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ChasingRatDogmaSalade
Joined: 05 Apr 2008 Posts: 596 Location: Las Vegas, NV
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Posted: 03/21/19 2:30 pm ::: Top Five Bill Laimbeer Trades (Elaine Powell) |
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WNBA Draft 2019 presented by State Farm is less than three weeks away, and questions continue to swirl around what the Aces will do with the number one pick. Will they draft a big? Will they draft a guard? Will they trade the pick before the draft? What about after the draft?
We don’t know.
Well, maybe we do, but we’ve been sworn to secrecy.
In the meantime, we thought it would be interesting to take a look back at the top five trades in Bill Laimbeer’s storied WNBA career. He has been in the middle of quite a few of them, earning the nickname “Trader Bill” from the WNBA diehards who post on the rebkell message boards.
We begin with …
July 9, 2002
Detroit Shock acquires Elaine Powell
https://aces.wnba.com/top-five-bill-laimbeer-trades-elaine-powell/
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ChasingRatDogmaSalade
Joined: 05 Apr 2008 Posts: 596 Location: Las Vegas, NV
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Posted: 03/21/19 2:36 pm ::: |
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Bonus Trivia: Can you name the only number one pick to be traded on draft day ... before pilight does?
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WNBA 09
Joined: 26 Jun 2009 Posts: 12634 Location: Dallas , Texas
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Posted: 03/21/19 2:44 pm ::: |
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ChasingRatDogmaSalade wrote: |
Bonus Trivia: Can you name the only number one pick to be traded on draft day ... before pilight does? |
Lindsay Harding
_________________ 3-Time WNBA Champion-3-Time National Champion-4-Time Olympic Champion....And Yes DT "We Got Confeti" lol
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WNBA 09
Joined: 26 Jun 2009 Posts: 12634 Location: Dallas , Texas
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Shades
Joined: 10 Jul 2006 Posts: 63947
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Posted: 03/21/19 2:47 pm ::: |
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ChasingRatDogmaSalade wrote: |
Bonus Trivia: Can you name the only number one pick to be traded on draft day ... before pilight does? |
Hmm.... all this has got to be some kind of hint. Is a Cambage trade a done deal?
_________________ Nnekalonians 1:14 - Thou shalt not accept that which is not earned
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pilight
Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 67139 Location: Where the action is
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Posted: 03/21/19 3:13 pm ::: Re: Top Five Bill Laimbeer Trades (Elaine Powell) |
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Evil Bill trading away the sweetness and light of Wendy Palmer for the feisty attitude of Elaine Powell was key to building the Shock dynasty. On the surface it seemed like a bad deal for the Shock. Powell was averaging 6 points and 2 assists per game and shooting 35% from the floor for the Miracle while Palmer, a 2000 All Star, was Detroit's second leading scorer. Laimbeer saw the truth: Pow Powell played hard all the time while Palmer was only really engaged when the ball was in her hands. It was a deal that signaled a change in philosophy, one that held for the remainder of his Detroit tenure. It worked in 2002, before Cheryl Ford and Ruth Riley were on the scene, as the Shock recovered from an 0-13 start to go 9-10 the rest of the way.
It's not a coincidence that the only players on all three of Detroit's title teams were the two best players, Ford & Deanna Nolan, and Pow Powell.
_________________ I'm sick and tired of the stories that you always tell
Shakespeare couldn't tell a story that well
See, you're the largest liar that was ever created
You and Pinocchio are probably related
Full of criss-crossed fits, you lie all the time
Your tongue should be embarrassed, you're a threat to mankind
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gownbago
Joined: 10 Feb 2005 Posts: 258
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Posted: 03/21/19 3:26 pm ::: |
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Traded Dominique Canty to Houston for Comets First Round pick in 2003.
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stever
Joined: 16 Nov 2004 Posts: 6918 Location: https://womensbasketballdaily.net
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Posted: 03/21/19 3:48 pm ::: |
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Am I correct in assuming this entire thread is counting down to the Katie Smith "deal"? |
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root_thing
Joined: 28 Apr 2007 Posts: 7365 Location: Underground
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Posted: 03/21/19 5:13 pm ::: |
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Tasha Humphrey, Shay Murphy, and a 2nd Round pick for Taj McWilliams-Franklin has to be on that list. Taj was essentially the last piece on a championship team. The thing I always remember is that Laimbeer drafted overweight Humphrey, then immediately hired a nutritionist to work with her. Bill wouldn't let Tasha on the court until she lost weight. When Humphrey finally got to play, she performed well... at least long enough to push up her trade value. Bill wasted no time taking advantage. He shipped her off to Washington before the effect wore off. The next year, Humphrey reverted back to her old self and it turned out to be her last season.
_________________ You can always do something else.
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5thmantheme
Joined: 11 Apr 2016 Posts: 540
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WNBA 09
Joined: 26 Jun 2009 Posts: 12634 Location: Dallas , Texas
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Randy
Joined: 08 Oct 2011 Posts: 10911
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Richyyy
Joined: 17 Nov 2005 Posts: 24409 Location: London
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Posted: 03/22/19 9:31 am ::: |
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root_thing wrote: |
Tasha Humphrey, Shay Murphy, and a 2nd Round pick for Taj McWilliams-Franklin has to be on that list. Taj was essentially the last piece on a championship team. The thing I always remember is that Laimbeer drafted overweight Humphrey, then immediately hired a nutritionist to work with her. Bill wouldn't let Tasha on the court until she lost weight. When Humphrey finally got to play, she performed well... at least long enough to push up her trade value. Bill wasted no time taking advantage. He shipped her off to Washington before the effect wore off. The next year, Humphrey reverted back to her old self and it turned out to be her last season. |
I remember after their rookie seasons a lot of people felt Humphrey was the more promising prospect than Crystal Langhorne. Man did that turn out to be wrong. Weird draft for posts all around in the end: Langhorne at 6 and Pringle/Larkins at 13/14 had extended and successful careers (albeit the last two took circuitous routes); Anosike at 16 flashed strongly then flamed out; and Harper/Humphrey at 10/11 barely lasted in the WNBA for five minutes.
Back on the topic: I'm not sure how much credit to give Bill for that Taj trade, because as I remember it pretty much everyone was suggesting the move before it happened. Washington's season was dead in the water, Cheryl Ford got hurt again, Taj was old but still productive, so it seemed like an obvious match. Of course he still had to get it done, and the work with Humphrey had made it easier, but the deal itself wasn't exactly a visionary leap. |
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root_thing
Joined: 28 Apr 2007 Posts: 7365 Location: Underground
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Posted: 03/22/19 11:02 am ::: |
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Richyyy wrote: |
root_thing wrote: |
Tasha Humphrey, Shay Murphy, and a 2nd Round pick for Taj McWilliams-Franklin has to be on that list. Taj was essentially the last piece on a championship team. The thing I always remember is that Laimbeer drafted overweight Humphrey, then immediately hired a nutritionist to work with her. Bill wouldn't let Tasha on the court until she lost weight. When Humphrey finally got to play, she performed well... at least long enough to push up her trade value. Bill wasted no time taking advantage. He shipped her off to Washington before the effect wore off. The next year, Humphrey reverted back to her old self and it turned out to be her last season. |
I remember after their rookie seasons a lot of people felt Humphrey was the more promising prospect than Crystal Langhorne. Man did that turn out to be wrong. Weird draft for posts all around in the end: Langhorne at 6 and Pringle/Larkins at 13/14 had extended and successful careers (albeit the last two took circuitous routes); Anosike at 16 flashed strongly then flamed out; and Harper/Humphrey at 10/11 barely lasted in the WNBA for five minutes.
Back on the topic: I'm not sure how much credit to give Bill for that Taj trade, because as I remember it pretty much everyone was suggesting the move before it happened. Washington's season was dead in the water, Cheryl Ford got hurt again, Taj was old but still productive, so it seemed like an obvious match. Of course he still had to get it done, and the work with Humphrey had made it easier, but the deal itself wasn't exactly a visionary leap. |
I agree about going after Taj. However, the impressive thing to me was turning a player who had dropped like a rock in the draft into a useable asset. And doing it quickly. Laimbeer essentially created a mirage, then traded it for real goods.
_________________ You can always do something else.
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