"Cold-sclaw" is Back!!

[Purple Reign]

This girl just can not make up her mind....

DREAM ACQUIRES RIGHTS TO CHAMIQUE HOLDSCLAW
--Atlanta Sends 13th Pick to LA Sparks In Exchange for Former Tennessee Star--
ATLANTA, December 17, 2008— The Atlanta Dream acquired the rights to forward Chamique Holdsclaw from the Los Angeles Sparks today in exchange for the 13th overall pick (first round) in the 2009 WNBA Draft. Holdsclaw, an eight-year veteran, is returning to the WNBA after a two year hiatus.
“We are very excited to bring one of the best players in Tennessee women’s basketball history to our roster,” said Team President & COO Bill Bolen. “The excitement this will bring to our fans is huge. We think it’s going to make a big impact on the Atlanta community and the entire southeast.”


“Coming back has been something that I have been thinking about for a while,” Holdsclaw said. “The only thing that was holding me back was my body and being healthy. I realized that if I had the chance I would like to play this summer.”

“I’m just happy that Chamique is back in the WNBA,” said Dream General Manager & Head Coach Marynell Meadors. “I just think she really misses the game. I am looking forward to having her. She elevates our team to another level.”

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

I'm not convinced that Holdsclaw is worth the Number One overall at this stage in her career. As someone who's adopted the Dream as his "second" team, I'm disappointed.

 

[Monty'sBiggestFan]

They didn't trade the number 1 overall, they traded the last pick in the first round, which is essentially a second round pick in a good draft. At this stage in her career she's worth that. The concept of her Lyttle and the number one overall should be exciting. Core Lennox and trade her another couple of complementary piece and you have something for a year or two.

Whether Marynell "I have no use for Camille Little" Meadors can pull THAT off is another question.

 

[creative one]

Camille Little isn't very talented, and I'm not surprised Meadors practically gave her away. She's too short to play in the post in the Eastern Conference anyway, and her jump shot is non-existent. Atlanta won't miss her, especially since they have Lyttle and are looking at adding Paris or McCoughtry (both are MUCH better than Little). She'd only play spot minutes on a good team, and I'm not convinced these days that Seattle minus Lauren Jackson qualifies as a "good team".

Anyhoo, this is big news for the Dream! Holdsclaw should be able to give them at least two (maybe three) productive seasons. Nobody in the WNBA or in women's basketball period has Holdsclaw's skill set. With all the uncertainty surrounding the WNBA's existence these days, I think it's great to receive this news. One of the best players in the history of the game is giving the league another chance. May not be enough, but it's a start (and this news spares us from the monotony of Parkermania).

Oh, and a healthy and motivated Holdsclaw is worth three consecutive 1st round picks. For the Dream to get Holdsclaw with a late first-round pick in a very weak draft is highway robbery.

 

[hoopsfan]

I say she "retires" again before the season is over.
Who does she think she is...Jordan?

 

[Monty'sBiggestFan]

Nothing will spare the league from Parkermania, they have hitched their wagon to that star and it's on for a while.

I don't disagree that when Mique is inspired she is among the most gifted players this league has ever seen. That said, getting her in that inspired (and I'll add in the word "healthy" too) state is the key. I believe that she is because she's playing and she set off all sorts of flares earlier this year that she was going to come back or at least thinking more about it than one would suspect given the way she departed.

Irrespective of whether Little fits now since Mique>Little, you mean to tell me that she couldn't have helped them last year? Meadors does not remotely inspire me as a judge of talent or as a incorporator of talent. Even giving her the benefit of the doubt that building a team in an expansion draft ain't easy.

I'm not sold on Courtney Paris the WNBA player at all yet. Perhaps I'll warm up later in her senior season. But I'm all over McCoughtry.

 

[creative one]

Nothing will spare the league from Parkermania, they have hitched their wagon to that star and it's on for a while.

The talk about the weakening economy, combined with the return of Holdsclaw, will curb Parkermania. Nobody cares what she's doing if the league is struggling. Isn't she supposed to single-handedly save this league anyhow? Why is she sleeping on the job, then?

I don't disagree that when Mique is inspired she is among the most gifted players this league has ever seen. That said, getting her in that inspired (and I'll add in the word "healthy" too) state is the key. I believe that she is because she's playing and she set off all sorts of flares earlier this year that she was going to come back or at least thinking more about it than one would suspect given the way she departed.

Mique has a reason to play in Atlanta and a reason to be happy (stems from the same individual), so she'll be there as long as said individual is there.

Irrespective of whether Little fits now since Mique>Little, you mean to tell me that she couldn't have helped them last year? Meadors does not remotely inspire me as a judge of talent or as a incorporator of talent. Even giving her the benefit of the doubt that building a team in an expansion draft ain't easy.

You mean to tell me that she would've helped that train wreck last year? Come on, you can do better than that!

-Little isn't going to contest the shot of anyone who's 6-3 or taller.
-Little can't shoot 10 feet outside of the lane
-Little cannot defend quicker perimeter players, which means she's unlikely to transition to the perimeter despite lack of height
-Little will bless out everyone and their mother if things aren't going her way; she possesses an inflated sense of self and has since her college days

Little is good for three things: hustle, junk production, and bad attitude. Though it looked like a lop-sided trade on paper, it was a beneficial trade from a locker room standpoint. Also, you'll note that Atlanta started winning games after she was traded. Someone picked up her minimal production and did so with a much better attitude.

If Little and her act were worth keeping, San Antonio, a team with an embarrassingly thin bench in 2008, never would've parted ways with her (hence the reason why she'll get very little burn on a good team). The fact that two teams have parted ways with this former highly-regarded top 20 draft pick--and one team even brought in her former college PG to help build chemistry--says a lot about the potential (or lack thereof) of Camille Little to be anything more than a bit player in this league.

I'm not sold on Courtney Paris the WNBA player at all yet. Perhaps I'll warm up later in her senior season. But I'm all over McCoughtry.

Haven't been impressed with McCoughtry much this year. She seems to force everything and doesn't even look at her teammates half the time. My guess is that Louisville misses that small distributing PG they had last year who was capable of getting her easy looks. If she's the best the senior class has to offer (and that's debatable, IMO), then the WNBA talent level is in some serious trouble. Pretty big drop-off between Swoopes and Sales in their primes and McCoughtry's projected ceiling.

That said, McCoughtry is no less than the #2 pick in 2009. Of course, that doesn't mean much considering half the first-rounders from this draft will be out of the league by 2011* (some as early as 2010!!).

Paris would do well on a team with a good point guard. However, I don't see her going to the Monarchs, Storm, Silver Stars, or Sun, so she may never get a chance to reach her potential in the WNBA.

*And this is operating under the assumption that there will be a league in 2011. I'm not buying this "fairy tale fancy" that Orender is feeding the media. This league is experiencing a major financial crunch, and I'm not convinced that it will survive/thrive while the AFL, a much more established niche league, struggles to exist.

 

[Luv13fan]

Lmao!!!

This will be my one and Only Post about this topic.

Good Luck to HOTLANTA.

No matter How good of a season Mique has in 09, she is a time bomb waiting to happen.

Between a Expansion franchise (We know how losing effects the Claw), suspect coaching, and the fragile nature of making her ATL "Happiness" last. That is a recipe for mayhem and foolishness.

IMO Mique is a retread that is best left scrapped. But since she is back, Hopefully she took a BIG GIRL Pill.

This is most energy I will spend on this topic.
My shortest post ever...

 

[uncommonclay]

i wish chamique all the best ... i woud love to see her play her best ball ever ... but i'll believe it when i see it ...

 

[Monty'sBiggestFan]

I didn't say the league would be successful hitching their wagon to Parkermania, just that they will because that's all they know how to do. (See: Taurasimania, Holdsclawmania-the first edition).

I make a point to NEVER believe the hype that comes out of the ivory tower. My reason for posting the info about the shakiness about the AFL is because I have always compared the W to that tier of sports. The AFL has been smoke and mirroring for a while but their temporary/permanent demise completely caught me off guard - mostly because I had lost track of the necessity and progress their chase of a big cash infusion. How they comeback will be key to all these other sports who need TV money AND corporate money to hang on. Even the sports swimming in corporate and TV money are trimming. This aint a good time for anybody and it only stands to reason that the smaller you are in the pantheon the less stable your league is when the money isn't as available.

I have no doubt that Mique will do well in Atlanta for as long as whatever she needs for grounding remains there. I wasn't surprised that that's where she ended up. I never thought that losing affected her decisions, it always seemed more complex to me than that.

 

[Luv13fan]

Complex huh???

I said I wouldn't devote anymore time to this thread... but I told a mini-fib.

I have no doubt that Mique will do well in Atlanta for as long as whatever she needs for grounding remains there. I wasn't surprised that that's where she ended up. I never thought that losing affected her decisions, it always seemed more complex to me than that.

I think you answered your own statement. For Mique it is always more complex than that. It will always be more complex than that. The question is, will her complications help or hurt the franchise and the league? Will her one good year of productivity be worth whateva drama comes next. And the Drama is coming. Will the team be hamstrung to Hold onto Personnel to ensure Claw's "happiness"?

To Me that is just too much Mayhem and Foolishness to be bothered with. Especially for a young Franchise.

 

[Monty'sBiggestFan]

It's low risk, high reward for Atlanta. Mique is to me a short-timer who isn't being brought in to be the cornerstone of that franchise. The pick they gave up is inconsequential in terms of making their franchise for the future.