Expansion Draft-Which 6 do you protect?

[raybrun]

Somebody needs to tell me to relax and enjoy the moment, however, I am already worrying about next year. The problem with being the deepest team is that we will have to say goodbye to someone really good. Assuming the rules are the same as in the past and we get to protect 6, who goes? Last time I think we lost someone like Kate Starbird. Now if you keep the current top 6, you are talking about losing Becca,Kristen, or Maiga . Ouch! You could gamble that no one picks an older player like Yo for expansion, but that could blow up in your face. I think Yo already was picked by Chicago once before(the Condors of the defunct ABL). Since bigs are a premium, I would protect Becca and offer a choice of Newton,Kristen, or Tanty. However, given that option, they would jump all over Kristen due to her regional popularity. I guess it is only fair that we have our turn. Afterall, we stole DeMya at 3 in the dispersal draft. (She sure won't be left availble.) Also, we can replace the loss by packaging our Sun pick and our own(12 and 13?) to move up to the upper half of the draft.

If the expansion draft were today, what would you do?

 

[HoopMatron]

Oh, raybrun, you have brought up the topic of many a discussion at the Crabray Estate. This is an excruciating choice, I think.

I think I've finally worked it out in my mind that Yo, Ticha, DeMya, Nicole, Kara and Rebekkah get protected. That leaves Chelsea, Kristen, Hamchetou, Erin, Olympia, Miao and FeiFei unprotected, and I don't want any of them to leave us.

Of those left unprotected, I suspect Kristen would be taken, since point guards are in short supply, and she does have the regional appeal. That's a big blow to Sacramento, because her scoring abilities have forced Ticha to truly work on her game this year (and she's doing great, btw).

I've toyed with leaving Kara unprotected, but she's too versatile to lose. Rebekkah isn't a starter, but she's the future of the team, I think.

I think each team can only lose one player to expansion, so that's one good thing. It's just that I get so attached to them, it is hard to see them leave. I still miss Chantelle, and I can't even describe how much I miss Edna.

 

[MamaBristow]

Well, a couple of other factors get to play into this, maybe to our advantage. How long are rookie contracts? Aren't they 3 yr deals? If they are, would Kara be a RFA? Did Ticha sign more than a 1yr deal? We know that Yo signed a 2yr, so she has to be protected. DeMya is also in a multi-year, she has to be protected.

I wish the W was more forthcoming with contract situations, then we could ease our minds and figure out who actually has to be protected. Free Agents can't be taken in the expansion. The only risk you take in not protecting FAs is that another team might offer them a deal they can't refuse. But maybe Whiz took the expansion draft into consideration already and knows the contract status of certain players. Maybe there are "agreements" in place instead of contracts. Maybe this is wishful thinking on my part. But I for one am hoping that Ticha and Kara's deals expire this year and they don't have to be protected (and I would hope neither would leave us in free agency). If that IS the case, I would like to protect:

Yo
DeMya
Nicole
Kristen
Rebekkah
Chelsea

 

[raybrun]

You are right aout the free agents point, Mama. There is still a lot we do not know about. In addition, the salary cap could play into the strategy. With a deep bench and a lot of emerging stars coming up who need to be paid, I can think of a scenario where it is better to let a maxed-out Tisha go to Chicago just to free up cap space. It is hard to think about that if she leads us to a championship, but financial realities not player skills could determine who gets protected.

 

[GeorgeofSacramento]

Sure would hate to lose Kristin. She brings a real intensity to the court and charges the whole team up! Ticha plays so much better when she gets the rest and the two of them make a great 1-2 punch at the point.

 

[Luv13fan]

I would go with

Yo
DeMya
Bekkah
Kristen
Nicole
Newton

Perhaps that was one the reasons for the Chantelle trade cause he knew protecting her would be difficult and it was a now or never situation. I still miss her.

If Ticha is a FA she ain't goin nowhere because money is not a factor. Kara is my major concern. But I don't think she is going anywhere either.

Hey Mama Bristow and I have the same list.
Nifty

 

[Monty'sBiggestFan]

I do believe that was a consideration for the Anderson trade, that and the the fact that she just wasn't going to get many minutes here this year - coach stocked up on first round draft picks and I believe he has at least one pick in every round for the first time in a while.

I had decided, after freaking out about protecting players during this preseason - that I'm not going to get worked up about the expansion draft until after the season. Since Orender has floated the idea that she'd like to expand by one team each year over the next few years - I figured that getting attached to players on the roster is futile. I'm also hoping against hope that they might want to rescue that Charlotte franchise and send it to Chicago or wherever they chose to relocate a team, instead of pilaging from the rosters of existing teams too deeply.

 

[raybrun]

I agree Monty. The Chicago Sting is the best move.Poor Charlotte fans. First they get mugged by Whiz and lose a future All-Star,Powell. Now they lose their whole team.

Adding a team a year is a pipe dream. What has changed since the overexpansion of the past? Attendence is still not that good. How many more investors like casinos who don't know what to do with their tax-free money are there?

 

[Monty'sBiggestFan]

I actually think the prospect for expansion is much better than it was when they ramrodded teams into the league in the past, in places in which the NBA team really did not believe in the product to the extent that they were willing to take their lumps and make it work.

First of all the talent pipeline has exploded, and there will be fewer and fewer jobs available for the aging veteran who is going to continue to get tapped out of the market in favor of less expensive rookies from overseas and out of college. Some of the college kids who were cut this year should be on a WNBA roster somewhere in the future - they weren't cut because they didn't have the talent to play, there just wasn't room for them on a roster.

Secondly, there are cities/areas where there is a fan-base to tap, and one where it wasn't likely to be tapped because the NBA team had no interest or there is no NBA team.

I like the idea of expansion in that direction, I'm not sold on balooning the league back up to where it was before they had to start contracting. I don't want the league to become so diluted that we're looking at mediocrity and not parity based on a high level of talent spread across the league. If this is done right it could work.

 

[StevenHW]

Expansion might work, but it would have to be done at a very gradual rate. And not like two or three new teams in one year.

Next year (2006), Chicago will be coming in. Maybe in 2007, one more team comes in. And in '08, another team pops up, assuming that the WNBA will still be around by then.

Then, there is the possibility of franchises moving. Charlotte to somewhere else? How about San Antonio (which already moved once before)? Minnesota?

 

[Luv13fan]

Out of sheer selffishness I would love to have SASS move to San Jose to establish a franchise. However I think it is more pressing that we get the Sting out of Charlotte.

They need community support desperately. It would be prudent to keep the balance in the east. Right now the west has more teams, so moving a east team west isn't prudent.

I believe also that we can add 3 teams in 3 years, if there is an aggresive approach to finding a city independant of the NBA, and ownership that truly loves Women's basketball.

I kinda like Big Donna's approach. Val Ackerman seemed like a bit of a tool. No independant thinking. And I think we have a wealth of talent waiting to fill these teams.