They have the foundation to be another dynasty. Replace Stokes with a cheaper contract. Give R. Williams whatever they can afford. Fill the remainder with cheap contracts. Rupert, Bell and Sheppard probably stick jut because they're cheap.
Riquna Williams is already under contract through next year.
Only free agents are Stokes, Colson, and Plaisance. They'll probably look to bring Stokes back on something cheap, based on the fact that she actually had a role in this title run compared to others.
Not much to say about this team. Switch up the bench a bit, but otherwise, run it all back – which they might.
Voting yes to the poll, just because if anyone's about to be the next Dynasty – in a true "Salary Cap" era, no less (yes, we had one before the 2020 CBA but it's a lot different now obvi) – it's this team.
Rupert wouldn't fall under the prioritization rule, but Ji-Su Park would. Though Korea's season ends early enough (March?). I wonder if Hammon would take both of them over trying to bring back Stokes. Aces also only have a third round pick in 2023.
Hey randy just curious, what did you have in mind when putting the “Other” option on the poll?
My only question as it relates to this team is, if an NBA team offered Becky Hammon a HC job in the middle of Hammon’s contract to coach the Aces, would she pull the trigger? On one hand, why wouldn’t she since we know she has applied before and would obviously be interested? On the other hand, maybe she gets paid enough to not mind not coaching in the NBA.
It’d be juicy if an NBA team still had a HC opening and offered her the job *today* (or for all intents & purposes, this month).
Last Edit: Sept 18, 2022 20:51:17 GMT -5 by Deleted
Post by lynxmania on Sept 18, 2022 21:26:46 GMT -5
The Aces barely proved that you basically don't need a bench at all to win the title.
With that in mind, they really just need to keep that core together and aside from Hurt Hamby, they stayed healthy a majority of the season. Their main players barely missed time. That is the recipe for success for this group. If they can stay healthy, I expect them to be up on the top again next year.
Free Agent wise, if you are a free agent and don't mind sitting on the bench for 40 games and getting to dance on the sidelines while having a great shot at a title, then this is your team. If you want to play and play extended minutes, then I would look elsewhere. I don't expect Colson, TP, or Sheppard back next year tbh. Bell is on the fence. I think if they can get a cheap vet they would replace her in a heartbeat. Add in that maybe you can flip the rookies for a draft pick that would be a cheaper contract for this squad.
I don't see Hammon leaving after 1 year, but crazier things have happened. She won in the Summer League and now in the W as her two head coaching debuts. NBA teams might have more thought about her. But also like everyone said about Reeve when she was winning and I don't believe, "it was because of her star players." I didn't quite hear the same from fans yet about this. Is the same for Hammon? Do they lower end NBA teams wonder how she would do with their lower talent?
The biggest things for me for the Aces would be: 1. Does the NBA get Hammon to comeback right away? 2. Which marginal changes do they make at the end of the bench? 3. Which players will "improve" or add to their game to give Hammon more weapons.
formerly pickdiamondmillerchallenge lol formerly dmillerturnprochallenge ha formerly bostonturnprochallenge lol
I do think having Hamby for the finals got them the title. They need some kind of bench. Also, Cambage must be sulking somewhere tonight. They came close with her in 2019 & 2021. But we saw how good Vegas is when Wilson is allowed to reign free inside with just a center to start alongside her(Swords in 2020, Stokes in 2022) and rebound the basketball.
Twitter is now questioning if Hammon is going to get some NBA calls now. I think all 30 teams have a head coach currently. So Vegas likely has her in 2023, but who knows if several NBA teams will call her next summer.
I do think having Hamby for the finals got them the title. They need some kind of bench. Also, Cambage must be sulking somewhere tonight. They came close with her in 2019 & 2021. But we saw how good Vegas is when Wilson is allowed to reign free inside with just a center to start alongside her(Swords in 2020, Stokes in 2022) and rebound the basketball.
Twitter is now questioning if Hammon is going to get some NBA calls now. I think all 30 teams have a head coach currently. So Vegas likely has her in 2023, but who knows if several NBA teams will call her next summer.
My only thought would be in the teams that get eliminated from the playoffs would want her, then she might have to make the choice in April/May about interviewing for jobs which might put Vegas in a bind for 2023, unless she decides altogether that the NBA isn't her dream anymore.
formerly pickdiamondmillerchallenge lol formerly dmillerturnprochallenge ha formerly bostonturnprochallenge lol
You may not need a bench in the sense that you require solid depth at every position. But you need a rotation that is 6-7 players deep. An adequate perimeter player (Williams) and an adequate post (Hamby, or Stokes before she moved into the starting role). Anything beyond that is injury insurance. But the margin of error in this league is so small that one key injury would doom literally every team, so in that sense, what does it matter.
Connecticut lost their starting PG, and though Hiedeman showed her value as her minutes and usage increased, CT didn't have another adequate perimeter player off the bench to replace Hiedeman.
6 of the 7 playoff rotation players are under contract to come back, with Stokes being the only one who isn’t. Stokes is a good glue player in this League, but I don’t think the Aces would stop being a legit title contender without her.
I wonder if next year they’ll dump players 8-12 on their roster. (I’m sure they’d like to keep Rupert but she just got her title as a Euro player, ergo the W may never see her again lmao.) Replace those bench vets and rookies with other players willing to sign for cheap. I’m sure there’ll be a good supply of them now.
Remember when Vegas traded up in the 2022 draft and selected... Mya Hollingshed? Who then got cut in training camp. And word on the street was the organization was flailing? Good times lol.
Remember when Vegas traded up in the 2022 draft and selected... Mya Hollingshed? Who then got cut in training camp. And word on the street was the organization was flailing? Good times lol.
I'll be interesting in seeing what Natalie Williams does with her first offseason moves. Her draft day looked and still feels awful. BUT, her ability to lock in the core to contract extensions during the year was HUGE
formerly pickdiamondmillerchallenge lol formerly dmillerturnprochallenge ha formerly bostonturnprochallenge lol
Remember when Vegas traded up in the 2022 draft and selected... Mya Hollingshed? Who then got cut in training camp. And word on the street was the organization was flailing? Good times lol.
I'll be interesting in seeing what Natalie Williams does with her first offseason moves. Her draft day looked and still feels awful. BUT, her ability to lock in the core to contract extensions during the year was HUGE
It's all free agency for Williams this offseason. Just a third round pick for the Aces. So at least she can't screw up her draft again.
Hey randy just curious, what did you have in mind when putting the “Other” option on the poll?
It was not completely serious, but I think that Dynasty is probably not the right term for the WNBA. I'm thinking it is almost always an oligarchy - a few teams are just far better than the rest of control the league depending mostly on who is healthy. Most of the last decade it was the Lynx, Mercury, and Sparks. It recently has morphed into the Aces, Storm, Sun and Sky. Anyway, I don't see the Aces dominating for a long time like the Lynx or Comets did in the past.
Post by wbbfan2020 on Sept 19, 2022 7:43:37 GMT -5
I voted other because it's hard to pin "dynasty" onto someone so early on. Hamby has yet to play a season 100% healthy. One slight free agency move may disrupt their chemistry(**Tina Charles**).
One thing I forgot when voting no on the Dynasty - Aces can count on the ring shoppers to start showing up. The problem is they only have about 138k in cap space - not even enough for 2 vets. So unless R Williams is cut or traded they only have space for 1 vet min and one 0-2 min. salary. They might be able to wiggle a little more room if the let go of Bell, Shepard or Rupert. (Something for Tina to keep in mind.)
Perhaps Angel could find her way back to the Aces.