Taina Mair Re-Signs to a Development Contract

The 14th overall pick was recently waived by Seattle and will now return.

The Seattle Storm recently made news after waiving one of their first-round picks (14th overall), rookie Taina Mair, over the weekend. Mair was the first player from the first round of the 2026 WNBA Draft to be waived by their team.

Early on in training camp, it felt like it was going to be difficult for Seattle to keep Lexie Brown, Zia Cooke, and Taina Mair all on the main 12-player roster. Especially with injuries to Ezi Magbegor and Katie Lou Samuelson, who would both be out to start the season. That was compounded even further as rookie forward/center, Awa Fam, remained overseas to play with her Spanish team, Valencia, during their playoff run. Fam’s team recently advanced past the quarter finals and into the semifinals. Her arrival to Seattle is still unclear at this point, but it is possible she won’t be ready to join the Storm until closer to the end of the month. Valencia’s next games are on May 7th and May 10th. The earliest she can join the team would be sometime after that, and that’s only if Valencia loses both games.

Zia Cooke has excelled in the preseason and during training camp. She has looked like one of the Storm’s best scorers while averaging 15.5 PPG. If there was any doubt entering training camp that Cooke should be on the final roster, she made sure there was none after the two preseason games took place. With that spot presumably locked up, the Storm had to decide between veteran Lexie Brown and rookie Taina Mair. Brown is the more experienced player and more prepared to contribute right away. The team also traded two second-round picks (2025, 2027) to acquire her ahead of the 2025 season.

Like most rookies, Taina Mair struggled at times in training camp, adjusting to the pro level at the most difficult position in basketball, the point guard. It was not shocking that she missed some reads or had some turnovers early on. With that said, I also saw some good things from her. She led the Storm in assists in both preseason games. That included a five-assist performance in just 12 minutes off the bench against the Portland Fire. She also showed strong vision, hitting Dominique Malonga with a sharp pass coming off a high pick-and-roll in the game against Portland. It was an excellent feed that resulted in an easy layup for Malonga.

I spoke with Coach Sonia Raman after that game about Mair.

“You know, she’s just such a… her tenacity, right? Like, it’s the tenacity, the grit. She starts it on the defensive end. She never, ever takes a play off, you know, picking up full court, and pressuring. We never have to remind her to stay up. She’s up, she’s really trying to set the tone for us defensively. And then her unselfishness on the offensive side, the assists, the playmaking. She’s still learning the system and learning where everybody’s going to be, and even with that, just be able to find Dom on a role. I think she’s starting to understand more and more who her teammates are and how to get them the ball.”

During today’s practice, I spoke further with Coach Raman about how she views the development spots. If it’s more important to have players that are ready to step in immediately to cover for injuries (like with Ezi, Katie Lou, etc.), or is it better to have players that they plan to take the longer development approach with?

Coach Raman replied, “I think for players on our development squad, they’re part of our 14-player roster is how we see it. So whatever that need is, and if we need to go to them, whether it’s because we think that they’re gonna give us the right look for that team, or we might need more players in the rotation. You know, everything’s on the table with that. But I definitely see those players as an extension of our roster, and part of an overall 14-player big picture.”

Seattle’s coach was asked specifically about Taina Mair.

“Taina’s had a great camp. A really good camp. We’re really pleased with her growth that we’ve seen. I think that she’s got a really good presence as a point guard, and she just has to continue to learn and continue to get more reps. So, hopefully we’ll have, like, more of an update on her soon.” Raman added.

Shortly after I got home from practice, the Storm officially announced that they had re-signed Taina Mair to a development contract.

I thought it might have been too risky to cut Mair and re-sign her to a development spot, being that she was a Top 15 selection in the 2026 WNBA Draft. But it looks like the Storm were able to make the move without it costing them their draft pick. I understand their thought process because Zia Cooke has played far too well to not make the 12-player roster, and Lexie Brown doesn’t have options to be signed to a development spot like Mair did.

As of this writing, Seattle’s roster sits at 15 players. They will need to cut three more players before Friday’s season opener against the Golden State Valkyries. They would then be able to add one of those three players back to a development contract if they chose to do so.

If I had to guess, I’m thinking the final roster spot will come down to Mackenzie Holmes, Rennia Davis, Jaelyn Brown, or Grace VanSlooten. All four players are still eligible to receive a development contract. For what it’s worth, Holmes and Davis got more playing time during the open scrimmages today compared to the other two. Make of that what you will.

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