The Storm will be fortunate to finish at .500; a deep playoff run seems out of the question.
The tone of Quinn’s response to your question about a lineup change suggests that she has definitely considered it, but may not have discussed it with staff, and certainly not with the players at this point.
Roster-wise, keep the young talent, but otherwise, I’m in the “tear it down to the studs” camp. As a group, this team will get older, but not necessarily better. The coaching staff and front office also need a serious evaluation ahead of any rebuild.
I'm sure they've considered it, I'm not really sure why she didn't want to answer it. But you can tell the frustrations of losing are mounting on Quinn by how she's responding to questions. To play Devil's Advocate, I think Quinn could make the argument, that if she plays all 3 at the same time, then they all become fatigued at the same time and after trading away Li they don't have as much post depth. So what does she do when all 3 of them need a rest? Another counter against playing all 3 of them together is, what happens if both Dom and Ezi get into foul trouble and have to sit out the rest of a first half or the entire 3rd quarter or something. Of course, the counters to some of that is, all 3 don't need to play like 7-8 minutes together at one time. It could be in shorter 3-5 min spurts. One thing I don't like, but it might be just the way Quinn phrases it, but I feel she always talks about changing a lineup to match the opponent. And in my head, I think, why not force another team to face to Ezi, Dom, and Nneka together? See if that team can adjust to you.
Jeff: I’m very interested your take on the overall priorities for the franchise, on and off the court. What do you see as driving the decisions that are made regarding what’s really important to the organization? It isn’t at all clear to me. I have some ideas, but I’m just not sure. Where does winning fit?
This is such a great question. I’ve been pondering it over the last few days. More and more this franchise reminds me of the Mariners. Happy to keep filling up a stadium ($$$) but not all that focused on a championship. Eventually fans get impatient with all the losses. But does ownership even care? At this rate, I don’t think this team will be in the playoffs.
Responding to both you and Eric here. I don't think the Storm owners are anything like the Mariners' ownership over the years. Yes, things have been frustrating. But the Storm have made the playoffs 19 times in 25 years. And 3 of the years they missed were in their first 4 seasons. They've reached the playoffs 18 times in 21 years and won 4 WNBA Championships, tied for the most in WNBA history. By comparison, the Mariners missed the playoffs 21 years in a row. And rarely invested big money into the ballclup.
The ownership built the Storm's personal practice facility and performance center that was around $65-70 Million in private money. Meanwhile, you have other organizations like the Chicago Sky that talked about doing one, but took years to even start putting a shovel in the ground. Or you have the Connecticut Sun, that made Alyssa Thomas and her teammates share a practice basketball court with a toddler's birthday party while the Sun were preparing for a playoff game. Now the Sun's ownership is looking to sell the team because they don't want to invest real legitimate money into the club so they are getting out now.
The Storm were able to attract Skylar and Nneka to come here because of their new performance center. And although other teams like Phoenix and Las Vegas also have one, the Storm are still ahead of most ownership groups in that regard.
To Eric, the ownership group is all very focused on Women Empowerment, supporting the LGBQT+ community, supporting local youth and outreach, etc. But winning is definitely up there. As I talked about above with how often they are in the playoffs and how they've won the most WNBA Championships (tied) than any other franchise. I think they want to uplift black women. I think they want to give Coach Quinn the opportunity to make things work and that's why from some viewpoints, she's had a longer leash. They also try to do a lot for their players to keep them satisfied. They did a lot and went out of their way to make both Breanna Stewart and Jewell Loyd happy. Even if it sometimes meant, keeping a player on the roster that probably shouldn't have been on there. And a lot of other things outside the basketball court too.
Great perspective and context. Thank you, Jeff. I think as a fan I am frustrated because this year‘s team showed so much promise and now the season looks like a bust. I’m well aware of the team’s success throughout its history and wondering how the organization gets back on track to continue that success.
Your question got me thinking, Kristin, about the context of the Storm’s history of success, and baseball. I think the Storm - like the Moneyball era Oakland A’s - found and capitalized on some undervalued competitive advantages (like data analytics) before other teams. The Storm has benefited from focusing on culture, relationships, player satisfaction, and amenities, maybe before some other organizations did. Those advantages are disappearing, and getting back on track will require some different (and difficult) decisions to be made.
Thanks, again, Jeff for the dose of truth in your response. That's precisely what I've been thinking. Ownership's commitments to community, inclusion and player happiness have not gone unnoticed or unappreciated, and for a long time fostered a lot of success on the court, as well. The challenge now seems to be how to maintain those values and to win at a high level, in a vastly different economic environment.
The floundering in August analysis is really important. Thanks for setting out all the statistics on that. It’s such a trend with the storm rather than getting better like other teams such as LA or Atlanta they are on a downward trend. And it’s like this almost every year in August as you pointed out.
At the start of the season I thought the Storm could win 25-26 games but were a dark house for a championship. Not now.
I can’t see trading a 1st round pick for anyone at this point since:
1. Probably still doesn’t make them a serious threat to the top teams even with the injuries.
2. CBA is a wild card. You could lose SD and NO and any player recieved in a deal. Why trade picks for a one month rental unless it really makes a difference?
Only way I would trade a first rounder was if I was positive that SD and NO and (say) MM were coming back.
True but SD and NO may want to play with a team where they think they have the best chance of winning a championship given it will probably be their last contracts.
Hey Jeff, I've been thinking this lately while trying to diagnose what's been going on with the Storm and I'm wondering if you could tell me if it makes sense or I'm full of crap. I've been super critical of Quinn for the past three years and I think the same things I have said over the past three seasons seemed to have remained true, but I'm going to try to be charitable.
It seems that Quinn's approach has always been win now and and to win now you need to minimize mistakes, which isn't wrong, obviously (no one wins games by committing turnovers). It also appears she has a preference for veterans because they have a higher floor. Playing rookies (besides Jordan Horston and Dom Malonga) doesn't really help either of those short-term goals of reducing mistakes and winning in the present. We're kind of getting the worst of both worlds now because the heavy reliance on the starters burns them out faster and the further the season goes on, the less the younger players are ready to contribute and there's almost 100% bench turnover every season. Gabby and Ezi are the only Storm players playing in 2025 that were on the Storm in 2023, which I thought should've been a rebuilding year. But the catch 22 is that playing Nneka, Skylar, and Gabby more does give them the best odds of winning every game and cutting down on errors, at least in theory. Instead we have Nneka and Skylar both playing over 40 minutes on Friday night, Gabby's been struggling, AC has been nonexistent and Mackenzie and Nika have 4 combined career points.
Bless the Storm for giving Noelle Quinn every possible opportunity to succeed but it seems like that approach has a ceiling of fourth place. It hasn't been a failure by any means (but I'd certainly rather be the Storm than the Sun or the Sky) but I don't have any confidence Coach Quinn can take this team any further than she already has.
I would trade a pick, Katie Lou, and Brown for Mabrey as long as there's some guarantee she'll sign here. If not then forget it. But she is definitely a fantastic hard playing hooper on both ends of the court who not only brings her offense but physicality.
Coaching staff needs a change. This team is lost. Might not win another game all season. Why no throw Dom, Ezi, and Nneka in and have Clark sub in for one? Or dare I say it, Mackenzie Holmes? The lack of post defensive is due to a lack of physicality. Teams are pushing the Storm around and getting good position to either score on the post or recover an offensive rebound for a put back. Team is frustrating to watch. Lots of simple fundamental.things. Like not keeping your hands up on defense to deflect shots. Dom needs to keep her arms up to block shots with her wingspan.
The Storm will be fortunate to finish at .500; a deep playoff run seems out of the question.
The tone of Quinn’s response to your question about a lineup change suggests that she has definitely considered it, but may not have discussed it with staff, and certainly not with the players at this point.
Roster-wise, keep the young talent, but otherwise, I’m in the “tear it down to the studs” camp. As a group, this team will get older, but not necessarily better. The coaching staff and front office also need a serious evaluation ahead of any rebuild.
I'm sure they've considered it, I'm not really sure why she didn't want to answer it. But you can tell the frustrations of losing are mounting on Quinn by how she's responding to questions. To play Devil's Advocate, I think Quinn could make the argument, that if she plays all 3 at the same time, then they all become fatigued at the same time and after trading away Li they don't have as much post depth. So what does she do when all 3 of them need a rest? Another counter against playing all 3 of them together is, what happens if both Dom and Ezi get into foul trouble and have to sit out the rest of a first half or the entire 3rd quarter or something. Of course, the counters to some of that is, all 3 don't need to play like 7-8 minutes together at one time. It could be in shorter 3-5 min spurts. One thing I don't like, but it might be just the way Quinn phrases it, but I feel she always talks about changing a lineup to match the opponent. And in my head, I think, why not force another team to face to Ezi, Dom, and Nneka together? See if that team can adjust to you.
You are so right about the reactive - rather than proactive stance Quinn takes with personnel.
Players I’m willing to part with: Clark, Cooke, Brown, Holmes, Mitchell, Samuelson, Muhl.
Oh, for sure. I’m not expecting any of them back.
Jeff: I’m very interested your take on the overall priorities for the franchise, on and off the court. What do you see as driving the decisions that are made regarding what’s really important to the organization? It isn’t at all clear to me. I have some ideas, but I’m just not sure. Where does winning fit?
This is such a great question. I’ve been pondering it over the last few days. More and more this franchise reminds me of the Mariners. Happy to keep filling up a stadium ($$$) but not all that focused on a championship. Eventually fans get impatient with all the losses. But does ownership even care? At this rate, I don’t think this team will be in the playoffs.
Responding to both you and Eric here. I don't think the Storm owners are anything like the Mariners' ownership over the years. Yes, things have been frustrating. But the Storm have made the playoffs 19 times in 25 years. And 3 of the years they missed were in their first 4 seasons. They've reached the playoffs 18 times in 21 years and won 4 WNBA Championships, tied for the most in WNBA history. By comparison, the Mariners missed the playoffs 21 years in a row. And rarely invested big money into the ballclup.
The ownership built the Storm's personal practice facility and performance center that was around $65-70 Million in private money. Meanwhile, you have other organizations like the Chicago Sky that talked about doing one, but took years to even start putting a shovel in the ground. Or you have the Connecticut Sun, that made Alyssa Thomas and her teammates share a practice basketball court with a toddler's birthday party while the Sun were preparing for a playoff game. Now the Sun's ownership is looking to sell the team because they don't want to invest real legitimate money into the club so they are getting out now.
The Storm were able to attract Skylar and Nneka to come here because of their new performance center. And although other teams like Phoenix and Las Vegas also have one, the Storm are still ahead of most ownership groups in that regard.
To Eric, the ownership group is all very focused on Women Empowerment, supporting the LGBQT+ community, supporting local youth and outreach, etc. But winning is definitely up there. As I talked about above with how often they are in the playoffs and how they've won the most WNBA Championships (tied) than any other franchise. I think they want to uplift black women. I think they want to give Coach Quinn the opportunity to make things work and that's why from some viewpoints, she's had a longer leash. They also try to do a lot for their players to keep them satisfied. They did a lot and went out of their way to make both Breanna Stewart and Jewell Loyd happy. Even if it sometimes meant, keeping a player on the roster that probably shouldn't have been on there. And a lot of other things outside the basketball court too.
Great perspective and context. Thank you, Jeff. I think as a fan I am frustrated because this year‘s team showed so much promise and now the season looks like a bust. I’m well aware of the team’s success throughout its history and wondering how the organization gets back on track to continue that success.
Your question got me thinking, Kristin, about the context of the Storm’s history of success, and baseball. I think the Storm - like the Moneyball era Oakland A’s - found and capitalized on some undervalued competitive advantages (like data analytics) before other teams. The Storm has benefited from focusing on culture, relationships, player satisfaction, and amenities, maybe before some other organizations did. Those advantages are disappearing, and getting back on track will require some different (and difficult) decisions to be made.
Thanks, again, Jeff for the dose of truth in your response. That's precisely what I've been thinking. Ownership's commitments to community, inclusion and player happiness have not gone unnoticed or unappreciated, and for a long time fostered a lot of success on the court, as well. The challenge now seems to be how to maintain those values and to win at a high level, in a vastly different economic environment.
At this point I really hope we don't trade any draft picks for a one-month rental of anyone.
The floundering in August analysis is really important. Thanks for setting out all the statistics on that. It’s such a trend with the storm rather than getting better like other teams such as LA or Atlanta they are on a downward trend. And it’s like this almost every year in August as you pointed out.
At the start of the season I thought the Storm could win 25-26 games but were a dark house for a championship. Not now.
I can’t see trading a 1st round pick for anyone at this point since:
1. Probably still doesn’t make them a serious threat to the top teams even with the injuries.
2. CBA is a wild card. You could lose SD and NO and any player recieved in a deal. Why trade picks for a one month rental unless it really makes a difference?
Only way I would trade a first rounder was if I was positive that SD and NO and (say) MM were coming back.
I think the coaching situation will have a lot to do with who wants to stay and who wants to leave.
True but SD and NO may want to play with a team where they think they have the best chance of winning a championship given it will probably be their last contracts.
I don’t expect either one back. Especially if there is a regime change.
Hey Jeff, I've been thinking this lately while trying to diagnose what's been going on with the Storm and I'm wondering if you could tell me if it makes sense or I'm full of crap. I've been super critical of Quinn for the past three years and I think the same things I have said over the past three seasons seemed to have remained true, but I'm going to try to be charitable.
It seems that Quinn's approach has always been win now and and to win now you need to minimize mistakes, which isn't wrong, obviously (no one wins games by committing turnovers). It also appears she has a preference for veterans because they have a higher floor. Playing rookies (besides Jordan Horston and Dom Malonga) doesn't really help either of those short-term goals of reducing mistakes and winning in the present. We're kind of getting the worst of both worlds now because the heavy reliance on the starters burns them out faster and the further the season goes on, the less the younger players are ready to contribute and there's almost 100% bench turnover every season. Gabby and Ezi are the only Storm players playing in 2025 that were on the Storm in 2023, which I thought should've been a rebuilding year. But the catch 22 is that playing Nneka, Skylar, and Gabby more does give them the best odds of winning every game and cutting down on errors, at least in theory. Instead we have Nneka and Skylar both playing over 40 minutes on Friday night, Gabby's been struggling, AC has been nonexistent and Mackenzie and Nika have 4 combined career points.
Bless the Storm for giving Noelle Quinn every possible opportunity to succeed but it seems like that approach has a ceiling of fourth place. It hasn't been a failure by any means (but I'd certainly rather be the Storm than the Sun or the Sky) but I don't have any confidence Coach Quinn can take this team any further than she already has.
Well… Looks like we got our answer. All in.
I would trade a pick, Katie Lou, and Brown for Mabrey as long as there's some guarantee she'll sign here. If not then forget it. But she is definitely a fantastic hard playing hooper on both ends of the court who not only brings her offense but physicality.
I don't know why CON would do us that favor unless it was a really high pick. And of course all bets are off signing FA's for next season.
Coaching staff needs a change. This team is lost. Might not win another game all season. Why no throw Dom, Ezi, and Nneka in and have Clark sub in for one? Or dare I say it, Mackenzie Holmes? The lack of post defensive is due to a lack of physicality. Teams are pushing the Storm around and getting good position to either score on the post or recover an offensive rebound for a put back. Team is frustrating to watch. Lots of simple fundamental.things. Like not keeping your hands up on defense to deflect shots. Dom needs to keep her arms up to block shots with her wingspan.