure, put stranger things have happened. They have no 2nd round pick, so picking up a UFA could be likely, Griffin is certainly worth a look. Monica Wright could be an "x factor" for this team, we'll see what she's got left in the tank, at the ripe old age of 28(on7/15) Playoffs or not, having (possibly) back to back ROY's is a great start to "rebuilding. Nerd2, are you "cautiously optimistic?
Last Edit: Jan 24, 2016 17:43:26 GMT -5 by WBBDaily
I doubt it, but only because the West won't be as top-heavy as it was last season. With Phoenix healthy, LA having Parker for a full season, the Wings (hopefully) also being healthy, there won't be as much room for a lesser team to sneak in as the 4th seed like last season. I do expect Loyd to improve a lot, but they're still missing a lot (especially in the post and if Langhorne leaves) and if Bird ends up breaking down, there's not much backing her up. It's still a situation I'd be envious of if I'm a rival GM and their rebuild process is way ahead of schedule, but I think they have one more season to go.
I am not sure what to expect from this year's Storm. How much time off will the various Olympians need? What personnel will no longer be there (Langhorne, O'Hea, Hollongsworth?)? An Olympic year is also tough because some players will report late due to the early camp at a point where the Storm really need to figure out what they have.
Assuming the other West teams are healthy, I think it will be one more year for the Storm to get everything working. But if another team has the kind of year LA did last year, I can see the Storm sneaking in to that 4th seed.