The WNBA preseason is well underway, and many players are set to debut with new teams.
On today’s episode of The IX Sports Podcast, hosts Jackie Powell and Howard Megdal recap the league’s exciting free agency period and evaluate which teams’ rosters came out better or worse than others.
Powell and Megdal began by discussing veteran point guard Natasha Cloud, who remains unsigned after starting all 41 games she appeared in for the New York Liberty last season.
“Why isn’t she signed? There’s a talk about activism, and the activism that she’s brought forth,” Megdal said. “This is a league filled with activism and activists who have signed. … She is older. She is at a moment where the salary cap is squeezing the middle class. … Also, she changed agents.”
“Something that we also have to remember is Natasha Cloud’s skill set is sort of being phased out of the league, too,” Powell added. “She’s a (33.8%) 3-point shooter. So that’s part of this equation too. It’s the basketball fit, and that was very much so part of the reason why it didn’t work with the New York Liberty for another year.”
The pair moved on to discuss some of the biggest moves from this offseason. Powell’s free agency winner was the Atlanta Dream, who traded for Angel Reese and re-signed most of their starting five from last season. Megdal’s winner was the New York Liberty, who added Satou Sabally, in addition to keeping their core of Sabrina Ionescu, Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton.
“Becoming Caitlin Clark” is out now!
Howard Megdal’s newest book is here! “Becoming Caitlin Clark: The Unknown Origin Story of a Modern Basketball Superstar” captures both the historic nature of Clark’s rise and the critical context over the previous century that helped make it possible, including interviews with Clark, Lisa Bluder (who also wrote the foreword), C. Vivian Stringer, Jan Jensen, Molly Kazmer and many others.
“(Dream general manager) Dan (Padover) knows what he’s doing, and it began with the Angel Reese trade, which was such a master class,” Powell said. “Because what the Dream had been seeking for such a long time is a more dynamic modern frontcourt player that the perimeter players could shoot around.”
Powell’s free agency loser was the Phoenix Mercury, Sabally’s former team. The Mercury made very few moves for a team that just made the WNBA Finals and subsequently lost one of their top scorers. Megdal’s loser was the Seattle Storm, who will roster three star centers with similar skillsets.
“Alright, so you gotta wipe things clean and in many ways, start again. Well, they have, but it doesn’t fit together,” Megdal said of the Storm. “… The frontcourt doesn’t make sense. … I don’t really understand how (Ezi Magebgor and Awa Fam) and Dom Malonga play together. They insist it will work. … Guess we’ll see, but I’m not sure I’m convinced.”
Make sure to subscribe to The IX Sports Podcast for in-depth coverage of women’s soccer, hockey and basketball; and tune in each weekday morning for a quick overview of the biggest headlines on Women’s Sports Daily.
What you missed on Women’s Sports Daily: WNBA preseason kicks off this weekend, games to watch and more