Thanks for the informative article, Jeff. I never would have thought of using Jordan Horston at the 1, but I guess it's possible. I hope Ezi really steps up her offense. I don't think any of our players will average 20+ppg, but it would be great if someone could. Dom could be nearly unstoppable in her 2nd season. I don't know how much offense Awa Fam will produce. I'd guess around 10ppg. Flau'jae will probably average at least 12ppg and maybe as much as 15ppg. Natisha should get at least 10-12ppg. I don't know what we'll get out of Katie Lou or Zia Cooke or Lexie Brown - hopefully 5-10ppg each. Mackenzie can score if she plays enough. Will any of the 5 training camp invitees make the roster? I think 2 of them might have a shot. I'm looking forward to seeing the little Duke Blue Devil Taina Mair play. She's a scrappy one and so is our 3rd round pick Grace VanSlooten. She hustles like crazy. It should be an exciting season even if we don't get a lot of wins. I'm looking forward to watching them all.
I forgot to mention Jade Melbourne. As long as she gets 20-25 mpg, I would expect her to average 10ppg. She could produce a little more than that, too.
Great read. I’ve hoped for Jordy @ 1-2 at least occasionally. Her height and athleticism against other 1-2s I think would be a problem for other teams.
This was great, Jeff, thanks! I’m looking forward to seeing what comes out of training camp and how it all shakes out. I am really hoping for a leap from Ezi in scoring and being a team leader this year, a lot of people still seem to think we’re going to trade her, but I don’t think that is happening any time soon. I really think they’re going to give her a solid chance to be the backbone for a bit while Dom and Awa mature.
I went back and watched the ACC final and was reminded that Taina Mair won MVP of that tournament after Duke beat Louisville in overtime. She hit some clutch 3s in the game and was a solid playmaker, I’m hoping she makes the team.
I also watched some highlights from Mack’s WNBL games, I believe she finished 2nd or 3rd in scoring for the whole league. Watching her play I felt like it was evident that she is modeling her game after Nneka, I could really see her mentorship, it was sweet to watch. Probably would be too much of a leap in WNBA to have such outstanding scoring with us, but I’m hoping she gets the minutes to prove herself and keep developing her game. She could have a bit of breakout year if they give her a chance.
I feel like sky is the limit for Jordan and Flau’jae. I hope they both get to start (if not right out the gate for Flau’jae, pretty soon). Really looking forward to how it all takes shape. It’s been so much whiplash with the team transforming so radically so fast but I am very invested in the rebuild! We have such good pieces.
I do not understand why several reviewers gave the Storm a "D" for drafting Taina Mair at #14 in the first round. She was the MVP of the ACC tournament and she looks great on her highlights video. She definitely looks capable of becoming a starting WNBA PG in 2 or 3 years and even pushing Natisha Hiedeman for some minutes this year.
I understand completely. It’s either: (A) They’ve never seen her play; or (B) They’re idiots. And I guess both could be true. Actually, I think most “reviewers” just regurgitate lists of more well-known players. Mair was not on any of those lists. But if you watched Duke, particularly over the past month, you’d see that she’s an ascending player who looks like she’s finding her outside shot. Personally, I’m a big fan of what she might bring. But ask me again in two years.
To add to this. I would also suggest... Let's say the draft graders had Taina Mair on their draft board ranking somewhere between 25-30 or even 20-25. At Pick #14, there were multiple players higher on their board, including players that were projected consensus first-round picks like Gianna Kneepkens and Ta'Niya Latson. Now Latson ended falling to Pick #20, so clearly GMs had her lower than the draft analysts.
Now from Seattle's perspective, let's say they went into the draft with a plan saying, "Hey, we are going to take either Olivia Miles or Awa Fam, whichever is available at 3" (believing Azzi goes #1 to Dallas). Then they are working the phone with Golden State to acquire the #8 pick. I think they were looking for another scorer with that pick at the guard or wing position. Something Sue said during a recent "A Touch More" podcast, she mentioned Cotie McMahon. I think the Storm might have taken McMahon if Flau'jae wasn't still on the board. I think most expected Flau'jae to go 5 or 6. When she was still on the board, they didn't hesitate to take her. Now to the point about Taina Mair.
At this point, they know they aren't going to have pick 16 because that's going to Golden State. Their next pick after 14 isn't until 39. They believe Mair has zero chance of still being there at 39. Let's say their plan was to acquire Fam or Miles, a legit scorer (Flau'jae), and if they didn't get Miles at 3, they wanted to use 14 for their top remaining point guard prospect.
I don't know how high they had Mair on their board, but we do know multiple point guard prospects were drafted earlier on. Olivia Miles #3, Kiki Rice #6, Iyana Martín #7, and Raven Johnson #10. Mair was the next PG on their board and it's always possible they had Mair ahead of one of those other 4 prospects. They obviously had Mair above Ta'Niya Latson because they took her when Latson was still on the board. Latson is shorter and is more of a SG prospect than PG. And they already drafted Flau'jae.
So to draft analysts they see Mair at #14 as a reach and they grade it a D. But to the Storm, she was the most important player they wanted to add, knowing they were trading pick 16 away and wouldn't have another pick until 39.
I’ve watched Mair since she was at Boston College, and was clearly the best player on a generally crappy team. Wisely, she escaped. It took awhile for her to find her footing as a scorer at Duke, and what she showed as a senior - especially later in the season - was a fairly recent development. Looking at the full body of her work, I’m not sure she drags the team draft grade down to a D - that’s harsh - but she’s not a player I’d have viewed as roughly the 14th best player available (disregarding team need, of course). She should, at a minimum, be a developmental player, but capable of more, given time.
Thanks for the informative article, Jeff. I never would have thought of using Jordan Horston at the 1, but I guess it's possible. I hope Ezi really steps up her offense. I don't think any of our players will average 20+ppg, but it would be great if someone could. Dom could be nearly unstoppable in her 2nd season. I don't know how much offense Awa Fam will produce. I'd guess around 10ppg. Flau'jae will probably average at least 12ppg and maybe as much as 15ppg. Natisha should get at least 10-12ppg. I don't know what we'll get out of Katie Lou or Zia Cooke or Lexie Brown - hopefully 5-10ppg each. Mackenzie can score if she plays enough. Will any of the 5 training camp invitees make the roster? I think 2 of them might have a shot. I'm looking forward to seeing the little Duke Blue Devil Taina Mair play. She's a scrappy one and so is our 3rd round pick Grace VanSlooten. She hustles like crazy. It should be an exciting season even if we don't get a lot of wins. I'm looking forward to watching them all.
I forgot to mention Jade Melbourne. As long as she gets 20-25 mpg, I would expect her to average 10ppg. She could produce a little more than that, too.
Great read. I’ve hoped for Jordy @ 1-2 at least occasionally. Her height and athleticism against other 1-2s I think would be a problem for other teams.
This was great, Jeff, thanks! I’m looking forward to seeing what comes out of training camp and how it all shakes out. I am really hoping for a leap from Ezi in scoring and being a team leader this year, a lot of people still seem to think we’re going to trade her, but I don’t think that is happening any time soon. I really think they’re going to give her a solid chance to be the backbone for a bit while Dom and Awa mature.
I went back and watched the ACC final and was reminded that Taina Mair won MVP of that tournament after Duke beat Louisville in overtime. She hit some clutch 3s in the game and was a solid playmaker, I’m hoping she makes the team.
I also watched some highlights from Mack’s WNBL games, I believe she finished 2nd or 3rd in scoring for the whole league. Watching her play I felt like it was evident that she is modeling her game after Nneka, I could really see her mentorship, it was sweet to watch. Probably would be too much of a leap in WNBA to have such outstanding scoring with us, but I’m hoping she gets the minutes to prove herself and keep developing her game. She could have a bit of breakout year if they give her a chance.
I feel like sky is the limit for Jordan and Flau’jae. I hope they both get to start (if not right out the gate for Flau’jae, pretty soon). Really looking forward to how it all takes shape. It’s been so much whiplash with the team transforming so radically so fast but I am very invested in the rebuild! We have such good pieces.
I do not understand why several reviewers gave the Storm a "D" for drafting Taina Mair at #14 in the first round. She was the MVP of the ACC tournament and she looks great on her highlights video. She definitely looks capable of becoming a starting WNBA PG in 2 or 3 years and even pushing Natisha Hiedeman for some minutes this year.
I understand completely. It’s either: (A) They’ve never seen her play; or (B) They’re idiots. And I guess both could be true. Actually, I think most “reviewers” just regurgitate lists of more well-known players. Mair was not on any of those lists. But if you watched Duke, particularly over the past month, you’d see that she’s an ascending player who looks like she’s finding her outside shot. Personally, I’m a big fan of what she might bring. But ask me again in two years.
To add to this. I would also suggest... Let's say the draft graders had Taina Mair on their draft board ranking somewhere between 25-30 or even 20-25. At Pick #14, there were multiple players higher on their board, including players that were projected consensus first-round picks like Gianna Kneepkens and Ta'Niya Latson. Now Latson ended falling to Pick #20, so clearly GMs had her lower than the draft analysts.
Now from Seattle's perspective, let's say they went into the draft with a plan saying, "Hey, we are going to take either Olivia Miles or Awa Fam, whichever is available at 3" (believing Azzi goes #1 to Dallas). Then they are working the phone with Golden State to acquire the #8 pick. I think they were looking for another scorer with that pick at the guard or wing position. Something Sue said during a recent "A Touch More" podcast, she mentioned Cotie McMahon. I think the Storm might have taken McMahon if Flau'jae wasn't still on the board. I think most expected Flau'jae to go 5 or 6. When she was still on the board, they didn't hesitate to take her. Now to the point about Taina Mair.
At this point, they know they aren't going to have pick 16 because that's going to Golden State. Their next pick after 14 isn't until 39. They believe Mair has zero chance of still being there at 39. Let's say their plan was to acquire Fam or Miles, a legit scorer (Flau'jae), and if they didn't get Miles at 3, they wanted to use 14 for their top remaining point guard prospect.
I don't know how high they had Mair on their board, but we do know multiple point guard prospects were drafted earlier on. Olivia Miles #3, Kiki Rice #6, Iyana Martín #7, and Raven Johnson #10. Mair was the next PG on their board and it's always possible they had Mair ahead of one of those other 4 prospects. They obviously had Mair above Ta'Niya Latson because they took her when Latson was still on the board. Latson is shorter and is more of a SG prospect than PG. And they already drafted Flau'jae.
So to draft analysts they see Mair at #14 as a reach and they grade it a D. But to the Storm, she was the most important player they wanted to add, knowing they were trading pick 16 away and wouldn't have another pick until 39.
I’ve watched Mair since she was at Boston College, and was clearly the best player on a generally crappy team. Wisely, she escaped. It took awhile for her to find her footing as a scorer at Duke, and what she showed as a senior - especially later in the season - was a fairly recent development. Looking at the full body of her work, I’m not sure she drags the team draft grade down to a D - that’s harsh - but she’s not a player I’d have viewed as roughly the 14th best player available (disregarding team need, of course). She should, at a minimum, be a developmental player, but capable of more, given time.