WNBA.com: Monarchs 2009 Preview

[StevenHW]

From the WNBA website, here's their preview of the team.

http://www.wnba.com/features/preview2009_monarchs.html

 

[RDub21]

I was all excited because I was looking at team stats and saw we were 13th in Opponent FG% at 45%, thinking that was a good thing. Then I look at other previews and realized...wow, our defense sucked

 

[Purple Reign]

This preview is very encouraging. But it places a lot of emphasis on the play of Crystal Kelly. In another thread, I address the fear that i think Kelly may be a training camp cut. With Brunson, Paris, Walker, Harper and Kelley, is there enough room for five post players. I am so confused

 

[creative one]

This preview is very encouraging. But it places a lot of emphasis on the play of Crystal Kelly. In another thread, I address the fear that i think Kelly may be a training camp cut. With Brunson, Paris, Walker, Harper and Kelley, is there enough room for five post players. I am so confused

You gotta carry five post players for this reason: Kelly is better than any post player you'll pick up midseason should something happen to one of our other four posts (all of them except Paris are injury-prone). She is the best insurance option available to us, so we need to keep her. In my mind, she is most definitely the fifth-best post we have in terms of production and potential, but keeping her would be WAY better than, say, picking up Christi Thomas, Ashley Robinson, or some other below average WNBA post if one of our Big Four posts goes down.

By contrast, the Monarchs FO can almost certainly pick up a decent guard midseason if they need to. With this 11-man roster, it's the decent guards who are being squeezed out. Personally, I don't think players like Whitney Boddie or Charel Allen are worth much (defensively or offensively), and one could possibly find better free agent guards or guards on the waiver wire should we need to pick up a guard due to injury.

So that puts me squarely in the "Keep Crystal, cut Whitney and whomever else" camp. We don't need a "capable PG" more so than we need a 5th post should something catastrophic happen to our already injury-prone big girls. And if we need a guard (PG or SG) midseason, we can either trade for one (assuming the post to be traded can't crack our rotation but is of some value to a guard-heavy team) or cut Crystal (assuming she does in fact become the insurance post) to make room for a FA signing.

 

[RDub21]

Does anyone know what the status is of Nykesha Sales? Does she want to play anymore in the W? I don't necessarily think Sac is the best fit for her, but I think she'd settle the Sho vs. Newton discussion. I would hope we'd have more than enough cap space if needed.