For the Lynx, he suggests that eight players can definitely be penciled in: Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman at the point, KMac at SG, Diamond Miller at SF, Napheesa Collier and Alissa Pili at PF, and Alanna Smith and Dorka Juhasz at Center. In addition, he says that the Lynx are likely to keep Bridget Carleton and Ceci Zandalasini (based on their prior value or proven talent), as well as Sika Kone (based on her potential). (I agree that Bridget and Ceci are almost certainly on the final roster and can also see the argument for Kone.) That makes 11 players, and since the Lynx have the cap room for 12, that means, as Richyyy suggests, that all the other players in training camp are competing for the final spot.
Richyyy also notes that Ceci won't be stateside until after the start of the WNBA season, and that if the Lynx want to temporarily suspend her in order to carry 12 players until she arrives, then Ruthy Hebard cannot be the 12th player--for cap reasons, the final roster spot would have to be given to someone with two or less years of WNBA experience, who would earn less than the veteran's minimum. I would say that, just for purposes of roster construction, the Lynx can't possibly carry both Kone and Hebard. The 12th player will almost certainly be a guard. Thus, I think the competition for the 12th spot is probably a competition involving Epoupa, Jefferson, and Lockett. (In his roster breakdown, Richyyy does treat Ceci Zandalasini as a SG and not a small forward, perhaps because the Lynx appear to be overloaded at the 3, and because that's one way that Reeve might try to create minutes for both Bridget and Ceci.)
He names 3 players who are locks in the backcourt: KMac at SG, and Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman as PGs/SGs. He also identifies 3 players who are locks as Wings/SFs: Diamond Miller, Bridget Carleton and Ceci Zandalasini, who will be arriving late. Napheesa Collier and Alissa Pili can be penciled in as the starter and backup at the PF spot, and he thinks that Juhasz will start at Center and be backed up by Alanna Smith. That last prediction strikes me as somewhat questioinable--personally, I think that Smith will start. He also reports that the Lynx are determined to keep Sika Kone as the eleventh player holding down a roster spot, and for that reason, they will probably go with a 12-player roster this year. According to Youngblood, the competition in training camp is for the 12th and final roster spot, which I very much expect to be a guard. It strikes me as somewhat problematic to go into the season with only 3 true backcourt players, and I think that this gives Kiki Jefferson a decent chance to make the team.
Are you saying that we should have drafted Kitley or a project like Taiyanna Jackson instead of Pili, or what "real" centers have we had an opportunity to sign/draft since Fowles' retirement that we have passed on?
The days of having a true "center" appear to be fading away. Fowles is retired, Cambage is out of the league. Aliyah Boston may be the last young "big" center as neither upcoming drafts appear to have a any. Brink's style is more of a PF. Even Cardoso and Reese play more like PFs. Reeve could have kept Achonwa or brought in Dolson. True centers left in the league: Griner, Dolson, Bri Jones, Boston, McCowan, Kalani Brown, Mercedes Russell, Stokes.
I guess that if our opportunities for adding a "real"/"true" center (or a reasonable facsimile of such a player) involved either re-signing Achonwa or going after Dolson in free agency, then I'm happy things worked out as they did and that we instead added Alanna Smith, a PF capable of playing at the 5, along with Courtney Williams, Natisha Hiedeman and Pili. Perhaps if Reeve later gets the urge to add a "real"/"true" center to the roster, she will be able to draft Betts courtesy of this year's trade with Chicago.
Based on what happened in the preseason game last night between the Lynx and the Sky, it appears that the competition for the 4th guard spot is chiefly between Traylor and Epoupa. Neither Kiki Jefferson nor Quinesha Lockett made an appearance until the very end of the game, at about the 3- and the 1-minute mark of the 4th quarter respectively. I thought that Jefferson looked okay in the limited minutes that she received (she made both of her shots), but it can't be a good sign that she got much less court time, and was also much less noticeable on the court, than an undrafted camp invitee like Camryn Taylor.
Speaking of Taylor, she had a very nice game. She entered the game at around the 7-minute mark of the 4th quarter, before either Jefferson or Lockett, and certainly made her presence known with several rebounds and big plays to help Minnesota close out the win. It's too bad that she's a front court player since, if the reports of Minnesota being determined to keep Sika Kone are correct, we already have 8 front court players pretty much certain of making the team. Still, if she continues playing like she did last night, perhaps they keep her around until the overseas players report.
She talked about the starting five and about how nice she thinks it's going to be to have Courtney Williams (whose basketball IQ she praised) playing off of and creating quality shots for Napheesa, KMac and herself. She said that Hiedeman needs to find more threes, but praised her defense and said that she will be very valuable leading the second unit. Reeve also spoke favorably about Sika Kone and the energy with which she plays. Of the newer players still competing for a roster spot, she singled out Taylor Soule and Camryn Taylor as both being incredibly competitive and bringing it every day. Of the guards, she singled out Traylor and Epoupa, which is kind of in keeping with the minutes that each received during the game. Finally, someone asked her about Pili and her rough night shooting. Reeve said that she loved Pili's ability to hunt for windows and to find open shots. She remarked that, when Pili turned down an open shot late in the game, she told her to keep on shooting. Anyway, as I said earlier, it appears that either Traylor or Epoupa will get the 4th guard spot. While Reeve clearly like both Taylors, Taylor Soule and Camryn Taylor, it's very hard to see how either of them fits.
He talks about what Williams and Hiedeman bring to the team and about Reeve's desire to dramatically improve the team's three-point shooting. He also talks about Pili and suggests that she was always the target for the team during the draft, even before the trade that garnered all of that future draft capital from Chicago. He also makes an unusual statement about the guards on Minnesota's roster, noting that: "Williams and Hiedeman add valuable experience and leadership to the existing guards on the Lynx roster that includes Kayla McBride, Diamond Miller and others." Last season, the team had four guards on the roster (Lindsay Allen, Rachel Banham, Kayla McBride and Tiffany Mitchell) and one G/SF (Aerial Powers). Diamond Miller was our starting SF, and she was backed up at the 3 by Bridget Carleton.
While Allen, Banham, Mitchell and Powers have all departed, and while they have been replaced, at least so far, only with Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman, I don't think that means that either Miller or Carleton are now suddenly guards. Perhaps they, or Ceci Zandalasini once she arrives, may be able to play at the 2 for short periods of time, but all three of them are SFs, who would be playing out of position in the back court. As of now, the only true guards guaranteed of having a spot on the team are Williams, Hiedeman and KMac. As I have said before, the ability of Williams and Hiedeman to play both the 1 and the 2 means that those three players could theoretically eat up the vast majority of the minutes in the back court. Still, players do get banged up, and I think that we still need a fourth true guard on the roster, be it Traylor or Epoupa.
He talks about what Williams and Hiedeman bring to the team and about Reeve's desire to dramatically improve the team's three-point shooting. He also talks about Pili and suggests that she was always the target for the team during the draft, even before the trade that garnered all of that future draft capital from Chicago. He also makes an unusual statement about the guards on Minnesota's roster, noting that: "Williams and Hiedeman add valuable experience and leadership to the existing guards on the Lynx roster that includes Kayla McBride, Diamond Miller and others." Last season, the team had four guards on the roster (Lindsay Allen, Rachel Banham, Kayla McBride and Tiffany Mitchell) and one G/SF (Aerial Powers). Diamond Miller was our starting SF, and she was backed up at the 3 by Bridget Carleton.
While Allen, Banham, Mitchell and Powers have all departed, and while they have been replaced, at least so far, only with Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman, I don't think that means that either Miller or Carleton are now suddenly guards. Perhaps they, or Ceci Zandalasini once she arrives, may be able to play at the 2 for short periods of time, but all three of them are SFs, who would be playing out of position in the back court. As of now, the only true guards guaranteed of having a spot on the team are Williams, Hiedeman and KMac. As I have said before, the ability of Williams and Hiedeman to play both the 1 and the 2 means that those three players could theoretically eat up the vast majority of the minutes in the back court. Still, players do get banged up, and I think that we still need a fourth true guard on the roster, be it Traylor or Epoupa.
The Lynx have waived Ruthy Hebard, Kiki Jefferson and Quinesha Lockett, which means that Traylor and Epoupa are still competing for a spot in the back court, and that the only front court players still on the team, aside from those pretty much guaranteed spots on the final roster, are the two Taylors, Taylor Soule and Camryn Taylor. I am guessing that one of the Taylors is there for opening day until the last overseas player reports.
It looks like Olivia Epoupa has made the team. Saturday evening, the team waived Kayana Traylor and Camryn Taylor, which leaves Courtney Williams, KMac, Natisha Hiedeman, and Epoupa as the only true guards still on the team. I guess that Ceci or Bridget may play a few minutes at the 2 depending on the matchups, but just from a roster construction standpoint, it seems like Taylor Soule will be the odd person out once Dorka Juihasz and Sika Kone return from overseas.
Olivia Epoupa or Soule likely gets cut once both Dorka and Sika arrive. Otherwise, their post rotation is quite sad now with just Smith, Collier and Pili.
Olivia Epoupa or Soule likely gets cut once both Dorka and Sika arrive. Otherwise, their post rotation is quite sad now with just Smith, Collier and Pili.
I think we can afford 12 this year so we wouldn’t have to waive both when they come back
formerly pickdiamondmillerchallenge lol formerly dmillerturnprochallenge ha formerly bostonturnprochallenge lol
Olivia Epoupa or Soule likely gets cut once both Dorka and Sika arrive. Otherwise, their post rotation is quite sad now with just Smith, Collier and Pili.
I think we can afford 12 this year so we wouldn’t have to waive both when they come back
Yeah, only one of those two. Reeve likes both of them, so it'll be interesting to see which one goes.
I would bet very heavily that it's Soule who is cut, since a 12-player roster composed of 9 front-court players and 3 back-court players seems way too imbalanced, even if one of the front-court players (Carleton or Zandalasini) can occasionally be pressed into service at the 2.