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Anonymous
Years ago
WNBA 2016
Confirmed
Penny Taylor resigns with Phoenix Jenna O'Hea resigns with Seattle Rebecca Allen - New York - 2nd year of deal Abby Bishop - Seattle - 2nd year of deal
Still awaiting the confirmation of:
Cayla Francis - Phoenix - Restricted Free Agent Leilani Mitchell - Phoenix - Unrestricted Free Agent Marianna Tolo - Los Angeles Erin Phillips - Los Angeles
Will:
Liz Cambage head to Dallas? Rachel Jarry head back to MIN
Rights: Will - Steph Talbot - Phoenix training camp? Will - Carley Mijovic - Washington training camp?
Great news with the re-signings, need as many girls playing in the best competition. This is better than just going to Opals training camps before Rio.
Phoenix will win the title with the return of Penny and DT. Would be great to see Leilani re-sign but cap pressure might see her elsewhere. Would be a great backup for Diana.
Hopefully Bec Allen continues where she left off before injury hit.
I expect Tolo and Phillips back in LA. I thought Erin signed last year for 2-3 years? They will challenge in the West if they can stay healthy as Parker just signed on.
Hoping Liz plays for Dallas as well. This would make the West stacked. A Liz and Skylar Diggins combo will make the new franchise successful.
Talbot should take the plunge also, training against Taylor, Taurasi and Bonner will fast track her development.
There was one mock draft posted on the WNBA message board that had Seekamp projected as the second of NY's 3 picks (overall pick #24). Bill Laimbeer actually made a rare appearance to post "LOL LOL LOL" in response to it.
That's about the only mention of her I have seen, so I'd suggest don't get your hopes up of her being drafted, and even less so about her actually ending up on a roster.
Seekamp may well have had a good season in the conference she played in but some of those conferences would be the equivilant of the lower div BigV teams here as far as standard goes. That would be why WNBA was a no go .
WNBA's 20th season tip off tomorrow morning with a potential finals preview on ESPN at 9:30am EST. Phoenix Mercury, with Diana Taurasi & Penny Taylor back this season, vs the defending champs Minnesota Lynx.
I would say that it should be a ripper, but in reality the first couple of weeks of the season tend to be on the ugly side with so many teams having only just been completed, and in some cases (such as Jenna O'Hea) players still absent as the season starts because of how late the Italian & French leagues finish.
Final rosters were announced earlier today. * O'Hea & Bishop both made the cut for Seattle, who should improve with the addition of #1 pick Breanna Stewart * Erin Phillips will line up for the relocated Dallas Wings team that could make some serious noise this season if they can stay healthy * Penny Taylor of course is back in Phoenix ... and fingers crossed that we see some extra aussies return to their teams once Rio is done.
Bec Allen was on the boxscore today http://www.wnba.com/game/20160514/NYLWAS/
Strange she isn't over there with New York if Taylor and Phillips are playing. My understanding was that New York paid Bec's salary last year after she got hurt and they want her as part of the group.
WNBA boxscores are always a mess, especially at this stage of the season, so I wouldn't pay any mind to that. But yes, she is definitely a part of their plans. I'm still hoping that things will work out for her to play the post-Rio part of the WNBA season there.
Great to see Erin Phillips score the first basket for the Dallas Wings, and the Wings win their first WNBA game despite Skylar Diggins not being healthy yet. They're going to be a fun team to watch. Not as great to see the Mercury get a lesson from the Lynx, although I kind of saw that one coming so no biggie. It's mostly just awesome to see Penny back playing again, and playing well. That Lynx roster is scary good, and now healthy as well.
A good rule of thumb is if a player is on a wnba roster they are wnba calibre. Players other then Kelly Faris aren't kept on rosters unless they bring something to the team.
Storm announced they signed O'Hea to a multi year deal a few months ago. Not sure how long the deal was for although she is a bit younger then Phillips and Taylor. The Storm seem to be fans of her shooting and decision making.
I have to admit I was a little surprised that Bishop got a spot this season, but ChillAlterEgo is exactly right with defining what is WNBA calibre in reality. Kelly Faris made the cut as well and she wasn't even deemed good enough for her WNBL team, so it's very much a matter of finding the right niche for yourself on a team if you're not a star.
Phillips and Taylor will have a place as long as they are healthy and interested. In Erin's case I think that might be a few more years. In Penny's, I could see her hanging them up after this season.
Allen definitely has a future, as does Liz, and I'm hopeful that we'll see Liz in Dallas next year. Hard to say with Talbot until we actually see her over there. I think her game could translate well to the WNBA and I hope she gives it a shot next year. The Lynx are still keen on Rachel Jarry, and the way she has continued to develop her game I think she's a good chance too, even if the Lynx can no longer find a spot for her in their crazy deep roster.
Mansfield is another who I retain some hope for. Good point guards are still surprisingly rare in the WNBA so there are spots for the taking. The same factors make me think Tupaea could be a chance if she keeps improving. Even Ebzery ... I swear she is as capable of some of the players running around in the WNBA, but overseas players (and aussies especially) will always lose a tie-breaker against an American due to having to miss time for national team commitments. It's pretty disruptive to a team. Joyce came out saying he had a different attitude to Graf about that, but here we are with proof to the contrary as a number of players are being forced to either sit out the current season or give up their Rio chances.
With the AIS no longer in the WNBL I have no clue about the next generation.
We have no LJ, Penny or Liz superstar level players coming through that can pick n choose when they play in the wnba and be welcomed back with open arms.
Some of the above mentioned players may be able to get roster spots for a year or 2 as they are cheap rentals on rookie deals. Especially a team with a salary cap squeeze.
Its proven quite difficult to be a long term international wnba role player and do everything required to play internationally. Phillips before London and O'Hea since Joyce has been the head coach are good examples.
Its a bit of a shame as you mentioned Luuuc that every Australian wnba level (Allen, George, Mitchell, Talbot, Jarry) player that hasn't played in an Olympic games is sitting out the wnba season, despite the coach initially saying he would support them playing in the league.
Talbot has the potential to be world class, people forget she is still only 21! Mainly because she has been playing WNBL since 16/17 years of age.
To me she seems to be the natural replacement for Penny at Phoenix. Hopefully she heads over next season and PT hangs around another year to give Steph guidance.
Agree with Mansfield and also think Lavey can make the jump.
The " next generation" is certainly not only found in an AIS team, what a ridiculous statement to make.
And players develop differently over time,Many that are standouts at 15 are left way behind by 21, their are lots of good potential players that could make the jump to WNBA should they have the right exposure, the issue will always be as has already been said, if their is an American in the same position up against an overseas player the American will ALWAYS get that spot.
And p,entry of players have good careers without having to play in the WNBA or making the OPALS, remember you don't get paid to be an OPAL, and unlike the men women get poorly paid in WNBA compared to NBA, they get better pay in Europe.
Chillax. I never said that the next generation is only found in an AIS team. Just that for me, a WBB fan in Perth, watching AIS games was the easiest way I could see for myself some of the top young talent in action. Now that they're not in the league, that avenue is gone for me, so I'm out of touch with who got next. But you can't deny that there has been a huge correlation between Aussie players who have made it to the WNBA, and players who came through the AIS.
On that subject ... since I don't think it has been mentioned anywhere else here: The other day, Jenna O'Hea & Lattes Montpellier defeated Laura Hodges & Bourges 2-1 for the French League title. Jenna would probably have arrived in Seattle by now to join the Storm. No break between seasons for her!
WNBA Aussie Update after 3 weeks of action this season:
Erin Phillips Solid start with the new Dallas Wings club. Erin has started every game so far (although expect that to change once Skylar Diggins returns to action), and Dallas is 3-4 despite being down 2 all-stars thus far. Johnson is due back next game, and hopefully Diggins is not too far away, so things look pretty promising in Dallas. Erin averages 8.7p @ 50%, 2.2r, 2.3a, 0.7to in 21.7 minutes in the 6 games she has played.
Penny Taylor Good individual play by Penny, but one of the big talking points this season has been Phoenix's disappointing play as a team. The pre-season title favs with the all-star starting lineup are just 2-5 thanks to some of the laziest D I've ever seen. Very frustrating. Penny is averaging 14.4p @ 47% (48% 3P%), 4.1r, 3.3a, 2.0s, 1.8to in 26.6 min.
Jenna O'Hea Just settling back in after the long French season, Seattle are 3-5, with Jenna having played in the last 5 (2 wins, 3 losses), including 2 as a starter. Like most players this year, her best game came against Phoenix, when she hit 4/7 from outside to go with 3 assists. She was back to the bench today with regular starter Alysha Clark healthy, but is still a part of the main rotation. Averages: 5.2p @ 36%, 1.4r, 1.0a, 1.6 to in 17 min.
Abby Bishop It has been a struggle for minutes & impact for Abby so far. She has only seen action in 4 games, for averages of 1.8p @ 60%, 0.5r, 1.0a in 7 minutes per game.
Seattle is worth a look this season. Their two #1 draft picks in Loyd & Stewart are living up to the hype and doing it in pretty entertaining fashion too.
Penny Taylor top scored for Phoenix with 22 points on 8-9 shooting mostly on nice drives to the rim from pick & roll action. Must have been nice for her to play in a functional offence again.
* Today, Tamika Catchings passed Lisa Leslie as the all time WNBA rebounds leader. Pretty awesome for someone who has spent her career at the 4 & 3 spots.
* Bec Allen got another start for NY and had a career high 8 boards to go with her 13 points, 2 blocks & 2 assists. NY will finish the season in 3rd place (but with some injury concerns ... though not as big as Chicago, who may be without Elena Delle Donne due to a thumb injury)
* Penny Taylor last night played her last ever WNBA regular season home game, so it was Penny appreciation night in Phoenix:
#1 Minnesota Lynx 28-6 #2 Los Angeles Sparks 26-8 #3 New York Liberty 21-13 #4 Chicago Sky 18-16 #5 Indiana Fever 17-17 #6 Atlanta Dream 17-17 #7 Seattle Storm 16-18 #8 Phoenix Mercury 16-18 #9 Connecticut Sun 14-20 #10 Washington Mystics 13-21 #11 Dallas Wings 11-23 #12 San Antonio Stars 7-27
Round 1 of the elimination stage just finished.
Penny Taylor's career stays alive and Tamika Catchings's finishes as Phoenix beat Indiana. They advance to play Bec Allen & the NY Liberty on Sunday morning Aust. time.
Angel McCoughtry just went off for 37 points & 7 assists to dispatch Seattle and move on to Chicago.
Penny played her final game of basketball this morning as Minnesota advanced to the finals at Phoenix's expense. End of a great era :(
Penny Taylor caps career as Mercury are swept out of playoffs http://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/17701091/penny-taylor-caps-career-phoenix-mercury-eliminated
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