WNBA Free Agency 2023: The good, the bad and the ugly

The Ugly: Seattle Storm

The retirement of Sue Bird and the departure of Breanna Stewart should promptly be followed by a rebuild. Bird could be considered the most influential figure the WNBA has ever seen and has had a storied basketball career in the northwest of the United States. Breanna Stewart could be the GOAT when her career is over. Throw in the departure of Steph Talbot and this team has holes that won’t be filled in the space of one offseason.

Sami Whitcomb and Kia Nurse are solid additions, but this team doesn’t need solid additions. Seattle shouldn’t be looking to retool or reroute, don’t get cute, the rebuild is staring you down. It isn’t often a team can make high-risk high-reward moves with little to no consequence and after two decades of fairly consistent success, now is the time to do so.

Re-signing Ezi Magbegor was a great move and hopefully, her two-year contract sees her starting every game she plays in that span. Ezi hasn’t seen a consistent starting role during her tenure in Seattle as the Storm have brought in a rotation of rentals at the 5 to make a playoff push. Now Magbegor can finally grow with a more defined role, something Seattle should have looked at doing with their other free-agent signings.

The issue for Seattle isn’t that they have lost Sue and Stew, it’s the decision that has followed their leaving. Everyone is allowed to retire, and after delivering two rings to a city, you’ve done your part tenfold and your relocation is bittersweet and more than earned. To think that the impact of such departures may be papered up, that’s where the ugly comes into play. Go sign someone we’ve never heard of before, go get five 20-year-olds, make us question their potential, don’t make us question the direction of the franchise.