since the other three lotto teams’ 2024 threads have already been made. hope Lexie Brown is healthy enough to play by then. also hope Chiney retires; if she does, does un-coreable Nneka go elsewhere?
Nneka really needs to up and leave LA at this point. Maybe she heads to Phoenix for Taurasi's final season to chase a ring with Griner and their lottery pick?
Nneka at the beginning of the season was on record as saying this was the most professional iteration of the Sparks' leadership/front office in her time there, which on its face seems like a compliment. that professional-ness however could come back to bite Chiney in particular, if they sit her down and tell her they don’t want to re-sign her given her inability to stay healthy, as it would theoretically be in the best interest of the franchise. (being professional means treating things as a business, after all.) that of course could rub Nneka the wrong way. we shall see.
if Chiney really thinks she can come back next season to the Sparks or even any other franchise and be a reliable contributor, she’s simply delusional. it shouldn’t take a talk with anyone quite frankly for her to realize this.
Jasmine Thomas' days of signing anything above vet min let alone anything close to $200k/yr like her soon-to-be-over deal is are probably over.
i assume both Samuelson sisters will be back, though Karlie has arguably had a better season than any season Katie Lou has put up. we’ll see what happens there.
Canada & Clarendon probably(?) stick around, but now they’ll both be much higher priced than they were this year.
Sparks will have some decisions to make regarding who to try to re-sign vs. who to let walk, methinks.
Even with her injury, Thomas got outplayed by both Canada & Clarendon this season. Clarendon didn't play in 2022 and Canada was a scrub in 2022 that only got a TC contract with Los Angeles. Thomas likely ends up someone on a vet minimum, but Miller should really keep both Canada & Clarendon over Thomas in 2024.
Koclanes returns to USC following a successful stretch working with WNBA head coach Curt Miller, who hired Koclanes as a video coordinator for the Connecticut Sun in 2016. Under Miller's direction, Koclanes advanced into a coaching role in 2019, serving as defensive coordinator and helping the Sun reach the 2019 and 2022 WNBA Finals as well as the 2020 and 2021 WNBA Semifinals. In 2023, Miller brought Koclanes along with him to the Los Angeles Sparks, where Koclanes has spent the last season as defensive coordinator.
formerly pickdiamondmillerchallenge lol formerly dmillerturnprochallenge ha formerly bostonturnprochallenge lol
wonder if Allemand just wanted out of Chicago that badly that she’d be willing to go anywhere, or if LA was on her shortlist – cuz otherwise, LA may be one of the few teams Chicago will be better than this year. (if anyone, of course.)
other than the allure of spending the summer in LA, which could play a big part of it for Allemand to be sure, i’m not sure what the organizational appeal would be. it’s been a hot minute since she was in the W, so she might’ve missed the part about how all the good talent has wanted out of and thus left LA the past few seasons…
I did think that LA would use their final pick in the first round to shore up their PG situation, but I expected them to do so by drafting a PG at 8. I believe that the trade for Allemand just makes it all the more certain that Nia Clouden's and Zia Cooke's days in LA are over. Unless another team is interested in trading a future second (or maybe even a third) round pick for their services, they will both almost certainly be cut in order to make room for Brink and the number 4 pick (likely Jackson or Edwards). That leaves them with Clarendon and Allemand to split time at the point, with Lexie Brown and Aari McDonald to split time at SG, and with the other positions filled out as suggested by Toad.
considering Clarendon’s contract, i wouldn’t be shocked to see them cut if LA opts to go all in on the youth movement. for sure the team will have some roster decisions to make. if Cooke and/or Clouden has improved enough since last year, then what? not like there aren’t veteran guards with guaranteed deals on this roster already to help mentor the young ones (namely Brown & Nurse).
Last Edit: Feb 20, 2024 18:59:46 GMT -5 by Deleted
Assuming that Clarendon is healthy and able to play, I WOULD be shocked if, after re-signing her just a few weeks earlier for two years at $100,000 per season (a price that both LA and Layshia thought was fair when the deal was negotiated during the current 2024 free agency period), LA suddenly turned around and cut her before the season began. Clarendon played well for the Sparks last season, starting each of the 24 games in which she appeared, playing an average of 28.6 minutes per game, and shooting 49.7% from the floor and 45.7% from three. I suppose that is why the Sparks decided to re-sign her and to increase her salary a relatively modest amount, about $25,000, above the veteran's minimum salary for which she played last season.
Anyway, assuming that she is able to play, I just can't see the Sparks doing a sharp about-face and cutting a free agent whom they just recently re-signed, a player who started and played well for them last season, and whose stat line of 49.7% from the field, 45.7% from three, and 91.5% from the free throw line compares very favorably with Cooke's line of 28.9%, 26.1%, and 81.3%. Layshia also averaged more rebounds per 40 minutes, more steals per 40 minutes, and more assists per 40 minutes, with a better assist to turnover ratio.
Obviously, Cooke is young and may improve. But I can't see LA changing course quite so drastically and shoving Clarendon out the door--not when they just recently re-signed her.