The WNBA expanded its salary cap this season. That's led us to an interesting place, as much of the league hit free agency this past offseason as well, leading to a number of huge paydays.
Some have turned out to be huge bargains, but other paydays haven't really worked out. Some players just haven't performed at the same level as other players who received similar contracts this offseason, and that could lead to issues going forward, as teams have to figure out how to build around deals that might continue to age poorly.
Ezi Magbegor, Seattle Storm
In theory, Ezi Magbegor having the fourth-highest salary in the league can make some sense. When healthy, she's a versatile defender with good scoring touch, and with the Seattle Storm rebuilding, using the core designation to keep Magbegor around was a defensible move.
But the reality, as the season starts to wind down, is that Magbegor has played in just nine games due to injury, and she no longer looks like part of Seattle's future. Dominique Malonga and Awa Fam are the front court of the future in Seattle, and Magbegor just doesn't really fit the team's timeline anymore.
At this point, the Storm really have no choice but to trade Magbegor this offseason. If she'd been healthy, they should have done it by the deadline, but at the very least, they can't enter 2027 with her salary on the books when they already have Malonga and Fam and when there are so many holes elsewhere on the roster.
Alanna Smith, Dallas Wings
This is another one that made sense at the time but that has aged poorly. Alanna Smith won Defensive Player of the Year in 2025 with the Minnesota Lynx, and the Dallas Wings gave her a three-year deal that made her one of the league's highest-paid players.
But something has gone wrong. Smith dealt with facial injuries early in the season that appeared to impact her aggression. Since then. she's struggled to impact the floor, and the Wings have a net rating that's 13.6 points per 100 possessions with her off the floor. The offense in particular has really struggled with Smith on the court, with the team at a 115.6 offensive rating when she sits and a 105.3 offensive rating when she's on the floor.
If Smith was playing at her 2025 level, the Wings might be viable title contenders. As it stands now, the interior defense is just too weak without Smith playing her best, especially when factoring in that Jessica Shepard hasn't provided the team with any rim protection at the other front court spot.
Brittney Griner, Connecticut Sun
I don't neccessarily think the Connecticut Sun were wrong to overpay Brittney Griner, even if it was very clearly an overpay when they signed her to her one-year, $1.19 million deal. Connecticut was going nowhere this season and is in its final season before moving to Houston, so why not bring in a player of Griner's stature to create some excitement for this last campaign?
The problem: Griner has only played in 18 games, and while her scoring is up this season from her 2025 campaign with the Atlanta Dream, she's not playing anywhere close to the level she was at during her Phoenix Mercury tenure.
Luckily for the Sun, this overpay doesn't matter in the long term. Griner can walk this offseason, and the team can use that money elsewhere. It's also not like paying for a different player in free agency this year would have made a difference in terms of the team's success this season, though I suppose the team could have used the money to take a chance on a younger player on a long-term deal.
Bridget Carleton, Portland Fire
Bridget Carleton is a good basketball player. She's shown this season that she can work in a larger context than she did in Minnesota, averaging 14.7 points per game and continuing to be a very good 3-point shooter.
Has she been perfect in her expanded role? No. Her overall efficiency hasn't improved much and she's been particularly bad inside of the 3-point line. Meanwhile, Carla Leite has shown herself to arguably be the team's best player going forward.
Going forward, Carleton is on a fairly big contract with two more seasons left on it. She's playing well, but is she playing well enough to justify being paid $1.3 million in 2028? Portland might not have cap concerns at the moment, but could they over the next two seasons? Maybe. Carleton's contract could end up not impacting things, considering Leite and Sarah Ashlee Barker won't need new contracts until 2029, but you never know how things will go.
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