Analysis: What can Storm do to improve roster this offseason?
SEATTLE – Minutes after the 2023 WNBA season ended for the Storm, Noelle Quinn walked to the postgame podium for the last time this year with a grocery list of items to add to during the offseason.
“We need a point guard, a starting point guard,” the Storm coach said. “We also need another complementary player alongside Jewell [Loyd], another scorer. And some more physicality in the paint.
“We lacked those things this year. Just trying to figure out our point guard rotation and overall consistently keeping teams out of the paint or aggressively having that post player and post presence. Those are things I think about. Just adding athletically and making sure we shore up that defensive side of the ball.”
The oddity of the WNBA offseason calendar, in which free agency begins several months before the draft, uniquely affects teams like the Storm, who will have about $420,000 in salary cap space to pursue free agents and a top-four pick in what could be a monumental draft class.
Suffice to say, the Storm quickly turned the page on this season that was highlighted by Sue Bird’s jersey retirement ceremony, Loyd setting the league’s single-season scoring record, Ezi Magbegor becoming an All-Star for the first time and four rookies playing extensively.
Depending on the future, Seattle’s 11-29 record — it’s most losses in team history — and 11th-place finish might be remembered as the year the four-time WNBA championship franchise, which had its seven-year playoff streak snapped, hit rock bottom and quickly rebounded to championship.
But then Quinn noted, “It takes time.”
“You think of all the teams who have built through the draft and what it takes,” she said. “You have to have a couple of not very good seasons to do that. It’s a process and it’s not going to happen overnight, but what’s interesting is now free agency is different. How players move and who they want to play with. It’s just different.”
Let’s examine Quinn’s grocery list and the Storm’s three biggest needs going forward.
Must find Bird’s replacement
It was never going to be easy to replace Bird, perhaps the greatest point guard in WNBA history, and it’s not as if they didn’t try.
The Storm targeted five-time All-Star Courtney Vandersloot and for a while it appeared as if the former Kentwood High and Gonzaga Bulldog standout was heading home before deciding Feb. 2 to join a super team with the New York Liberty, which included former Storm star Breanna Stewart.
Vandersloot’s last-minute rejection left the Storm in a bit of a lurch and two days later they signed the well-traveled Yvonne Turner to a training-camp contract.
Turner started the first seven games before rookie Ivana Dojkic took over and started 15 games. Dojkic had initial success and an accurate three-point jumper, however she struggled defensively and was replaced by sharpshooter Sami Whitcomb, who started the final 18 games.
Whitcomb had several shining moments, but the Storm finished the season with the second most turnovers in the league (15.4 turnovers per game) and the fewest assists (17.7).
Whitcomb and rookie Jade Melbourne are the only Storm ballhandlers under contract, and Quinn made it clear she wants an upgrade at the position.
Six-time All-Star Skylar Diggins-Smith is the best available free-agent point guard, but it remains to be seen if Seattle or any team attempts to acquire the 33-year-old, who hasn’t played in the WNBA since abruptly leaving the Phoenix Mercury before the end of the 2022 season.
Other candidates to consider would be Natasha Cloud, Courtney Williams, Jordin Canada, Layisha Clarendon, Lindsay Allen and Jasmine Thomas.
Give Loyd help offensively
Loyd averaged a league-best 24.7 points per game on a team that ranked 11th in scoring at 78.8 ppg.
During a record-setting year, she scored at least 20 points in 25 games, while Magbegor, who averaged 13.8 points, eclipsed the 20-point plateau four times, Whitcomb three and Jordan Horston and Kia Nurse did it once.
It’s entirely possible the Storm address their scoring needs in the draft or free agency, but the more likely scenario is Horston and Nurse, who split time at shooting guard, improve on their respective inconsistent seasons.
After missing the 2022 season due to a knee injury, Nurse averaged a career-low 5.9 points while shooting 34.3% and starting 20 of 40 games.
“The whole season was a mental roller coaster,” Nurse said. “I know a lot of people talk about your first year in rehab and the surgery and the pain you go through. That stuff is hard, but honestly coming back to professional sports the year after and trying to find yourself in a new role and a new team was probably the most difficult year in my entire [life] just because the mental side was so hard. There would be good days and bad days and just up and down.”
Nurse scored in double-figures nine times, but she also went scoreless nine times. She tallied 19 and 18 points while connecting on six of nine three-pointers.
“It’s nice to see that there’s pieces still there and understanding that you’re not going to be your old you,” said Nurse, who was selected to the 2019 WNBA All-Star Game. “You have to figure out what the new you is. Those pieces may be there from the old you, but you have to grow into something new.”
Meanwhile, Horston showed flashes of potential while averaging 6.9 points despite injuring her right shoulder early in the season. Her offseason plans consists of surgery to repair the injury, adding bulk to her slight 6-foot-2, 165-pound frame and improving a wonky perimeter shot.
Add physicality in the paint
Similar to the prior season, there are several marquee players who’ll become free agents including Stewart, Jonquel Jones, Elena Delle Donne, Brittney Griner, DeWanna Bonner, Brionna Jones and Nneka Ogwumike.
Acquiring just one of them would be a monumental achievement that would send the Storm back to the playoffs and into title contention in 2024.
Odds are they re-sign with their respective teams, but in this day of rampant free-agent movement, don’t discount the Storm’s chances of building a super team in Seattle.
While it’s prudent to pursue big-name post players, the Storm can’t overlook Magbegor’s maturation.
In her fourth season, the 23-year-old Australian became an All-Star and one of the league’s premier forwards. She’s a cornerstone of the franchise and someone who could spend the next decade in Seattle.
Still, it’s fair to ask if a Loyd-Magbegor pairing can lead the Storm to a title?
Magbegor attempted 49 more three-pointers this season and tied Whitcomb while shooting 38.5% behind the arc, which was second on the team.
However, the Storm need to establish a reliable inside scoring option to balance a roster loaded with perimeter scorers.
At 6-4 and 181 pounds, Magbegor needs help inside and the Storm’s trio of centers Mercedes Russell, rookie Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu and Joyner Holmes were often overwhelmed by opposing post players.
If Seattle can’t afford the high-priced free agents, there are still several bargain options worth considering including Kiah Stokes, Stefanie Dolson, Astou Ndour, Monique Billings and Nia Coffey.