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ucbart



Joined: 21 Nov 2004
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PostPosted: 01/09/18 1:09 pm    ::: League changer Reply Reply with quote

While I was reading a tweet involving Tamika Catchings today, I thought about that 2001 draft and what would've happened had the Charlotte Sting selected her...and not Kelly Miller with the #2 pick. What ripple effects would it have had on the league as a whole? It would've literally changed the league. To me, the draft is what makes pro sports so fun.

Is there another league changer, involving one player that would've had more impact?


pilight



Joined: 23 Sep 2004
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PostPosted: 01/09/18 1:20 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

The league would be in a very precarious position if Catchings had gone to Charlotte. The Sting mismanagement still would have led to their demise. The Fever nearly folded in 2009 with Catch, without her they likely would have gone under years earlier.



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myrtle



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PostPosted: 01/09/18 1:31 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

If NY had taken Brunson in the expansion, that would have changed the balance substantially.



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toad455



Joined: 16 Nov 2005
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PostPosted: 01/09/18 1:31 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Yeah, in a sense Catchings saved the Fever from folding. Now we wonder who'll save the Fever this time around.



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Randy



Joined: 08 Oct 2011
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PostPosted: 01/09/18 1:34 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

There may be better choices, but how about Jonquel Jones? She should have been drafted second by San Antonio. Had that been the case, perhaps the team would have been a lot better and not moved - for better or worse for the league.

A second possibility - she could have been drafted by the Sun or Wings. If the Sun, they might still have Gray, and the Sparks wouldn't. Certainly would have changed things. If the Wings had drafter her, they too would likely be a serious contender.

Finally, the Dream might not have traded the No. 4 for Williams and would be much better had they drafted Jones in 2016.


PUmatty



Joined: 10 Nov 2004
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PostPosted: 01/09/18 1:38 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Brittney Griner going to Phoenix led to the league changing the draft lottery rules (and making them different than any major league). That's a pretty big impact.


toad455



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PostPosted: 01/09/18 1:40 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

myrtle wrote:
If NY had taken Brunson in the expansion, that would have changed the balance substantially.


I've had visions of what a Charles-Brunson front court would look like. But our bigger need during that dispersal draft was a SF, hence why we took Powell.



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PUmatty



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PostPosted: 01/09/18 1:45 pm    ::: Re: League changer Reply Reply with quote

ucbart wrote:
While I was reading a tweet involving Tamika Catchings today, I thought about that 2001 draft and what would've happened had the Charlotte Sting selected her...and not Kelly Miller with the #2 pick. What ripple effects would it have had on the league as a whole? It would've literally changed the league. To me, the draft is what makes pro sports so fun.

Is there another league changer, involving one player that would've had more impact?


As a Fever fan, Whalen is the what-might-have-been player for me. For some reason, everyone in 2004 thought Powell should be drafted before Whalen. Fever had the No. 3 pick and traded it to Charlotte for No. 9 and Kelly Miller. If they had just drafted Whalen instead (how was this not obvious?!?!), a Catchings and Whalen duo could have challenged Bird/LJ and Detroit as the league's seat of power.


Queenie



Joined: 18 Nov 2004
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PostPosted: 01/09/18 2:58 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

The Spencer trade. How shaken up are things if the Sparks don't have that pick to swing to the Lynx who then swing it to the Sun? Sun don't start with Charles, Lynx don't get Whalen, and hell, even Quinn was useful to the Sparks for stretches.

Then there are the two times we didn't take Rebekkah Brunson...



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Nerd2



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PostPosted: 01/09/18 3:08 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

I'm not sure what would have happened to the Storm had they not gotten Bird/Jackson. The caliber of play and the championship meant that some fans were willing to purchase the team rather than let it fold/move when the Sonics did.


sportsfan48



Joined: 17 Nov 2004
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PostPosted: 01/10/18 3:43 am    ::: Reply Reply with quote

The Mercury had the #1 pick the year that Charlotte folded and they picked Penny Taylor. While having Catchings and Taurasi on the same team forever would have been amazing, I am glad we had Penelope. And the likelihood of Penny and Dee getting together would have been near nonexistent.


Genero36



Joined: 24 Apr 2005
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PostPosted: 01/10/18 3:53 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

It's hard to say this was a league changer since the league just began but it shaped the top of the league for the first four years.

The 1997 Drafts

Player Allocation Draft - Picks 5 & 6
Elite Draft - Pick 13
College Draft - Pick 1

And the rest is history.




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