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so-many-pickles
Joined: 17 May 2018 Posts: 100
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Posted: 06/05/21 11:00 am ::: |
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GlennMacGrady wrote: |
Luuuc wrote: |
TDAO wrote: |
Happy to share that Hughes' decision was not related to any change in his health. It was just time.
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"You never know when the right time is," Hughes told ESPN on Sunday. "I have this conversation with a lot of us older coaches. To be honest with you, the time seems to be right. The way that the team has kind of evolved, the reality I think of how I've kind of leaned on Noey and leaned on Klop and how well they work together. When I was talking with ownership, it just seemed like the right moment.
"Honestly, I've thought about it even before the season from the standpoint of it's always been important for me to kind of leave -- knowing this near the end of my career -- leaving it in a better position than I found it. That's just one of the staples of my career. The other is mentoring people and doing those things, especially the former players of mine. It's been something I've thought about for a long time, just wanting to make sure that when the time was right, that there was the ability to kind of hand it off, so to speak." |
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Thanks for the good news! |
I hope that his retirement was due to nothing more than the "right time", but nowhere in that article does Hughes discuss his health much less deny that his sudden retirement decision was health related. |
Yeah - I'm not getting how anyone interprets that article that way.
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TDAO
Joined: 11 Jun 2005 Posts: 555
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Posted: 06/05/21 4:12 pm ::: |
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so-many-pickles wrote: |
Yeah - I'm not getting how anyone interprets that article that way. |
I wrote the article, so I'm comfortable with my interpretation of it.
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so-many-pickles
Joined: 17 May 2018 Posts: 100
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Posted: 06/05/21 6:46 pm ::: |
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TDAO wrote: |
so-many-pickles wrote: |
Yeah - I'm not getting how anyone interprets that article that way. |
I wrote the article, so I'm comfortable with my interpretation of it. |
LOL. Yay for you then.
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TDAO
Joined: 11 Jun 2005 Posts: 555
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Posted: 06/05/21 11:38 pm ::: |
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Hughes addressed his health more specifically in Percy Allen's piece for the Seattle Times:
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The 66-year-old Hughes said he’s in good health and his decision to leave was not medically related.
“Everything is progressing like it should,” Hughes said. “There’s no major issues.” |
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Stormeo
Joined: 14 Jul 2019 Posts: 4703
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Randy
Joined: 08 Oct 2011 Posts: 10911
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Posted: 06/06/21 1:49 pm ::: |
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I wonder if Hughes will continue to do the broadcast work for NCAAW games. I liked him and he seemed to enjoy doing those broadcasts.
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Stormeo
Joined: 14 Jul 2019 Posts: 4703
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Posted: 06/07/21 2:00 am ::: |
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Some thoughts, after a 7-2 start that, judging by the games that ended close, could've been as good as 8-1 – or as bad as 5-4 (or even 4-5 if we never came roaring back in that road game vs. the Lynx):
If that 4th quarter in the home game vs. the Lynx – where our bench scored 0 points in the final 8:30 of that game – was any indication, our bench is officially back to sucking again. (A 21 year-old is arguably our most consistent bench player... ) At this rate, especially if each of our Big 3 competes in the Olympics, all three of them will get totally worn out by the end of the season and we'll flame out of the playoffs in whichever round we start in, if this heavy reliance on them has to continue like this. The good news is, as mentioned in the broadcast, our schedule is quite front-loaded. They should get more rest between games in the latter part of the season – but will it be enough? Or will they just get run down sooner through the next 5 weeks or so leading up to the Olympics and never be able to recover?
On one hand, I feel like Canada is simply broken as an offensive player. On the other, it seems that she constantly has no one to pass it to when she plays with the 2nd unit cuz no one can make shots, so she constantly has to make things happen herself – but since she herself can't shoot, it usually leads to a wildly missed shot. Of course, she and anyone else will play better playing along the #1s, but still, it's a contract year for her. If she wants to get paid next year no matter what her role is – on whichever team – she'll have to find a way to step it up, or convince Quinn to avoid playing her alongside 4 other bench players. If we're being honest, her best bet at this point might be Bird resting/getting injured (god f*cking forbid) and having to start in her place for a decent amount of time.
Prince & Dupree continue to age like spoiled milk in this stage of their respective careers. Beyond being frustrating to watch, it's genuinely sad to see. I don't get why Dupree and Stewart get so much runtime together cuz of how bad that combo is defensively (and really offensively too, if Dupree isn't hitting her 18-footers, which themselves are past their prime). And if Prince is gonna continue to get minutes, she should get some runtime at the 1 if Canada's gonna continue to be ineffective. At least then, we'd theoretically have more shooting at the PG spot, and it would open up another minutes opportunity for Burke at the 2. This is of course if we insist on having Prince remain on this team.
If Samuelson can't get her starting job back, she should request a(nother?) trade out. Unless we make some sudden, drastic enhancements to our bench, her W career will die here – or on some other team's bench. Like many players at this level, it seems she just can't be effective unless she plays around The Real Talent in the starting lineup. While Talbot may deserve to start, it would probably be better for the team if she came off the bench and Samuelson started. Cuz really, Talbot at this stage of her W career is much more used to being a bench shooter than Samuelson is. It probably isn't fair to Talbot, but oh well.
Though it's really interesting now to compare how we acquired Talbot and Samuelson, respectively. Which is more valuable: Sami Whitcomb? or Charli Collier + a 2022 2RP? If you only consider their current productivity, it's playing out to be an open question now – otherwise the answer is Collier unless (or, until?) she becomes a consensus bust...
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ClayK
Joined: 11 Oct 2005 Posts: 11225
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Posted: 06/07/21 10:05 am ::: |
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Great stuff ... thanks.
_________________ Oṃ Tāre Tuttāre Ture Svāhā
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so-many-pickles
Joined: 17 May 2018 Posts: 100
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TotalCardinalMove
Joined: 13 Oct 2013 Posts: 1467
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Stormeo
Joined: 14 Jul 2019 Posts: 4703
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Posted: 06/14/21 2:28 am ::: |
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myrtle wrote: |
Canada's inability to shoot is really a problem.
I just realized she has an inside track because of the UCLA connection with her coach. It will be interesting to see how that plays out with contract negotiations. Will Seattle overpay for her? |
I've been thinking about that recently as well.
It's going to depend on whether or not Bird returns, and whether or not other teams express legitimate interest in her, in the way that New York expressed interest in (aka was willing to pay $ for) acquiring Sami Whitcomb. But I don't think we'll overpay for her.
Bird, Stewart, Loyd, Russell, Canada, Dupree, and Talbot will all be free agents. At this point, I think we'll let go of Dupree due to underperformance, and let Talbot sign elsewhere due to well-enough performance to the point where, like Whitcomb, another team will pay her money the Storm will choose not to have.
Otherwise, that still leaves five. Bird is the only one on record who will agree to some sort of pay cut, so we'll leave her aside for now. Loyd will likely go from $121k to perhaps a number $100k more than that (maybe even the $228k supermax), which will be the roster's most drastic pay increase from this year to next. But even Stewart is sure to go from $190k to the $228k supermax, at nearly $40k more (which is only about how much higher the salary cap itself gets from this year to next).
And then there's Russell, who fits in well as a current starter and is 6'6. She has to be more valuable than Canada at this point. $130k? $140k? Someone might even try and pay more than that for her. Still, Seattle is the closest team to her Oregon hometown, so maybe she'd take a little less.
Perhaps it'll be a situation where we can have either Russell or Canada, but not both. In that case, I'd 100% pick Russell. If Magbegor showed more consistent improvement, then maybe I'd be more okay with letting Russell go. But she hasn't yet, though she has time. Russell herself even has time to grow her game a bit.
Meanwhile, if we had to, we could find a decent stopgap backup PG should Bird return for at least one more year. And then by 2023, there should be several intriguing options on the open market, at least one of whom would love to run plays for Loyd and Stewart if it isn't Bird. Whoever inherits Bird's role though will have to be able to shoot. We would be a significantly weaker version of ourselves if we didn't get great or even good shooting from the PG spot.
All of this is to say (obviously I enjoy talking about this subject 🤓), I think it'd be totally ridiculous if Canada signed for more than $120k. If we were smart, we'd sign her to a one-year deal so that the message can be sent to her that she has one year to get her act together with her shot. Once she inevitably fails (), then by 2023, we can completely start fresh with someone new running the show.
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craigmont
Joined: 14 Sep 2005 Posts: 1021 Location: Bing-town
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sithinfiltrator
Joined: 11 Mar 2006 Posts: 258 Location: Seattle, WA
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Posted: 06/18/21 1:11 pm ::: |
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Just wanted to point out that Sue Bird hasn’t taken a game off to rest this year even though Seattle has played a higher number of games than most teams to date. 40 is the new 20.
_________________ Lisa Stevens
Storm STH
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Shades
Joined: 10 Jul 2006 Posts: 63947
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Davis4632
Joined: 14 Jul 2014 Posts: 867
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Posted: 06/18/21 1:29 pm ::: |
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sithinfiltrator wrote: |
Just wanted to point out that Sue Bird hasn’t taken a game off to rest this year even though Seattle has played a higher number of games than most teams to date. 40 is the new 20. |
You made a good point but you're over exaggerating the last sentence.
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Mixolydian
Joined: 07 Sep 2017 Posts: 154 Location: Alaska
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Posted: 06/18/21 1:40 pm ::: |
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Bird is looking great this year, still so much fun to watch play. But I really wish we had a solid shooting point guard backup and she got a little more rest per game. Canada brings a different style in which can be good, but the Seattle offense is built on the PG being able to shoot and I think it results in Bird playing more than she should.
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Stormeo
Joined: 14 Jul 2019 Posts: 4703
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Posted: 06/19/21 10:58 am ::: |
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Mixolydian wrote: |
Bird is looking great this year, still so much fun to watch play. But I really wish we had a solid shooting point guard backup and she got a little more rest per game. |
With Coach Quinn possibly still experimenting with lineup combinations, I don't get why we don't use Prince more as a backup PG, seeing as we sort of did last season while Bird was out. And honestly, if a lack of continuity is the concern, Prince is signed longer than Canada is at this point.
Mixolydian wrote: |
Canada brings a different style in which can be good, but the Seattle offense is built on the PG being able to shoot and I think it results in Bird playing more than she should. |
All the more reason to wonder how hard we'll try in re-signing Canada next year. If none of the other 11 teams see more potential in her than that of a backup, I bet she returns. All it takes is one team that's willing to invest in her, though – maybe that one team will still be us, but maybe it'll be someone else (perhaps as evidenced in the Whitcomb deal).
In the meantime, I'm really interested to see how we do in the rubber match vs. the Aces next Sunday. But hopefully it doesn't cause us to overlook the Mystics coming up first.
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Queenie
Joined: 18 Nov 2004 Posts: 18066 Location: Queens
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Posted: 06/28/21 4:15 pm ::: |
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As per their Twitter, Seattle waives Kiana Williams.
It has not been a good week for Kiana Williams.
_________________ Ardent believer in the separation of church and stadium.
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Mixolydian
Joined: 07 Sep 2017 Posts: 154 Location: Alaska
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Posted: 06/28/21 8:38 pm ::: |
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Aw, bummer for Williams. Would have liked to see her get a little more of a shot.
I wonder if they plan to fill that 12th spot.
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myrtle
Joined: 02 May 2008 Posts: 32341
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Posted: 06/28/21 9:36 pm ::: |
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Kiana has always had a bit of a problem with self confidence. She does better when she knows those around her trust her. So it becomes a chicken and egg situation.
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Stormeo
Joined: 14 Jul 2019 Posts: 4703
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Randy
Joined: 08 Oct 2011 Posts: 10911
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myrtle
Joined: 02 May 2008 Posts: 32341
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Stormeo
Joined: 14 Jul 2019 Posts: 4703
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Posted: 06/29/21 11:17 am ::: |
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myrtle wrote: |
Maybe salary is an issue, but I could see Bria Holmes on your team. Also Burke is pretty much contributing nothing... I like Goodman longer term but she is not a defensive specialist. T.Young is still out 'there'. |
Burke has done some good things in the few minutes she’s been given, but I think she’s effective become our 3rd-string SF with Samuelson & Talbot in front of her, so I don’t think bringing in yet another SF-type player such as Holmes or TYoung would do anything.
But I wouldn’t mind us bringing in an actual 3rd-string PG, since apparently we didn’t consider Kiana Williams to be one, or a post player with some experience since we only have four true post players on the active roster right now.
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WNBA 09
Joined: 26 Jun 2009 Posts: 12634 Location: Dallas , Texas
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Posted: 06/29/21 11:22 am ::: |
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Not sure where to put this , but this was a great interview
https://justwomenssports.com/an-honest-conversation-with-the-wnbas-candice-dupree-and-amanda-zahui-b-during-pride/
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Dupree:
So I just had a conversation with them. One was concerned that if she went, everybody was going to think that she was gay. And I’m like, first of all, you play in the WNBA, so everybody already thinks you’re gay. Like, that’s just the stigma behind the WNBA. And then the other one I found out was homophobic for years, but yet she has all these friends that are gay. And she had a bit of a loud mouth in the locker room. I think she had asked us to go somewhere or do something, and I was like, “So, you want us to come and support you, but when it comes time to support us and our community, you don’t want to show up?” I made her really uncomfortable, but it was the truth.
Zahui B: How was the team dynamic after that?
Dupree: I gave her a hard time in the locker room and people were like, “Yeah, Can, tell her!” And then I just left her alone. But it’s crazy because I never would have known. Like yeah, they’ve had boyfriends, but I never would have known that that’s how they really felt had we not encountered that situation. That’s what I mean that people don’t ever say anything, they just kind of go with the flow, and then you really find out how people are when they’re put in certain situations. |
_________________ 3-Time WNBA Champion-3-Time National Champion-4-Time Olympic Champion....And Yes DT "We Got Confeti" lol
Last edited by WNBA 09 on 06/29/21 11:27 am; edited 2 times in total |
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