RebKell's Junkie Boards

[root_thing]

[Shades]

I’ve been wanting Reeve to check into Zahui for #16, so I like the way you guys are thinking. Sign her for $100K and ship her out to the Lynx.

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Nnekalonians 1:14 - Thou shalt not accept that which is not earned

[Randy]

[toad455]

If the Liberty let Zahui B go elsewhere, we're likely to re-sign Vaughn. Not really desirable, so you have to wonder how much the Liberty will match. She's not a max player, so you also have to wonder how much other teams will throw at her.

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LET'S GO LIBERTY!!!!!!

Twitter: @TBRBWAY

[Bob Lamm]

[NYL_WNBA_FAN]

[Shades]

I imagine Griffin plays the PF in the WNBL, which has always been her most comfortable position. She needed to convert to a SF in the WNBA, but didn’t seem to have the success of Clark in achieving that.

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Nnekalonians 1:14 - Thou shalt not accept that which is not earned

[Davis4632]

[root_thing]

[Luuuc]

[ClayK]

Which #14 draft picks turned out to be serviceable players? I'm not convinced this draft is so strong that #14 has a good chance to help immediately. Of course, some #14s do, but so do some #22s.

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Oṃ Tāre Tuttāre Ture Svāhā

[Randy]

[toad455]

[root_thing]

[BamaEd]

Well, well, well, this is some interesting news. STHs, what do you think?

https://apnews.com/85bc4d6de70a4c5a893a00bc37a9231a?utm_source=Twitter&utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_medium=AP_Sports

AP source: Nets minority owner’s group nearing Liberty deal

[Shmermerer1]

[WNBA 09]

[NYL_WNBA_FAN]

First off agreed on that info from the Plaisance discussion. Good to hear that potential is on the horizon in terms of a billionaire owner who will keep the team in NY. I'd think Brooklyn would be the choice over Nassau because I think Brooklyn will be a draw. LI I don't think would be. Brooklyn people take pride in their teams.

Regarding the Liberty and its draft position, I have some evolving thoughts. First off I think it's clear that every top 5 senior has a deficiency that makes it difficult to assess their future potential. Here's my take now that I've seen every player play a few times.

Before I go in on the seniors I'll also say that Ionescu is the clear top pick should she come out. I'd be curious to see if the Libs could potentially flip-flop picks with Vegas being that Vegas is already a high octane offensive team desperately in need of rim protection in the middle. I wonder if Boyd and #2 would be enough to move to #1 as it would also give Vegas the potential to trade Moriah Jefferson. Anyway, other than the Ionescu scenarios, here's my take.

Kalani Brown-Stock obviously up after her Connecticut performance, but I'd use caution in overanalyzing that performance. I read Megdal's latest mock draft and he talked about talent evaluators considering her as stock up. While I get that, I also feel like the skills she displayed should already be known. We know she's a good mid-range shooter. We know she can rebound over smaller players. We know she's good on the left block. I like her game and her BB IQ. I think WNBA spacing will help her game. She's also not super-quick or agile. She's not that physical. Would she help the Libs? Definitely. Would I take her if Ionescu is unavailable? Yes. Do I think she's a guaranteed threat to do SOME scoring? Yes. Do I think there's question marks as to whether she's just a run-of-the-mill starter or more than that? For sure. That said, a 6'7" player with long arms who can shoot from 18" is a weapon. She'd immediately make the Liberty better. Regarding the CT game, they played most of it without a C. So let's put her performance in perspective.


Asia Durr-I've warmed to parts of her game but still have reservations. I see her as being improved going to the rim and passing the ball. She had a big-time game against the #1 team in the country after several down games against elevated competition. Her 3 point percentage is down to .316...mainly because she seems far more willing to take off-balance 3s off the dribble that she is struggling to make. Those are the kinds of shots that the franchise players like the Moores and Taurasis can make. I also think that she doesn't combine scoring and passing that well at the same time because she's not a natural vision player. On the positive side, her 2 point percentage and FTs are way up. I feel like she has probably acknowledged that's an area of her game she needed to do better with and to her credit, she has. She's still very heavily left hand but actually can drive right handed with at least some efficiency. There are scenarios in which I wouldn't be too mad at the Libs picking her (trading Nurse or Nurse/Hartley to Dallas for the 5th pick, getting a Latoya Sanders as a FA, etc.). More on those scenarios later.

Katie Lou-Stock mixed. Less-than-stellar in big games. Faced double-teams in most screen and roll situations vs. Baylor, which resulted in a lot of flat, missed 3s. Plus side is she added some penetration moves and a mid-range step-back. She's an improved rebounder. She is a good passer who plays within the flow of an offense. WNBA spacing should be an enormous help to her, and she'd be a fit if Katie Smith wants to use occasional undersized lineups. I'm not as worried about her defense as some people because she's a long-strider with length. Those types (i.e. EDD) can be labeled as worse defensively than they really are. I'm not saying she's DPOY worthy. But I don't see her as anymore or less a defensive liability than Durr, who's probably Louisville's worst perimeter defender. I'd take her at #2 over Durr if they're not going for a C and IF they are not clearing the logjam at 2 guard.

McCowan-Still a dominant physical talent. Has size, agility and length. Will be an immediate defensive force and rebounder who can chip in with occasional layups for scoring. But she has no offensive moves that are WNBA-worthy. Just on talent alone, with the WNBA's wider spacing, she'll probably average double digits as a rookie if she gets the minutes. But I think you want your 6'7" talent to do more. Can she someday? Maybe. But there's no guessing for sure if she will or not.

Collier-I still love her game. She gets points within the flow of the offense and unlike what people say, she has a perimeter game. Yes, she is only shooting 21% from three but her mid-range game is just fine. Facing up over Lauren Cox, she easily scored from mid-range multiple times. She can also score inside against smaller WNBA SFs. I'm telling you, and feel free to mark my words and address this if I'm wrong, but she's WNBA ready at SF right now. She scores 18 ppg and rebounds extremely well at her size. She can pass. And she scores that much with very limited touches relative to a big scorer. Plus, she can shoot from 18 feet. If she can shoot from 18 feet, she can become more consistent from 22. It's also not her fault that she plays with nothing but perimeter players on her college team. It forces her to play out of position and she STILL thrives. On the Libs, Z plays a lot of SF. She does almost all her scoring from mid-range. Collier can do that too, but better. I'd characterize Z as a solid sixth or seventh player at this stage of her career. Collier is better than her right now. With some development time...

Plus she could also do that undersized power forward thing and actually do it well if that's what Katie Smith wants to do. Collier is strong. She has very strong hands and is an excellent rebounder. She'd give the Libs considerable flexibility.

On Dallas having the fifth pick and the Libs attempting to trade for it...Agler is a defensive coach. LA thrived using AB as an on-the-ball shutdown defender. Dallas already has several SFs and the potential to use big lineups with Glory at SF. What they don't have is a shutdown perimeter defender. They could legitimately use Kia Nurse more than Katie Lou or Collier. They could also use Hartley as a backup guard...something they needed desperately last year. I love Nurse but the Libs have more of a need for what a Katie Lou or Collier can do. Conversely, Dallas has more of a need for what Nurse can do. If you think about it, it makes a ton of sense for both teams. In this scenario, I'd still rather have Brown or McCowan, but I'd certainly be a lot happier with Durr. I'm really down on Stokes right now (bad overseas stats) but a lineup of Boyd, Durr, KLS/Collier, Tina and maybe a Sanders in FA would be nice. A lot of scoring there. And you'd still have your #1 pick next year as insurance if the team's defense and rebounding still aren't that good. I think the rebounding would be better with either KLS or Collier at the 3 spot. Plus a healthy Stokes would at least be a better rebounder than an unhealthy one. Either way, if the team still isn't good, you'd have your #1 pick while still adding needed pieces right now.

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The poster formerly known as LibWNBAFan.

[WNBA 09]

Were not trading the 5th pick. Just a word to the wise.

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3-Time WNBA Champion-3-Time National Champion-4-Time Olympic Champion....And Yes DT "We Got Confeti" lol

[NYL_WNBA_FAN]

[root_thing]

My plan right now is to remain aloof unless a couple of players really excel and separate themselves from the pack. Between the uncertainty over what Katie Smith wants (or if she's actually making the decisions) and disagreement over the quality of these prospects, I won't let myself grow attached to any particular player. It's like living on a farm and naming the turkey right before Thanksgiving. You can't make something your pet when there's a good chance it will be taken away from you. At this point, I can probably live with any of the top six players (Brown, Collier, Durr, McCowan, Ogunbowale, Samuelson). Just don't do anything totally stupid -- you know, like something along the lines of drafting Molly Creamer out of Bucknell.

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You can always do something else.

[Shades]

If the team gets sold, who will be the GM? Who will be the coach? Is it too late to get somebody else, or will they be of the opposite mindset and let Smith be both GM and coach. If this ownership group was following along this last season, they might consider starting with a whole new front office including the coach, kinda like Vegas did... only they brought a remnant along in VJ.

Free agency starts in a few days, so maybe they’ll be stuck with the current group.

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Nnekalonians 1:14 - Thou shalt not accept that which is not earned

[toad455]

[Bob Lamm]

Assuming the sale goes through, I see two options as to what's ahead regarding the front office and coaching:

1. Most likely scenario: it's too late to make such changes for the 2019 season. Just stick with whoever is actually making front office decisions, stick with Katie Smith as coach, and assume there will be a new regime in 2020 unless the Liberty have a surprisingly terrific season.

2. If Tsai and his associates have known for a good while that this sale was likely to happen, they may have been researching the options and planning some major moves once the deal is announced. It could be that a new GM and a new coach are already ready to take over.

I expect to see option #1 rather than option #2, but option #2 isn't out of the question.

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Remember Roe v. Wade. Work for and support legal abortion all over the world and full reproductive rights for everyone.

[NYL_WNBA_FAN]