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Richyyy
Joined: 17 Nov 2005
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Location: London
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 Posted: 01/10/22 6:34 pm ::: Explaining the WNBA's Core Player System |
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I figure most people around here mostly get coring, but it's one aspect of the WNBA system that I get the most questions about. So this breaks it down in simple terms, with plenty of examples, as much as I could. Always happy to answer any remaining questions, of course.
https://herhoopstats.substack.com/p/wnba-core-player-designation-explained
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| When being cored, the player is perfectly within their rights to simply sign that core qualifying offer, then show up and play under a one-year supermax deal. But crucially - and this is one of the elements that is often misunderstood - the player is by no means required to do that. |
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undersized_post
Joined: 01 Mar 2021
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| Posted: 01/10/22 7:39 pm ::: |
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Count me as a person who did not understand coring until today! Thanks for sharing. Also been enjoying the mock off-season and WNBA free agency podcasts.
A few questions, since you offered...
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| From January 1 through January 14 each year, WNBA teams can extend qualifying offers, including those which make make a player cored. |
It's already January 10th -- are you surprised no core qualifying offers have been announced yet?
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| The player then isn't officially even allowed to talk to other teams, never mind sign with them. As we've seen in recent years, sometimes some leeway is allowed with this - the Los Angeles Sparks cored Nneka Ogwumike but then openly allowed her to speak to other teams anyway, just so that she could see what was on offer elsewhere - but the key element is that the team retains the player's exclusive rights. She can't sign anywhere else. |
Is it actually the player who directly talks with the front office, or does these conversations more often go through the player's agent?
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| And will simply being cored annoy the player and push them away? |
Before extending the core qualifying offer, is a team allowed to give the player a heads up and say, "Hey, we love you, you're invaluable to us, we want to core with you, would you be OK with that?" Or are they not allowed to discuss this.
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Richyyy
Joined: 17 Nov 2005
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Location: London
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| Posted: 01/10/22 8:09 pm ::: |
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| undersized_post wrote: |
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| From January 1 through January 14 each year, WNBA teams can extend qualifying offers, including those which make make a player cored. |
It's already January 10th -- are you surprised no core qualifying offers have been announced yet? |
There is one out now - Connecticut coring Jonquel Jones came through today. But generally speaking they do emerge at the end of that opening period. I don't know whether the league intentionally holds them back, or teams wait because it's more useful information to their competitors than other QOs, or they just wait because it's a more consequential decision (and there's always a chance that someone gets hurt during the 14 days, or a trade offer alters your thinking, or whatever). So no, not really surprised. Expect more over the next few days. My current guess is four more, but we'll see.
| undersized_post wrote: |
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| The player then isn't officially even allowed to talk to other teams, never mind sign with them. As we've seen in recent years, sometimes some leeway is allowed with this - the Los Angeles Sparks cored Nneka Ogwumike but then openly allowed her to speak to other teams anyway, just so that she could see what was on offer elsewhere - but the key element is that the team retains the player's exclusive rights. She can't sign anywhere else. |
Is it actually the player who directly talks with the front office, or does these conversations more often go through the player's agent? |
Agents are usually involved in all of this, but it'll depend on the player. Also some of the players are in the US and available to be courted in person right now, but many of them are very busy playing for teams on other continents. Makes a big difference to how all this proceeds.
| undersized_post wrote: |
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| And will simply being cored annoy the player and push them away? |
Before extending the core qualifying offer, is a team allowed to give the player a heads up and say, "Hey, we love you, you're invaluable to us, we want to core with you, would you be OK with that?" Or are they not allowed to discuss this. |
I think there's generally a pretty open line of communication between teams and their own (recently former) players. If you start contacting players from other teams that you're not supposed to be talking to it starts to get a bit shady, and might lead to a complaint from another team. But talking to your own is generally going to be seen as fine, even in the moratorium period where it might technically not be allowed.
Also there really aren't that many agents in the women's basketball world. It's a pretty small community in general. So everyone talks to everyone, gossip is rife, and news tends to get around. It's pretty easy to talk to someone without actually talking to them, if you know what I mean  . |
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undersized_post
Joined: 01 Mar 2021
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| Posted: 01/10/22 8:45 pm ::: |
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| Awesome, thanks for your insight!
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ChicagoAnnie
Joined: 04 Sep 2009
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Location: St. Paul, MN
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| Posted: 01/15/22 12:46 am ::: |
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| I have always hated the core player designation. Delays a star player's ability to experience true UFA like lesser players. And, make things boring for the league. NBA free agency period is a whirlwind of breaking news.
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Richyyy
Joined: 17 Nov 2005
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Location: London
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| Posted: 01/15/22 12:58 am ::: |
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| ChicagoAnnie wrote: |
| I have always hated the core player designation. Delays a star player's ability to experience true UFA like lesser players. And, make things boring for the league. NBA free agency period is a whirlwind of breaking news. |
It's a hell of a lot less onerous than it used to be, with the max coming down to two years, plus unrestricted free agency eligibility now being at 5 years in the league. They've pared it back and back to the point where it does a lot less than it used to. |
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undersized_post
Joined: 01 Mar 2021
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| Posted: 01/18/22 6:19 pm ::: |
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WNBA for Dummies Question:
What does it mean for a player to be "claimed on waivers" or to "clear waivers"? Something about the worst teams having first dibs on players who were just cut?
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Richyyy
Joined: 17 Nov 2005
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Location: London
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| Posted: 01/18/22 6:52 pm ::: |
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When someone gets cut, they are "placed on waivers". They then sit there for five days (the length at the moment) or 48 hours (the length during the season) and other teams have the chance to claim them. Yes, the teams are given preference in reverse order, so if multiple teams wanted to claim a player, the worst team of that group gets them. If anyone puts in a claim, then at the end of the waiver period the player is awarded to that team, and they take on every aspect of the contract the player was on when they were waived (so exactly the same as if they'd traded for the player). If no one puts in a claim then the player is said to have "cleared waivers" and the player becomes an unrestricted free agent.
The majority of players clear without a claim being put in, but as with Megan Walker today, claims do sometimes happen. |
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