I'm convinced the lack of media attention on Dyaisha Fair helped her fall to the Aces. Scouts likely overestimated the impact her lack of size will have, and fans didn't hear much of her finishing college 3rd in career points because all focus was on the player who broke the record.
I work in the media. No one wants to hear a bunch of lesbos complain on why an empty stadium makes them believe their lousy grade of sports deserve the same pay as men. PLEASE!
Martin is a coach player, it's been well documented that she is a coach in the making n has said she wants to be a coach. The Aces get a DAWG player that scraps for rebounds decent defense n wont shy from physical play n can shoot three's n she'll learn coaching from Hammon along the way for her future coaching career. This is a win win pick.
I give the Chicago Sky an "A" as they finally realized that ball control is central to scoring ... and getting the boards what with all the tall women coming up annually, that Cardoso and Reese will be central to offense and defense. Also, it makes for some great rivalries with the Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark...much viewership in the future.
Given the sheer number of eyes there were on this draft class, my guess is the other GMs are too focused on which players can make immediate impacts in order to increase fan presence. The Aces have the luxury of playing the long game, not only are they 2x defending champs, but they're the only franchise that already sold out on season tickets.
Players like Kitley haven't really transferred that well in the W. As post you need to embrace the physicality and she has yet to show that. Similar players like Lauren Cox and Elissa Cunane haven't really panned out so I can see why she fell so late especially with the injury. But honestly if she can rehab with the Aces and learn from the vets she might really gain from this in the long run.
I am kinda wondering if maybe the Aces were eyeing Kate Martin for a future assistance spot as well. she would make an excellant coach. and Kitley going so low-in a couple years teams are gonna be regretting that
Um, the Chicago Sky CLEARLY won the draft after signing Reese AND Cardoso. The Sky became more relevant than the Bulls, and this is coming from a lifelong Chicago Bulls fan. I still love my Bulls, but in Chi-Town right now, it's all about the Sky!!!!!!
Context. Which players are pro ready and have a high ceiling? Kitley and Fair can score and can even get better on a team full of stars. Cardoso and Reese's offensive game is questionable. All they can do is rebound. If that is what they want to do is rebound and be role players then sure. Even Kate Martin's upside is high and she hustles. Chicago's draft was good but not better than the Aces.
@@juanmachado1844 Not true. You're underestimating Cardoso and Reese's offensive game because they can both score, too, and can also get better on a team full of stars. In addition, Reese and Cardoso have the combined ability to PREVENT other teams from scoring, which is also a large part of basketball that unfortunately, the men don't seem to care about anymore. Cardoso alone will be enough to chase people out of the paint. I appreciated the reply though. It's nice to get an intelligent rebuttal from someone versus a bunch of obscenities that don't actually add anything to the conversation. This is just the shot in the arm that the WNBA needs...people discussing the game, looking forward to the season, and then watching the product.
Wrong. Reese was the number one wing out of high school. It's unbelievable how people comment as if they know everything about the players when they know absolutely nothing. Reese went away from perimeter shooting due to she wasn't needed. LSU needed an inside presence for rebounding and defense. So when you put the development of the low post plus the fact she used to be a wing--It's like riding a bike.
If you know WNBA basketball, it's not about who gets drafted as much as it is, who will make the final roster, and how they will impact team success. My Aces drafted 4 extremely talented girls, and can realistically only keep two. We already signed Gustafson, and about three girls to a training camp contract, on top of being CP back. There's a lot of competitiveness in the W. I can't wait to see how things progress overall moving into the season.
Tell me, who in their right mind wastes money and time on this game? The WNBA needs to cut ties with the NBA and make it or break it. It is over 3 decades, they have not made ONE DIME.
I absolutely agree with you. The Aces made some genius picks that will make them contenders for many years to come. Kitley - long term solution to starting center (Stokes is the only weakness in the Aces starting line up, and Parker is on her last legs). Kitley will make the starting C her home starting in 25 or 26. I can’t believe she fell this much. Teams will regret this big time. Fair - reminds me of Riquna Williams. She will be instant offense off the bench. Definitely the 6th player role for the Aces and will play a factor late in games. Can do everything Williams could do. Fair will be a big boost to what was another weak point for the Aces, the bench. Kate Martin - she’s a high IQ player, and will complement any bench. It’s true that she could replace a 35 year old Syd Colson. That’s a difficult decision. I would choose Martin over Colson for building in the future. As a Lynx fan, Pili is a great player. We desperately needed a point guard though.
I can't wait for this season to start. My only problem is that Satou may not be ready for the start of it. Also someone needs to pick up Odyssey Sims. I loved her with Dallas.
I think Chicago did well. Their biggest issue last season was post depth. I doubt Angel and Kamilla see the floor together much because of the rhe spacing but i can see them being effective, especially Kamilla. I can't wait wait for a Dana/Marina/Chennedy pick and roll with Kamilla
I’d give sparks a A I’m not so high on brink judging how she played in the tournament and I feel like Chicago is a A because of how dominant they defense would be Like they say defense wins championships
Chicago sky had needed a center bad an need a defense of players an RJ is not that KC has a good mid range shot but AR an KC will do good together it might be the face of the franchise
I was saying the same thing about the Aces. To me they won the draft because they are back to back champions who came up both Fair and Kitley. I thought the Wings should have gone after Hsu but I'm thinking they passed on her because they don't have Room to keep everyone. That's probably why Holmes fell so low. Also you mentioned Seattle has a big three but with Ezi I'd argue it's more of a big four.
The Aces were the last team that needed to get better, and they still did. You can definitely make an argument that Seattle has a big 4. All I know is they are going to be scary. I agree with your point about Dallas not having room. Which is why I surprised they wouldn’t trade down to get future draft picks. Jacy was still going to be there.
I totally agree with you about Rickea Jackson. Other analysts have also said she’s the most pro-ready of all the draftees because of how good she is on both sides of the ball. She definitely helps to check off a lot of boxes for any team. She’s been flying under the radar because of the media’s focus on higher profile players like Clark,Reese and Cardoso. 🤔
Chicago gets A for me. Modern basketball is going to take over soon they both can switch 1-5. They both run the floor. Angel is going to be Draymond while Cardosa will be like Andrew Bogut. Chicago needs to just draft or trade for shooters and I don’t see how this team isn’t competing for titles.
In my humble opinion here are the three winners in the 2024 WNBA Draft...of course, the Indiana Fever, the Chicago Sky, and the LA Sparks-I gave each team a grade of A+ because Caitlin Clark, Kamilla Cardoso & Angel Reese, and Cameron Brink & Rickea Jackson are going to teams with outstanding coaches: but most important, teams with great player development. As for your concern of it being too crowded in the post-I believe the Chicago Sky brain trust will figure out how to play Angel and Cardoso on the floor at the same time...If it was me, I would post Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso up on the opposite side of the paint, which would leave the other to clean-up each other's or their teammates misses; trust me coach T-spoon will figure it out! Now for the rest of your grades, I can only strongly agree with you giving my-hometown-Las Vegas Aces an "A+" because you were spot-on with you assessment of their fit for the Aces. Getting two more roleplayers, which addressed their only issue from the previous two seasons-bench depth...and with Kitley (whom can play either the 5 or both 4 positions) and with drafting Dyaisha Fair (who can playing PG or SG) the Aces instantly upgrading their lack of bench scoring!
I agree with everything except what was said about Davis. She doesn’t have a three point shot but her defense and midrange make up for it. Plus they already have the best three point shooter in the league with Sabrina. I believe it was a good pick
Na i think your off with the liberty picks . All of them can play defense especially martinez and carter more than the others , davis is very athletic and can get hot on offense at any moment of course her 3 ball has to develop to be a true threat she has a lot of potential !
disagree about the liberty. they closed the gap to the aces in free agency-they traded out dolson for fiebach, johannes for dojkic, willouby for kennedy burke and added md to be a 2nd betnijah. imo they fixed all the glaring holes- perimeter defense, bench depth to cutdown usage of starters plus they are give reliable bench scoring. instead of depending on the occasional hotstreak o mj and 3pt shooting of dolson, they have more options
Every problems solved for the wings 1: guards with size cause small guards got exposed in the playoffs against aces 2: 31.7% from 3 is the worst from last year 3: Lou Lopez and Stephanie Soares injured didn’t play(they healthy now) 4: Dangerfield, Sims and Burton were 5’5 or 5’9(undersize) so they draft Jacy Sheldon, Carla Leite from France(draft and stash) and Ashley Owusu
UPDATE!!!! My comments were made at the 3 minute mark. I HAD NO IDEA you were gonna bring up The Sun missing out on Dyashia Fair!!! Pretty good minds think alike.
Wow, what a lot of wasted breath. 132 spots available in the league.. 10/12 will go to players from this draft (8 first-rounders, 2 seconds, maybe 1/2 thirds). More likely than not most of the ladies you mentioned will be cut (from their drafting teams roster) before the season begins, and maybe land somewhere else for a season or two because of an injury to an established player. DON'T AGREE? take a look at the last 3 years!
Rickea has no defense. Obviously you haven't watched her in the SEC. Chicago clearly won the draft. Reese was the number one wing out of high school. She was needed more in the post for rebounds. It's like riding a bike
The Connecticut Sun are mor___, I mean, not very smart for passing up on Dyashia Fair at #10. They desperately a scoring guard to compliment their forwards. Now Dyashia will have to struggle just to see the court for The Aces
Davis and sherrod who u claim is better than all of them have similar three point percentages yikes lmfao . Esmery brings a energy like betnijah could be good in that sort of role always over 6 rebs and around 2 steals . Carter has a quick shot can hit spin jumpers and averages like 2 blocks , how could they possible be worse off smh.
I'd say one aspect of the drafting you missed in your grading was the soft factors; things like social media followers, marketing, and stories. If you think about the draft picks for Chicago, suddenly that makes a lot more sense. There's a story with Reese and Cardoso having a history against each other, now they're playing together. Same with Kate Martin. The history with Clark (130+ games started together) and now playing against her is a story. Stories are what keep people watching and coming back. It's what gives talking heads something to talk about and promote. As a Hawkeye living away from the state, the first mention of Clark wasn't her playing, it was the sell out crowds. Stories like that cross news segments and draw in more eyes. It's not like the WNBA hasn't had great players before; they just haven't had the kind of stories the draft class has already. I'd also in my biased opinion say I think Kate Martin was the best pick Vegas did. Besides the story with Clark, she already has a huge following, and it was smart to attempt to capture some of the Iowa fan base. Additionally, she has the most experience in playing with and against Clark. Four years of being on the same team is going to give you insights into each other a scouting report isn't.
I screamed when Cardoso got picked at #3. That's because I'm a Sparks fan. Rickea Jackson will lead all rookies in scoring at 20+, be an All-Star, and is The Sparks most exciting player since 1st year Candace Parker.
@@maxpower247 That is a fact. I could not believe Seattle gave up that pick. That was a pricey salary dump to make room for Skylar Diggins-Smith. Hope it was worth it
Jackson's highest scoring average in 5 years of college is 20.3. Candace Parker in her lengthy WNBA career has averaged over 20 once with 20.6 in a season she only played 10 games in. In the history of the WNBA 3 players have averaged over 20 for their career with the highest being 21. Now as a rookie against much tougher competition than in college you are expecting Jackson to at a minimum match her best college average and roughly the best career scoring averages in WNBA history. That's pretty bold. At 20 points per game I would definitely take the under. She could average under 20 (and very likely will) and still have an amazing rookie season.
Chicago sky A+++ they got Angel reese and cardoso that's better than having Caitlin Clark fr.. i give Indiana B++ its not always about popularity its about winning games!!
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Seattle lost. They lost before the draft started though. They need a lot of pieces to improve their team. Dallas had a bad draft. I like what LA did. But it was easy since they had two lottery picks.
