Greetings from Bled, Slovenia. I'm away from Seattle this week at an international meeting so I had to miss the first preseason game. Thank you so much for this article and for the post-game recordings. Picture that I'm sitting outside during a break on a sunny afternoon (we're 9 hours ahead) smiling from ear to ear listening to how positive and optimistic Zia and Flau'jae are. I love the energy and confidence of the youngsters and I love how Coach Sonia is approaching their development. I'll be back home in time to attend the season ticket holder event on Sunday, but in the meantime I'm going to keep smiling every time I think about the upcoming Storm season as they develop the team style this year.
Thanks Jeff. This was an insightful article. Totally agree about Zia Cooke. I hate this time because people’s lives and dreams are affected. But I also love it because, well, I’m a fan of this team.
Active roster spots 1-9: Malonga, Magbegor, Horston, Johnson, Hiedeman, Melbourne, Dolson, Fam and Samuelson.
Active roster spot 10: Zia Cooke. From a guard standpoint, she just does a lot of things well. And you want her energy on this team.
Active roster spot 11: Tania Mair. Look no further than the assists. She plays defense. Correction - she LOVES defense! And I think she’ll eventually be a plus shooter.
Active roster spot 12: A really high-ceiling player who is released from another team - or possibly even poached off of another developmental squad. If you insist on having another ‘big’ until Fam and Magbegor are available, then slot that player in here. Me? I don’t care about temporarily having another big. I would prefer a young player with a really high ceiling.
Developmental slots: My picks would be Rennia Davis and Grace VanSlooten. Davis has serious skills, and VanSlooten is quicker and more athletic than Holmes.
Well said on all fronts. I think you can go ahead and move Mack and Zia to the locks list. It really comes down to Mair versus Lexie Brown for the 12th spot. The dev team spot would let Mair keep practicing with the team, and also she can play in some number of regular season games too (which they would probably use early while they have so many injuries). So my understanding is they can actually more or less treat that as a real roster spot for like a month and then cut Lexie Brown later to promote Mair to the main roster. I think at the end of the day I agree with you - just cut (or, ideally, trade) Lexie now. But it's not a catastrophe to keep her for the short-term. Well, as long as Mair clears waivers (which she would have to do before they can sign her to a dev squad contract). Ok, that last bit is scary enough that I guess I am on team waive Lexi after all.
Nice to meet you briefly last night. I'm right there with you hoping we keep Cooke and Mair on the main roster over Lexie. Lexie's passes were not sharp in both games and I saw Stef directing her multiple times where to go.
If I had my choice on the development roster, I'd like Davis and Jaelyn Brown (assuming Mair is one of the 12). Davis impressed me the most in both games with her reads, offense, and cleaning up garbage.
One thing I was curious about is Coach Raman's timidity when calling time outs, and that she never reviewed a play either. I'm curious to see if this is just her letting the team play because it's preseason or if this is what we can expect.
It was nice to meet you, too! Thanks for stopping by to say hello. I agree that Lexie is sloppy with the ball and commits some unnecessary turnovers. I think I'd lean Davis and Jaelyn Brown as well, assuming that Taina and Mack make the main roster, but that would require the Storm to cut either Zia Cooke (unacceptable) or release Lexie Brown. I'd also be fine if they kept one of Davis or Jaelyn and used the other dev spot on one of the rookies like Grace or Jalyn "Ice" Brown.
There is even an outside chance Davis could make the 12-player main roster, but that would require something like cutting Mack to put Holmes on the dev roster AND then also releasing Lexie Brown.
I think it's far too early to tell how Coach Raman does with her timeout usage. She didn't challenge that one call, but I don't think it was 100% obvious that she would win that. The action took place at the opposite end of where I am, so others may have had a better look. They have hired staff to inform the coaches whether or not to challenge, so I have to assume they told her not to. As far as the timeouts go, I think coach used timeouts during a couple of big runs by the Fire, but otherwise let them play. I thought that was fine. We'll have to watch a lot more to see how she uses them.
I will note that during the GSV game, I thought she drew up an excellent play to get Elle Ladine a look at a three-pointer that would have sent the game to OT. I thought that was very well done.
Seems like Lexie is the axis of a lot of roster decisions - roster gymnastics that likely overstate her importance. I’m not sure she’s a great fit for a team not likely to contend, yet keeping her means putting at risk some players with real upside and who do fit the contention timeline better. If she remains here, I could see a situation where her role and minutes diminish in fairly short order.
I hadn’t considered Davis making the main roster over Mack, but wouldn’t necessarily be opposed to this. They did bring Rennia in as a sub for Dom more than once last night if I remember correctly and that seemed to work ok.
I like Mack a lot but about half the time when she’s in the game I feel like she’s not quite ready to compete at the W level. Holmes on the dev squad would probably work out for us.
Jeff! I agree with you so heartily about the roster. We need to buy Lexie out. She is not terrible but she’s not good enough to get that vet spot and I feel like she is a bit of a turnover machine. Mair has such a high ceiling, cutting her would be superlatively foolish/mistake/tragic. Coaching her up as our PG of the future with Sonia also in her first year is too perfect.
I wonder who you would put in the development spots? I like Rennia Davis and Jaelyn Brown, and feel they probably make the most sense, but I also think in the spirit of the full youth rebuild Grace and Ice are maybe less likely to get poached by another team and have a lot of room to develop while being able to pitch in and make an impact in games when they’re needed
I think I wrote previously that I would expect at least one of Rennia Davis, Jaelyn Brown, or Jalyn Brown to make the development squad. I like what I've seen from Jalyn Brown in practice, but there is no denying that both Jaelyn and Rennia are ahead of her and more ready for the WNBA right now. The Storm's depth at the wing/small forward position is hurting because Jordan and Katie Lou are still recovering from injuries. They would normally be my starting and backup small forwards. With both out, it makes sense to use Rennia or Jaelyn as a dev player who can be called up early in the season to cover while Lou and Horston work their way back. If they end up cutting either Mack or Taina, then I would expect them to try to re-sign them to the development squad.
Jeff… Mair would need to clear waivers to be placed on the DS, by virtue of her draft and contract status, correct? If so, I don’t see them trying to slip her through. She’s worth a spot for her defensive motor, if nothing else, at this point.
Correct. They would have to cut/waive her, then she would go on waivers, and any of the other 14 teams could claim her. If she cleared waivers, they could put her on the development squad. But even then, someone could then sign her to their main roster after that. It doesn't seem worth the risk to me. And as I wrote about above, they would be stupid to let Zia Cooke go because she would definitely be snatched up. Which then leaves the last spot in my eyes down to Lexie Brown or Mackenzie Holmes. They certainly could try waiving Mack and placing her on the dev squad after. Three expansion franchises have had the opportunity to select Holmes in the expansion drafts over the past two years, and none of them did. Mack would have a better chance to make it through waivers, in my opinion, than Zia or Taina.
I think it just depends on how comfortable they feel with Ezi's health and when Awa will be ready to join the team (which I mentioned could be early or late May). Also, would they consider playing Jordan Horston at the 4 until Fam is ready to join, and that is even assuming Jordy is ready to go for Game 1.
I tend to agree with you, especially when I saw she’s 31… I thought she was 27/28. She has hustle but I think we should look toward the future. I don’t see her contributing anything special beyond Mair or Davis and they can potentially be future pieces (Davis played with Jordy in college?).
Yes, Davis would have had a crossover at Tennessee. Davis graduated in 2021, and Jordy in 2023. They would have played together for two seasons with the Lady Vols.
Wow, I’m surprised to see Taina Mair released, down to Holmes/VanSlooten/Zia/Lexi for two spots. I wonder if it was because Mackenzie Holmes fits better right now and they didn’t need all three of Zia, Lexie, and Taina? I’d be very surprised if VanSlooten made it. I can’t say I understand the order/timing that teams are waiving players.
I have hoped they claim a waived player or two, so maybe that? Or they just didn’t want to guarantee Mair’s contract and this is some cap management? Curious to say the least!
Who I'd keep as of now. Not necessarily in order of starting and playing time:
Hiedeman, Mair, Melbourne
Johnson, Cooke
Horston, Jaelyn Brown, Rennia Davis
Malonga, Fam
Magbegor, Dolson
Dev: Holmes, VanSlooten
I want Cooke to either start at PG or be the first guard off the bench.
To be fair, I've got nothing against Lexie Brown as a player. I think she's played well this preseason. You could make a case for keeping her instead of Melbourne. They're both at their ceilings IMO. I really wanna keep Cooke and give her significant minutes.
Not trying to be mean to KLS, but we haven't seen her play for 2 years, since Indiana basically paid her to go away.
I would strongly disagree that Lexie Brown and Jade Melbourne have both hit their ceilings. I don't think Jade has come anywhere close to her ceiling, but she is going to need to improve her jumper and outside shooting to become a legit starter in the league. She is only 23 years old. That's close to the same age as the players coming out of college. Azzi Fudd is 23, for example.
Regarding Katie Lou, they signed her to a guaranteed two-year contract. I highly doubt they would cut her. That doesn't really make any sense. I think they want to continue to develop her. It's not Lou's fault that she was overdrafted. She also signed for a relatively low-cost contract. The organization is going to try to help her find success.
If they are dead set on keeping Lexie Brown, then I think cutting Mack and hoping to re-sign her to the development squad is probably the team's best option. I think Rennia Davis and Jaelyn Brown both have a good shot at making the development squad. I would expect one of them to be on there.
You are not being mean to state facts, but I’d be surprised if they cut ties with KLS. They continue to bring her back, despite the fact that she’s never really established a foothold in the W. Basketball has been difficult for her since the end of her junior year at UConn, so it’s been awhile. As Cija has pointed out here, the UConn pedigree often leads repeated opportunities that others just don’t get.
I definitely don't see the Storm trading Lexie Brown. And I don't think anyone would trade for her at this point. Maybe if she plays well this season, they could trade her at the deadline to a team trying to compete for the playoffs, but I think that would be a best case scenario.
I thought that Mack was a lock due to Ezi's injury and Awa Fam not getting here anytime soon, but that may not be the case. If she doesn't make the active roster, she could be put on the DS if she clears waivers. If Mackenzie isn't on the roster I hope that Rennia Davis is. Zia Cooke is a lock for sure. I don't know that Lexie Brown has shown enough skills to be on the roster. Taina Mair is a more skilled guard and she should be a lock. She could easily be our best PG of the 3 or 4 currently on the roster in the very near future. Grace VanSlooten should be on the Dev Squad. I hope that Jordan Horston is ready to play by opening night. Who knows when Lou will be ready?
That's not really fair to Lou because she tore her ACL at the beginning of last season, and ACL injuries notoriously take a long time to recover from. They signed her to a two-year deal because they believe in her. She might miss some time, but hopefully she will be knocking down three-pointers and helping space the floor for Seattle later this season.
Just pointing out that KLS was not a lock to make the team when she tore her ACL. The team was then required to carry her on the roster. Is that the case this year? Then it would be 2 training camps she didn't participate in to make the team.
She’s a vested veteran this year. So the FO considered her worth the risk to wait out her injury status. Last year she was unprotected, but got injured during practice…total bummer because it really would have been nice to have someone else that Quinn trusted.
Maybe, but we don't know whether Quinn would have trusted her or not. After she got cooked on defense a couple times, that probably would have been the end of her significant playing time.
Oh sure, trust me, I am not thrilled with it…and you’re probably right re Quinn & trust. I just know that we vested her this year & next so she’s not competing for a roster spot this year——which I don’t love—-but at least it was for a team friendly rate—-is what I keep telling myself.
KLS just hasn’t lived up to her college stats in the pros and many other non-UCONN players who haven’t don’t get as many chances as she has.
As someone who has expressed your sentiment a bit around KLS over the years, we did get her on a very team friendly contract..so it softens my frustrations, and I am hopeful she is able to bring some good shooting off the bench.
I listened to the No Cap Space Storm Preview and they saw potential for the team to be competitive by the end of the year. I also watched Fam’s last two games for Valencia and I got a better sense of her style and physicality. I think she can be a real contributor off the bench if Raman lets her and she doesn’t have to be a primary rebounder.
As you said Flau’jae appears ready and if Fam can contribute like Dominique last year, what if this team is already close to being a problem in the W and could push for the last playoff seed this year even with Ezi missing extended time?
What if the Storm do just need a great passing guard to unlock Malonga/Fam and take pressure off Flau’jae. The Storm’s 2027, 2028 draft picks are valuable but it leaves a lot up to chance for the right player to be available with low lottery odds in 2027 and have them develop. Why not use the picks now?
As an example, what if the Storm got someone whose played with Malonga on the French National team, fits the timeline with control through ‘29, and might be the best young pick and roll partner in the league? If I’m the Storm GM, I’m sending 2027, 2028 picks at the Sun for Leila Lacan as they prepare for their move to Houston. Their French coach might not want to, but it’d be hard for any GM to pass on two more shots at Juju Watkins and Sarah Strong.
If I'm the Storm, I wouldn't risk trading away their first-round picks in either of the next two years. Also, because of the Lexie Brown and Flau'jae Johnson trades, they don't have their 2nd round picks in 2027 or 2028. They need to really be smart with their first-round picks over the next two seasons. I think there is a pretty high chance the Storm are drafting in the Top 5, and there is a chance they are drafting in the Top 3, which is a huge deal.
The Connecticut Sun have the best chance to finish with the top odds for the #1 overall pick because of the two-year record rule, because they went 11-33 in 2025, and they are expected to be a bottom 3-5 team in 2026. Dallas and Chicago are other teams that could earn Top 3 picks, but both are expected to compete for playoff spots in 2026 (whether they make it or not, we'll see).
There is no reason to rush this process. This Storm team isn't going to beat the Aces, Liberty, Fever, etc. in a playoff series right now. They can start competing once Chelsea Gray, Breanna Stewart, etc., are getting older and starting to lose a step.
That’s definitely safer. No one wants to watch the draft as the Storm’s #1 overall pick goes to someone else. And neither Fam or Flau’jae have played in a regular season game so the team may need to see them all play a season together to see what they have.
But there is risk in waiting and I think it’s worth considering a trade as an option. To play the what if game: What if we draft someone in 2027 and they aren’t good or a fit? What if BPA is yet another post or another young international player with a long timeline. Maybe we get a Jackie Young to cover this, but FA is no guarantee. The longer the rebuild lasts, the more complex navigating new contracts and additional expansion drafts/teams will get.
Our lottery pick odds will likely fall between 3-7, we essentially can’t get ahead of the Sun or Fire (assuming they are horrible). To be higher than the following teams we need: Tempo to be 5 wins better, the Sky essentially must make the playoffs, Mystics must make the playoffs or be 8 wins better, or Valkyries win more than us.
If we over-perform and win 18-22 games, we’ll be in the lottery but we could easily be ~#6 with a ~5% chance at a top pick. Right now, that 2027 pick could be “anything” and it might have more value now than in 5 months.
Do I think the team should pursue a trade for veteran guard with a first or a just a young role player? No.
But if we are getting a cost controlled 2nd year player that fits the team and can be a star in their own right, it shifts the timeline sooner and reduces downside, at the risk of not getting a Juju/Booker.
It also means not tanking. Playing/managing to win is all around better for the franchise, coach, players, and the fans. They aren’t going to win a championship this year, but they could get some playoff experience if they snuck in.
If the team needs more picks in the future, they have levers to pull. Trading Ezi/Horston or role players, borrow from 2029 stock, take on a salary dump. Later picks aren’t that hard to come by.
Of course, there may not even be any players available that fit this criteria and then sure, keep the picks. It may be a deep enough draft it’s fine even if we pick 7. But I’m more open to a trade now; I just want Dom and Fam to be in the best position to succeed, and not have Flau’jae carry too much in year 1.
I appreciate the thought process. I personally don't think it would be wise to trade the Storm's first round pick in either 2027 or 2028. While it's true that they aren't likely to have better odds than the Connecticut Sun due to the two-year rule. We have seen plenty of WNBA Drafts where the team with the top odds doesn't actually win the lottery. The year the Mystics won the lottery and traded their pick to the Atlanta Dream, I believe Washington had the third-best odds to win it. Same with the Las Vegas Aces when they won their third consecutive first overall pick for the 2019 WNBA Draft. The Aces were no longer the worst team in the league, but they still won the lottery and that allowed them to draft Jackie Young.
If Seattle finishes with the 3rd-5th best odds, but moves up to #1 or #2, that's huge. But even if they don't. I'm not certain Leila Lacan would be a better player than someone they could draft let's say 5th overall. The players currently projected to go in that range are Mikaylah Williams, MiLaysia Fulwiley, or S'Mya Nichols. I like Lacan, but trading the team's first-round pick could be at best losing out on a player like Fulwiley, and at-worst losing out on JuJu Watkins which would be a fireable offense for a GM to take that risk.
The Storm can play around with a lot of lineups this year. Natisha Hiedeman will get the start. Jade Melbourne will get her opportunities, and Jade is only 23. She still has potential to be more than she is right now. Zia Cooke, while more of a scorer, she will likely get a chance to run some point as well. And I am also curious about Jordan Horston's potential to play point guard or at least some point forward, like Gabby Williams has done in the past.
Greetings from Bled, Slovenia. I'm away from Seattle this week at an international meeting so I had to miss the first preseason game. Thank you so much for this article and for the post-game recordings. Picture that I'm sitting outside during a break on a sunny afternoon (we're 9 hours ahead) smiling from ear to ear listening to how positive and optimistic Zia and Flau'jae are. I love the energy and confidence of the youngsters and I love how Coach Sonia is approaching their development. I'll be back home in time to attend the season ticket holder event on Sunday, but in the meantime I'm going to keep smiling every time I think about the upcoming Storm season as they develop the team style this year.
Love this! Safe travels.
Thanks Jeff. This was an insightful article. Totally agree about Zia Cooke. I hate this time because people’s lives and dreams are affected. But I also love it because, well, I’m a fan of this team.
Active roster spots 1-9: Malonga, Magbegor, Horston, Johnson, Hiedeman, Melbourne, Dolson, Fam and Samuelson.
Active roster spot 10: Zia Cooke. From a guard standpoint, she just does a lot of things well. And you want her energy on this team.
Active roster spot 11: Tania Mair. Look no further than the assists. She plays defense. Correction - she LOVES defense! And I think she’ll eventually be a plus shooter.
Active roster spot 12: A really high-ceiling player who is released from another team - or possibly even poached off of another developmental squad. If you insist on having another ‘big’ until Fam and Magbegor are available, then slot that player in here. Me? I don’t care about temporarily having another big. I would prefer a young player with a really high ceiling.
Developmental slots: My picks would be Rennia Davis and Grace VanSlooten. Davis has serious skills, and VanSlooten is quicker and more athletic than Holmes.
Just read that the Valkyries waived Miela Sowah. After watching her drop all those 3-pt shots against our Storm, I’m claiming her for sure!
Well said on all fronts. I think you can go ahead and move Mack and Zia to the locks list. It really comes down to Mair versus Lexie Brown for the 12th spot. The dev team spot would let Mair keep practicing with the team, and also she can play in some number of regular season games too (which they would probably use early while they have so many injuries). So my understanding is they can actually more or less treat that as a real roster spot for like a month and then cut Lexie Brown later to promote Mair to the main roster. I think at the end of the day I agree with you - just cut (or, ideally, trade) Lexie now. But it's not a catastrophe to keep her for the short-term. Well, as long as Mair clears waivers (which she would have to do before they can sign her to a dev squad contract). Ok, that last bit is scary enough that I guess I am on team waive Lexi after all.
Nice to meet you briefly last night. I'm right there with you hoping we keep Cooke and Mair on the main roster over Lexie. Lexie's passes were not sharp in both games and I saw Stef directing her multiple times where to go.
If I had my choice on the development roster, I'd like Davis and Jaelyn Brown (assuming Mair is one of the 12). Davis impressed me the most in both games with her reads, offense, and cleaning up garbage.
One thing I was curious about is Coach Raman's timidity when calling time outs, and that she never reviewed a play either. I'm curious to see if this is just her letting the team play because it's preseason or if this is what we can expect.
It was nice to meet you, too! Thanks for stopping by to say hello. I agree that Lexie is sloppy with the ball and commits some unnecessary turnovers. I think I'd lean Davis and Jaelyn Brown as well, assuming that Taina and Mack make the main roster, but that would require the Storm to cut either Zia Cooke (unacceptable) or release Lexie Brown. I'd also be fine if they kept one of Davis or Jaelyn and used the other dev spot on one of the rookies like Grace or Jalyn "Ice" Brown.
There is even an outside chance Davis could make the 12-player main roster, but that would require something like cutting Mack to put Holmes on the dev roster AND then also releasing Lexie Brown.
I think it's far too early to tell how Coach Raman does with her timeout usage. She didn't challenge that one call, but I don't think it was 100% obvious that she would win that. The action took place at the opposite end of where I am, so others may have had a better look. They have hired staff to inform the coaches whether or not to challenge, so I have to assume they told her not to. As far as the timeouts go, I think coach used timeouts during a couple of big runs by the Fire, but otherwise let them play. I thought that was fine. We'll have to watch a lot more to see how she uses them.
I will note that during the GSV game, I thought she drew up an excellent play to get Elle Ladine a look at a three-pointer that would have sent the game to OT. I thought that was very well done.
Seems like Lexie is the axis of a lot of roster decisions - roster gymnastics that likely overstate her importance. I’m not sure she’s a great fit for a team not likely to contend, yet keeping her means putting at risk some players with real upside and who do fit the contention timeline better. If she remains here, I could see a situation where her role and minutes diminish in fairly short order.
I hadn’t considered Davis making the main roster over Mack, but wouldn’t necessarily be opposed to this. They did bring Rennia in as a sub for Dom more than once last night if I remember correctly and that seemed to work ok.
I like Mack a lot but about half the time when she’s in the game I feel like she’s not quite ready to compete at the W level. Holmes on the dev squad would probably work out for us.
Jeff! I agree with you so heartily about the roster. We need to buy Lexie out. She is not terrible but she’s not good enough to get that vet spot and I feel like she is a bit of a turnover machine. Mair has such a high ceiling, cutting her would be superlatively foolish/mistake/tragic. Coaching her up as our PG of the future with Sonia also in her first year is too perfect.
I wonder who you would put in the development spots? I like Rennia Davis and Jaelyn Brown, and feel they probably make the most sense, but I also think in the spirit of the full youth rebuild Grace and Ice are maybe less likely to get poached by another team and have a lot of room to develop while being able to pitch in and make an impact in games when they’re needed
I think I wrote previously that I would expect at least one of Rennia Davis, Jaelyn Brown, or Jalyn Brown to make the development squad. I like what I've seen from Jalyn Brown in practice, but there is no denying that both Jaelyn and Rennia are ahead of her and more ready for the WNBA right now. The Storm's depth at the wing/small forward position is hurting because Jordan and Katie Lou are still recovering from injuries. They would normally be my starting and backup small forwards. With both out, it makes sense to use Rennia or Jaelyn as a dev player who can be called up early in the season to cover while Lou and Horston work their way back. If they end up cutting either Mack or Taina, then I would expect them to try to re-sign them to the development squad.
Jeff… Mair would need to clear waivers to be placed on the DS, by virtue of her draft and contract status, correct? If so, I don’t see them trying to slip her through. She’s worth a spot for her defensive motor, if nothing else, at this point.
Correct. They would have to cut/waive her, then she would go on waivers, and any of the other 14 teams could claim her. If she cleared waivers, they could put her on the development squad. But even then, someone could then sign her to their main roster after that. It doesn't seem worth the risk to me. And as I wrote about above, they would be stupid to let Zia Cooke go because she would definitely be snatched up. Which then leaves the last spot in my eyes down to Lexie Brown or Mackenzie Holmes. They certainly could try waiving Mack and placing her on the dev squad after. Three expansion franchises have had the opportunity to select Holmes in the expansion drafts over the past two years, and none of them did. Mack would have a better chance to make it through waivers, in my opinion, than Zia or Taina.
I think it just depends on how comfortable they feel with Ezi's health and when Awa will be ready to join the team (which I mentioned could be early or late May). Also, would they consider playing Jordan Horston at the 4 until Fam is ready to join, and that is even assuming Jordy is ready to go for Game 1.
Cooke and Mair could be a very fun backcourt bench mob!
I tend to agree with you, especially when I saw she’s 31… I thought she was 27/28. She has hustle but I think we should look toward the future. I don’t see her contributing anything special beyond Mair or Davis and they can potentially be future pieces (Davis played with Jordy in college?).
Yes, Davis would have had a crossover at Tennessee. Davis graduated in 2021, and Jordy in 2023. They would have played together for two seasons with the Lady Vols.
Wow, I’m surprised to see Taina Mair released, down to Holmes/VanSlooten/Zia/Lexi for two spots. I wonder if it was because Mackenzie Holmes fits better right now and they didn’t need all three of Zia, Lexie, and Taina? I’d be very surprised if VanSlooten made it. I can’t say I understand the order/timing that teams are waiving players.
I have hoped they claim a waived player or two, so maybe that? Or they just didn’t want to guarantee Mair’s contract and this is some cap management? Curious to say the least!
Who I'd keep as of now. Not necessarily in order of starting and playing time:
Hiedeman, Mair, Melbourne
Johnson, Cooke
Horston, Jaelyn Brown, Rennia Davis
Malonga, Fam
Magbegor, Dolson
Dev: Holmes, VanSlooten
I want Cooke to either start at PG or be the first guard off the bench.
To be fair, I've got nothing against Lexie Brown as a player. I think she's played well this preseason. You could make a case for keeping her instead of Melbourne. They're both at their ceilings IMO. I really wanna keep Cooke and give her significant minutes.
Not trying to be mean to KLS, but we haven't seen her play for 2 years, since Indiana basically paid her to go away.
I would strongly disagree that Lexie Brown and Jade Melbourne have both hit their ceilings. I don't think Jade has come anywhere close to her ceiling, but she is going to need to improve her jumper and outside shooting to become a legit starter in the league. She is only 23 years old. That's close to the same age as the players coming out of college. Azzi Fudd is 23, for example.
Regarding Katie Lou, they signed her to a guaranteed two-year contract. I highly doubt they would cut her. That doesn't really make any sense. I think they want to continue to develop her. It's not Lou's fault that she was overdrafted. She also signed for a relatively low-cost contract. The organization is going to try to help her find success.
If they are dead set on keeping Lexie Brown, then I think cutting Mack and hoping to re-sign her to the development squad is probably the team's best option. I think Rennia Davis and Jaelyn Brown both have a good shot at making the development squad. I would expect one of them to be on there.
Boy, was I ever wrong about Lexie Brown and Jade Melbourne!
You are not being mean to state facts, but I’d be surprised if they cut ties with KLS. They continue to bring her back, despite the fact that she’s never really established a foothold in the W. Basketball has been difficult for her since the end of her junior year at UConn, so it’s been awhile. As Cija has pointed out here, the UConn pedigree often leads repeated opportunities that others just don’t get.
Got a hunch Lexie will be traded.
For what, and by whom?
No idea—just dunno if she’s a good fit. For sure she was unhappy about being traded to Seattle, but with more playing time maybe she’s settling in.
I definitely don't see the Storm trading Lexie Brown. And I don't think anyone would trade for her at this point. Maybe if she plays well this season, they could trade her at the deadline to a team trying to compete for the playoffs, but I think that would be a best case scenario.
I thought that Mack was a lock due to Ezi's injury and Awa Fam not getting here anytime soon, but that may not be the case. If she doesn't make the active roster, she could be put on the DS if she clears waivers. If Mackenzie isn't on the roster I hope that Rennia Davis is. Zia Cooke is a lock for sure. I don't know that Lexie Brown has shown enough skills to be on the roster. Taina Mair is a more skilled guard and she should be a lock. She could easily be our best PG of the 3 or 4 currently on the roster in the very near future. Grace VanSlooten should be on the Dev Squad. I hope that Jordan Horston is ready to play by opening night. Who knows when Lou will be ready?
Welcome to Year 2 of KLS taking up a roster spot by being hurt.
That's not really fair to Lou because she tore her ACL at the beginning of last season, and ACL injuries notoriously take a long time to recover from. They signed her to a two-year deal because they believe in her. She might miss some time, but hopefully she will be knocking down three-pointers and helping space the floor for Seattle later this season.
Just pointing out that KLS was not a lock to make the team when she tore her ACL. The team was then required to carry her on the roster. Is that the case this year? Then it would be 2 training camps she didn't participate in to make the team.
She’s a vested veteran this year. So the FO considered her worth the risk to wait out her injury status. Last year she was unprotected, but got injured during practice…total bummer because it really would have been nice to have someone else that Quinn trusted.
Maybe, but we don't know whether Quinn would have trusted her or not. After she got cooked on defense a couple times, that probably would have been the end of her significant playing time.
Oh sure, trust me, I am not thrilled with it…and you’re probably right re Quinn & trust. I just know that we vested her this year & next so she’s not competing for a roster spot this year——which I don’t love—-but at least it was for a team friendly rate—-is what I keep telling myself.
KLS just hasn’t lived up to her college stats in the pros and many other non-UCONN players who haven’t don’t get as many chances as she has.
As someone who has expressed your sentiment a bit around KLS over the years, we did get her on a very team friendly contract..so it softens my frustrations, and I am hopeful she is able to bring some good shooting off the bench.
I listened to the No Cap Space Storm Preview and they saw potential for the team to be competitive by the end of the year. I also watched Fam’s last two games for Valencia and I got a better sense of her style and physicality. I think she can be a real contributor off the bench if Raman lets her and she doesn’t have to be a primary rebounder.
As you said Flau’jae appears ready and if Fam can contribute like Dominique last year, what if this team is already close to being a problem in the W and could push for the last playoff seed this year even with Ezi missing extended time?
What if the Storm do just need a great passing guard to unlock Malonga/Fam and take pressure off Flau’jae. The Storm’s 2027, 2028 draft picks are valuable but it leaves a lot up to chance for the right player to be available with low lottery odds in 2027 and have them develop. Why not use the picks now?
As an example, what if the Storm got someone whose played with Malonga on the French National team, fits the timeline with control through ‘29, and might be the best young pick and roll partner in the league? If I’m the Storm GM, I’m sending 2027, 2028 picks at the Sun for Leila Lacan as they prepare for their move to Houston. Their French coach might not want to, but it’d be hard for any GM to pass on two more shots at Juju Watkins and Sarah Strong.
If I'm the Storm, I wouldn't risk trading away their first-round picks in either of the next two years. Also, because of the Lexie Brown and Flau'jae Johnson trades, they don't have their 2nd round picks in 2027 or 2028. They need to really be smart with their first-round picks over the next two seasons. I think there is a pretty high chance the Storm are drafting in the Top 5, and there is a chance they are drafting in the Top 3, which is a huge deal.
The Connecticut Sun have the best chance to finish with the top odds for the #1 overall pick because of the two-year record rule, because they went 11-33 in 2025, and they are expected to be a bottom 3-5 team in 2026. Dallas and Chicago are other teams that could earn Top 3 picks, but both are expected to compete for playoff spots in 2026 (whether they make it or not, we'll see).
There is no reason to rush this process. This Storm team isn't going to beat the Aces, Liberty, Fever, etc. in a playoff series right now. They can start competing once Chelsea Gray, Breanna Stewart, etc., are getting older and starting to lose a step.
That’s definitely safer. No one wants to watch the draft as the Storm’s #1 overall pick goes to someone else. And neither Fam or Flau’jae have played in a regular season game so the team may need to see them all play a season together to see what they have.
But there is risk in waiting and I think it’s worth considering a trade as an option. To play the what if game: What if we draft someone in 2027 and they aren’t good or a fit? What if BPA is yet another post or another young international player with a long timeline. Maybe we get a Jackie Young to cover this, but FA is no guarantee. The longer the rebuild lasts, the more complex navigating new contracts and additional expansion drafts/teams will get.
Our lottery pick odds will likely fall between 3-7, we essentially can’t get ahead of the Sun or Fire (assuming they are horrible). To be higher than the following teams we need: Tempo to be 5 wins better, the Sky essentially must make the playoffs, Mystics must make the playoffs or be 8 wins better, or Valkyries win more than us.
If we over-perform and win 18-22 games, we’ll be in the lottery but we could easily be ~#6 with a ~5% chance at a top pick. Right now, that 2027 pick could be “anything” and it might have more value now than in 5 months.
Do I think the team should pursue a trade for veteran guard with a first or a just a young role player? No.
But if we are getting a cost controlled 2nd year player that fits the team and can be a star in their own right, it shifts the timeline sooner and reduces downside, at the risk of not getting a Juju/Booker.
It also means not tanking. Playing/managing to win is all around better for the franchise, coach, players, and the fans. They aren’t going to win a championship this year, but they could get some playoff experience if they snuck in.
If the team needs more picks in the future, they have levers to pull. Trading Ezi/Horston or role players, borrow from 2029 stock, take on a salary dump. Later picks aren’t that hard to come by.
Of course, there may not even be any players available that fit this criteria and then sure, keep the picks. It may be a deep enough draft it’s fine even if we pick 7. But I’m more open to a trade now; I just want Dom and Fam to be in the best position to succeed, and not have Flau’jae carry too much in year 1.
I appreciate the thought process. I personally don't think it would be wise to trade the Storm's first round pick in either 2027 or 2028. While it's true that they aren't likely to have better odds than the Connecticut Sun due to the two-year rule. We have seen plenty of WNBA Drafts where the team with the top odds doesn't actually win the lottery. The year the Mystics won the lottery and traded their pick to the Atlanta Dream, I believe Washington had the third-best odds to win it. Same with the Las Vegas Aces when they won their third consecutive first overall pick for the 2019 WNBA Draft. The Aces were no longer the worst team in the league, but they still won the lottery and that allowed them to draft Jackie Young.
If Seattle finishes with the 3rd-5th best odds, but moves up to #1 or #2, that's huge. But even if they don't. I'm not certain Leila Lacan would be a better player than someone they could draft let's say 5th overall. The players currently projected to go in that range are Mikaylah Williams, MiLaysia Fulwiley, or S'Mya Nichols. I like Lacan, but trading the team's first-round pick could be at best losing out on a player like Fulwiley, and at-worst losing out on JuJu Watkins which would be a fireable offense for a GM to take that risk.
The Storm can play around with a lot of lineups this year. Natisha Hiedeman will get the start. Jade Melbourne will get her opportunities, and Jade is only 23. She still has potential to be more than she is right now. Zia Cooke, while more of a scorer, she will likely get a chance to run some point as well. And I am also curious about Jordan Horston's potential to play point guard or at least some point forward, like Gabby Williams has done in the past.