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ChasingRatDogmaSalade
Joined: 05 Apr 2008
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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
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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
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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
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WNBA 09
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Shades
Joined: 10 Jul 2006
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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?
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pilight
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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.
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gownbago
Joined: 10 Feb 2005
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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
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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
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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.
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5thmantheme
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Randy
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Richyyy
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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
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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.
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