I'm sad that Erin and Tanti are leaving, but not sad enough to write off the W. Goodness knows as an A's fan I've seen the dark side of free agency over the years that I've followed that franchise. Yes, this is a business...the W had grown up and it can only get "worse" from here since we all agree the women should be paid more and the more money gets introduced, the more of a business this will become.
Completely lowballing Maiga and Buescher...? I'm not sure I believe that. Kara didn't seem to need to sign and offersheet somewhere else with what offer Whiz dropped on the table to her. I remember reading the first year that the free agency piece went into play, or perhaps it was the 2nd year...a group of GMs were interviewed and they said restricted FA were a crap shoot and nobody thought these players would move much or nobody would take a gamble on many of them. Why? Because players worth fighting over were probably looking to get raises with their current club and were using any offer sheet they got as leverage. It was to them a dice roll or an exercise in futility. As I posted in the other thread, whatever deals Maiga and Buescher got, Whiz obviously decided they were too rich for his blood. Again, in a per minute cost comparison he's got to look at that and not get sentimental. And another point to consider he's going to be getting into contract extension/RFA negotiations with Powell and Brunson and likely extension talks/UFA negotiations with Walker.
Let's play GM for a day...If you had to lose two, which would you lose out of the Maiga, Buescher, Powell, Lawson, Brunson & Walker mix? Our starting center and point guard also are currently unsigned as well. Since he cored Yo, she's automatically due the max salary she can earn. She's on the ledger already, but for giggles throw Ticha in the mix too. Take your fan hat off and put your GM had on and get your top 6 players signed not just this year but 2008 and beyond. If Kara got a 3 year deal, Brunson and Powell and likely Walker should get one as well. Factoring all of that...get your top 6 players, your long term nucleus signed. If you think Maiga and Buescher would have been starters or heavy rotation players, sign um this year to multi-years and then figure out how you sign next year's crop of FAs and give yourself flexibility to go after other FAs.
Whiz told us how he was going to make his decisions and what his wants were...Coach T a week or so ago told us Williams was brought in here because they knew Buescher was "shopping around"....we essentially were being prepared for what eventually happened.
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