2020 WNBA free agency left the league deeper and crazier than ever
During 2020 WNBA free agency, the Connecticut Sun remain a fearsome favorite, but the rich also clearly got richer.
Everything broke right for the Washington Mystics to win the WNBA championship in 2019. The two top players on the previous year’s champs suffered major injuries, two of the greatest players in history sat all or most of the season, and Washington had its full roster together for the first time, giving MVP Elena Delle Donne and the legendary Mike Thibault their first rings. It won’t be so easy in 2020.
The stratification of salaries and greater player control over contracts created more movement in this year’s free agency period than ever before. Start with the core designation, which teams used to be able to use on players up to five times before the new collective bargaining agreement limited it to four (and three starting next summer). That led to a few of the offseason’s biggest moves, including DeWanna Bonner moving on from the Phoenix Mercury, Skylar Diggins-Smith asking for a trade from the Dallas Wings, and last year’s Finals opponents, the Mystics and the Connecticut Sun, losing key pieces.
This all means the 2020 season has no clear favorite and is gearing up to be one of the most entertaining in recent WNBA history. However, as Matt Ellentuck noted at SB Nation, the unintended consequences of the league’s cap spike are yet to fully take effect for the league’s role players. Some teams will surely regret contracts signed this winter.
That makes it all the more fun. For the first time maybe ever, the big bump in maximum salaries will require smart economics in addition to the Xs and Os and chemistry parts of team-building. As teams gear up for the WNBA Draft less than two months from now, let’s break down where everyone stands.
Atlanta Dream
They were late to the party, but the Dream signed two effective veterans who will help their offense go from unwatchable to likely average. Shekinna Stricklen left Connecticut as a result of their roster crunch, but she is just 29 and is a career 38 percent 3-point shooter with solid size on defense. The Dream’s wing rotation last season was full of defense-only players alongside All-Star Tiffany Hayes, and they didn’t have enough shooting to spread the floor for Hayes to score.
That will also change with the addition of Glory Johnson, who’s expanded her range the past couple seasons and launched a career-high 103 triples last season. Johnson will help form a versatile big rotation with veteran Jessica Breland and All-Defense talent Elizabeth Williams. Atlanta also traded for second-year big Kalani Brown, who will get room to improve alongside Maite Cazorla this season. After finishing last in offense in 2019, even a slight boost back to the middle of the pack could get the Dream back into the playoffs.
Chicago Sky
The Sky are still finishing up one of the busiest offseasons in the WNBA, flipping restricted free agent and 2019 playoffs standout Astou Ndour for a 2021 first-round pick but keeping everyone else. Granted, they will welcome back veteran Jantel Lavender from injury, but it felt as if Chicago could have moved on from the foul-prone Stefanie Dolson and gone younger with Ndour in a more prominent role. Instead, they have an extra pick to show for it.
The most important re-signing was Kahleah Copper, a Sixth Woman of the Year candidate who helps keep the Sky offense afloat while point guard Courtney Vandersloot is on the bench. Chicago is also expected to soon announce the return of Vandersloot and wife Allie Quigley in addition to Dolson. With that trio plus good depth and MVP candidate Diamond DeShields, the Sky will be contenders again.
Connecticut Sun
Here are your 2020 title favorites. With their trade for Bonner without losing much of their depth, the Sun added an MVP-caliber piece to the roster that just took Washington to five games in the finals. While Bonner may struggle to defend certain wings as the starting 3 for Connecticut, she can slide down to the 4 in some lineups and can space the floor like Stricklen.
Once Courtney Williams re-signs, the Sun will be up against the cap, but all of their rotation players are 30 or younger, and Bonner, Williams and Jonquel Jones will be under contract for multiple seasons. The Sun were the third-ranked offense and fourth-ranked defense last season. They’re not going anywhere.
Dallas Wings
Hard to say much about Dallas right now, as they’re clearly still in flux. The Wings have three picks in the first-round this spring by way of the Diggins-Smith trade and not enough roster spots to fit all their rookies. Second-year guard Arike Ogunbowale looks like a future All-WNBA playmaker and Dallas is in no rush as it begins a rebuild around her.
Indiana Fever
Another team that has been relatively quiet, the Fever did very little during free agency. They matched Atlanta’s offer sheet for backup guard Tiffany Mitchell and re-signed Betnjiah Laney, but otherwise, Indiana is in an evaluation period after moving Tamika Catchings to general manager and hiring basketball lifer Marianne Stanley as head coach.
Las Vegas Aces
The Aces have stumped me. Not due to their inactivity — far from it. Las Vegas is clearly taking advantage of having No. 1 overall picks A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young and Kelsey Plum on rookie contracts and spending big to try for a championship. They kicked off the festivities by signing Angel McCoughtry and her 30 percent usage rate, then added veteran Danielle Robinson despite Robinson’s lack of a jump shot, meaning she’ll struggle to fit in the half-court with an Aces team that already doesn’t space the floor well.
Las Vegas is expected to re-sign Liz Cambage on a $215,000 maximum base salary contract soon, and though they will be contenders because of Wilson and Cambage, it’s unclear how the offense will look or what the larger vision was from executives Dan Padover and Bill Laimbeer this year.
Los Angeles Sparks
While Las Vegas’ vision was suspect, the Sparks added an All-Star who fits their roster perfectly. By securing the return of Kristi Toliver, who helped LA win the 2016 title, the Sparks landed a scoring guard who can capably play off their legendary frontcourt. She will pair with All-Star point guard Chelsea Gray to potentially make the Sparks the best offense in the WNBA next year. The Sparks also are one of the deepest teams in the WNBA, with young shooters Maria Vadeeva, Sydney Wiese and Marina Mabrey ready to step into larger roles.
Minnesota Lynx
Many have criticized Lynx head coach and lead executive Cheryl Reeve for not matching the rest of the league’s activity during free agency, but allow me to make the case for Minnesota this season: They were a rebuilding team disguised as a fringe contender last season because of great seasons from Odyssey Sims and Napheesa Collier. The bulk of their roster is still young, and while they do need to add another guard or two (Sims will sit out the 2020 season), youngsters Collier and Jessica Shepard will join this year’s No. 6 overall pick as the Lynx turn the page on their Big Five era.
New York Liberty
Everything for the Liberty is centered around the team’s impending selection of Sabrina Ionescu first overall in April’s WNBA Draft. To that end, signing veteran two-way play-maker Layshia Clarendon to an affordable contract will help insulate Ionescu as well as scorer Asia Durr in her second season. Clarendon also is an awesome face for the team as the Liberty move into Barclays Center in Brooklyn for the first time. They’ll likely be on the outside of the playoff hunt barring a historic rookie season from Ionescu (not out of the question), but they’re on the right track with a young general manager and head coach.
Phoenix Mercury
Talk about a pivot. The Mercury lost Bonner and quickly added Diggins-Smith, who is three years younger and fits better with Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner. As Kevin Pelton noted at ESPN, during each of the Mercury’s championship seasons, they had another perimeter star playing alongside Taurasi. Especially as she nears 40 (!), Taurasi will need to lean on another playmaker, and in Diggins-Smith, the Mercury secured one of the best in the WNBA. To contend for a championship, Phoenix will need second-year forwards Alanna Smith and Brianna Turner to improve.
Seattle Storm
Seattle is the WNBA’s forgotten championship contender. They absolutely cruised to the 2018 title and will get Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart back from injury. In their stead, the young Storm surprised everyone and made it back to the playoffs, built around MVP candidate Natasha Howard as well as breakout studs Jordin Canada and Mercedes Russell.
Head coach Dan Hughes will be challenged to juggle playing time for everyone, but assuming Bird begins to take a backseat, it should shake out fine. One bold prediction: Jewell Loyd isn’t playing for Seattle by the 2021 season.
Washington Mystics
The Mystics will rely greatly on 2019 first-round pick Kiara Leslie to return from a torn ACL and produce. That’s the cost of doing business after a storybook season and a title. Toliver left for a longer contract in Los Angeles and Washington’s replacement is 34-year-old Leilani Mitchell. While Toliver’s strength wasn’t on defense, she fit into the Mystics’ switchable scheme because of her size. At 5-foot-5 and nearing the end of her career, Mitchell may need to be hidden and likely won’t finish games for the Mystics.
With Delle Donne and 2019 Finals MVP Meesseman, the Mystics will be contenders every season, but their climb will be tougher in 2020 both because of their own loss and the league getting deeper.