What an eventful WNBA offseason for the Connecticut Sun. After making it to the semifinals in two consecutive seasons, the organization fired their head coach once again, meaning they'll have their third coach in just four years.
When the team's new leader, Rachid Meziane, walked into the building, he and general manager Morgan Tuck immediately began tearing down the roster. They traded all five starters from last season's team, and their best reserve, Marina Mabrey, requested a trade, which was subsequently denied.
Despite the chaos that has surrounded the franchise this offseason, they have two first-round picks in next week's WNBA Draft, which could push the team back in the right direction. If they're able to pair up the following players, then this organization may get back on track ahead of schedule.
WNBA Mock Draft: A perfect pairing for the Connecticut Sun
Connecticut's roster is a bit devoid of talent right now, but the following two players would become instant starters. Not only are they strong individual talents, but their play styles complement one another and would jive with the rest of the pieces on the roster.
Morrow just got done with a dominant senior campaign at LSU, in which she averaged 18.7 points and a nation-leading 13.5 rebounds per game. She also averaged 2.5 steals per contest and nearly a block per game, as well as an astounding 5.1 offensive rebounds per game. She should remind fans of another former Tiger in Angel Reese, but Morrow has a slightly better jumpshot coming out of college.
Van Lith just put together an incredible senior campaign at TCU after making stops at both Louisville and LSU. In her fifth and final season, she recorded 17.9 points per game, as well as 5.4 assists, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per contest, which helped her earn the Big 12 Conference Player of the Year and All-American honors.
Not only do these two have experience playing together, as they were teammates at LSU last season, but their play styles could not be more compatible. Van Lith is the ultimate lead guard who can score on all three levels and distribute with the best of them. Morrow is mainly an inside presence and would benefit from Van Lith's passing ability, but she can also take the pressure off of her guards by hitting the occasional outside shot.
On a team where Tina Charles and Marina Mabrey are the only surefire starters, getting two players who can contribute at a high level right away will be paramount to the Sun's success this year. Van Lith's ability to handle the ball against pressure and create for others would make Mabrey's job easier, and the shooting ability between Morrow and Charles would be enough to draw opposing bigs out of the paint.
Both Charles and Morrow could play in pick-and-rolls with Van Lith like she showcased the ability to do at TCU last season. Morrow has also demonstrated that she can play alongside another dominant big, which she did in college next to Angel Reese.
Similar to the way that the Indiana Fever modeled their roster last season, Van Lith can be the Caitlin Clark-type player who has the ball in her hands and is relied on to create a good portion of the offense. This would allow Mabrey to fill the Kelsey Mitchell role and focus more on scoring, and Morrow can be the young post presence like Aliyah Boston was. Morrow can also learn from Charles, one of the greatest to ever play the game.
Pairing these two players up would provide instant offense for the Sun, and both of these players are willing to get down and dirty on the defensive end too. They might not have the highest ceilings in the draft, but this franchise needs impact players on day one, and these are two of the most well-rounded and aggressive players that you'll find in this year's class.