The 2024 No Cap Space Season Preview
The NCS gang gives their thoughts on each team as the season gets ready to begin.
Congratulations! You've made it to the start of another exciting season in the WNBA. The No Cap Space crew has deliberated on how each team looks heading into the start of this 28th year, so let's get into it.
Atlanta Dream
Draft Selections: Nyadiew Puoch, Isobel Borlase, Matilde Villa.
Draft Grades:
Chauny: D. None of the players are coming from overseas this year, BUT that works in Tanisha Wright's favor since she hates playing rookies anyway.
Tyler: C-. The “man I guess” draft here for me when it comes to Atlanta. Like could these players work out in the long game? Sure. Realistically with a roster that came in relatively set due to off season trades there was not much wiggle room for drafting here. It works for me and I get it, but as of this moment I am not moved.
Haub: C. It feels like a long game played in Atlanta but my issue is that it doesn’t match the actual buildout of the roster. Puoch and Borlase have potential but it depends on where people think they fit. The Dream made moves last season to get established stars like Allisha Gray and Aerial Powers in what looked like a win now move to surround Rhyne Howard with talent. Now, as a result of the roster being too stuffed they went with three players that could factor in as Euro/Aussie stashes for the season ahead. Is that enough when your perceived dark horse 2023 team finished 19-21? Questions that need answers!
Preseason Thoughts:
Tyler: While the draft didn’t move me the offseason that the Dream had absolutely did. Two of the biggest holes for the Dream roster that underperformed in my eyes last season were a Point Guard and a big that could bang. They got some of the best options immediately available in Jordin Canada and Tina Charles. Consider the holes plugged.
Season Expectation:
Chauny: Though none of the rookies will be joining them this year, I still think the Dream are in the early stages of a super team. The have an incredibly talented duo in Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray impacting both sides of the ball, and they've added some more vets with something to prove. I still expect them to be in the 4-5 spot, but it would not shock me if they somehow end up at 3.
Chicago Sky
Drafts Selections: Kamilla Cardoso, Angel Reese, Brynna Maxwell.
Draft Grades:
Chauny: B. Somebody in that front court is going to have to develop a jump shot, but all in all this is a good get because you can still make something shake until then. Not to mention that marketing gold mine this previously broke franchise just struck.
Tyler: A. This draft couldn’t have gone much better for the Sky. Have fun going into the paint with Angel and Kamilla down low. The obvious long term worry is the spacing when having both Kamilla and Angel in the game together but being a franchise that was left with scraps after James Wade left them high and dry it is hard to think of a better way they could have started rebuilding.
Haub: A+. In her first WNBA head coaching gig, Teresa Witherspoon is gonna have a doozy of a front court. To get Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese immediately augments a pretty fun backcourt that’s in need of rebounding support. Both bigs’ development as shooters will be key as they occupy similar spaces on the floor but the both of them will bring excitement to a city and team that could use some juice in the wake of Candace Parker’s departure. Brynna Maxwell may be a surprise for some but from Utah to Gonzaga, the girl can shoot the lights out and that alone can keep her in the roster mix.
Preseason Thoughts:
Chauny: They beat the piss outta New York forced Sandy Brondello to roast her own team. As much as that was an indictment on the effort the Liberty were giving, it also points to the mentality of the Sky, particularly Angel Reese. No matter who you are, Chicago is coming at you full force and id you're not careful you will get cooked.
Season Expectation:
Chauny: The injury to Kamilla Cardoso is what stops my from saying they'll make the playoffs. She's expected to be out 4-6 weeks and while that's enough time to salvage the season, I think by the time she gets acclimated and the team gels completely it'll be a little too late.
Connecticut Sun
Draft Selections: Leila Lacan, Taiyanna Jackson, Helena Pueyo, Abbey Hsu.
Draft Grades:
Tyler: C+. As an avid Big 12 watcher (it just means more now) Taiyanna Jackson is a player I have been high on for a while now out of Kansas. When it comes to finding a place to learn the WNBA as a presence down low it is hard to imagine a better roster to learn from than the Sun. I worry about having too much of the same but if she can stick I think she can be a long term win from this draft.
Haub: C+. Lacan has some potential and I’m interested to see what kind of role she has for the host country of the 2024 Olympics. Playing in Paris with the French national team would be a nice ‘welcome to the pros’ moment for her. Outside of that, it’s a lot of project type players for the Sun. Jackson helped Kansas reassert itself as a women’s basketball program of note but didn’t take the step some thought she would this year. Pueyo projects to me as a three-and-D type player while Hsu is a bonafide scorer. Much like it was in the Curt Miller years, there’s a lot of good players that may just not make a roster in such a competitive league.
Preseason Thoughts:
Chauny: They were in somewhat of a midoff with the Liberty before the NBA apparently pulled the YouTube stream for copyright violations. Nothing particularly earth shattering from that camp in terms of roster moves.
Season Expectation:
Chauny: The Connecticut Sun don't move me in any way, shape or form. I expect the same top three finish they're known for, but nothing about this year makes me believe they'll get over the hump.
Dallas Wings
Draft Selections: Jacy Sheldon, Carla Leite, Ashley Owusu.
Draft Grades:
Chauny: B. I'm a huge fan of Jacy Sheldon and WAS excited for her and Veronica Burton to become the Clamp Sisters. Owusu just has to make the most of her minutes and hopefully she's hungry. If we can get the throwback Owusu, I think she has the potential to stick on this roster for a long time.
Tyler: B. Jacy Sheldon is far from the flashiest pick of the draft but she was the exact pick Dallas needed. Last season Latricia Trammell established an emphasis on defense for the Wings franchise but was forced to choose at times between players that lacked comfortable two way ability. In Sheldon she has been able to find that stable choice to pair alongside Arike Ogunbowale.
Haub: B-. Sheldon’s got a lower ceiling than some of the other picks in the draft but a higher floor. While she lacked the ‘wow’ factor Caitlin Clark had, Sheldon was the most stable high level performer in the Big Ten this season and that will translate to the pros. Defensively, she has the capability of competing and feels similar to Veronica Burton in the sense of being a very versatile, stable college player that can lock a roster spot by being what her coaches need her to be. Leite feels like another intriguing Euro option but I’m mostly curious about which version of Ashley Owusu we get in the pros? She played well at Penn State but didn’t get the March that would’ve put her back on the map. But there’s plenty of talent there still.
Preseason Thoughts:
Tyler: The Wings have had a history of lacking continuity season to season at times (shoutout Dallas Wings University) so the ability to have both made genuine strides as a team last season AND keep everyone all together while adding a solid piece in Sheldon feels major.
Chauny: They cut Veronica Burton. I was not expecting that. Like I'm genuinely shocked by that because I was looking forward to 92 feet of hell featuring her and Jacy Sheldon. Lou Lopez hanging on to a spot was also interesting to me. Also disappointed we didn't get a chance to see Ashley Owusu in action.
Season Expectation:
Chauny: Stop me if you’ve heard this before…but Satou Sabally is hurt. She is reportedly out with a shoulder injury until after the Olympics and that’s a sizeable blow, BUT if Arike Ogunbowale has the MVP caliber season she’s capable of, it might not matter. Everyone else has seemed to buy into Laticia Trammell’s system and the 1-2 punch of Teaira McCowan and Kalani Brown is tough for just about any team to handle. I see them between a 3-5 seed in the playoffs.
Indiana Fever
Draft Selections: Caitlin Clark, Celeste Taylor, Leilani Correa.
Draft Grades:
Chauny: LMFAOOOOOOOOOO YOU ALREADY KNOW.
Tyler: A+. I mean come on. Picking Caitlin Clark was the layup. Picking Celeste Taylor was stealing the inbounds right after. I love the idea of what Taylor can provide next to Clark in the backcourt for the Fever. Two players we have seen go head to head in the Big 10 have a chance to become an excellent pairing in the W.
Haub: A++. Part of grading a top pick like this is assessing whether or not a front office overthinks the obvious. Credit to Indiana. There is no way they were going to do that. In so many ways, from the fan footprint in Big Ten country to the roster fit to the culture of Indiana as a basketball community, Caitlin Clark is right for this franchise. In a lot of ways, she’s better in Indy than anywhere else. With no other summer pro sports franchise in town, she will own the opposite months of the NBA schedule and you don’t need the boost of a big market to amplify her superstardom. Couple that with Celeste Taylor, who would be viewed as a monster sleeper pick if she had been selected a year earlier, and the Fever have the recipe for one of the most anticipated young cores in the history of the league.
Preseason Thoughts:
Chauny: Believe it or not, Caitlin Clark is pro-ready. For the amount of defensive attention she was receiving in preseason games, I think she handled it well. The team chemistry also appears to have improved tenfold.
Season Expectation:
Chauny: I think the Baby Fever could make the playoffs with a first round exit. Na'Lyssa Smith is back with a chip on her shoulder, per usual, and I think that's what's ultimately going to push them forward. Christie Sides’ clipboard needs to get in game shape and fast because she's got the pieces to make that playoff push if she can be trusted in the many late game situations I think think they'll find themselves in.
Las Vegas Aces
Draft Selections: Dyaisha Fair, Kate Martin and Liz Kitley.
Draft Grades:
Chauny: A+. The champs loaded up on young, moldable talent and if they use the buddy system and pair each one of them with the corresponding vet, this franchise will be good for years to come.
Tyler: A. When it comes to finding value in their picks, nobody got more bang for your buck than Vegas. While Liz Kitley gets the chance to soak in knowledge from fellow fadeawayer A’ja Wilson while she recovers from injury, Dyaisha Fair and Kate Martin have genuine potential to find roles in the second unit of this Aces team.
Haub: B+. If an A+ is a good fit *and* immediate impact, it’s hard to judge players selected towards the middle to end of the draft. But the B+ is all for fit and fun. Fair, Martin and Kitley are all elite college players that could pencil out in the right system. There’s time for them to find their footing and while a full-time roster spot is tough to come by, it feels like Vegas took three players with the mentality and pedigree to be contributors in some capacity.
Preseason Thoughts:
Chauny: The Aces looked like they had some rust to start their preseason exhibition against Puerto Rico, but the champs ultimately got back to what we're used to from them. Meg Gustafson showed she can be the teams swiss army knife on offense and the rookie guards came out sharp and brought energy and solid play making.
Season Expectation:
Chauny: Chelsea Gray is out with a lower leg injury and Becky Hammon said they're taking things slow with her. That coupled with being a little thin in the frontcourt worries me when I think about my squad trying to three-peat. Ultimately I trust the remaining starters to carry as they have before and the key to me will be creating a lethal second unit. If Becky chooses to bring Alysha Clark off the bench again and uses her with the leadership and defense of Syd Colson and the production of Gustafson they could really be in good shape. The key to me is Kiersten Bell taking that leap and carrying over the momentum from AU.
Los Angeles Sparks
Draft Selections: Cameron Brink, Rickea Jackson, McKenzie Forbes
Draft Grades:
Chauny: A+. They checked every box; defense, scoring, marketing, local connection. Everything. Cam Brink choosing Kendrick Lamar over Drake in the current rap spat is just the cherry on top of the sundae.
Tyler: The Sparks had my favorite draft out of anyone. Drafting at 2 and 4 they would have left happy with any of Brink, Cardoso, or Jackson and they did exactly that. Brink and Jackson just feel MADE for Hollywood, made to be the foundational pieces of LA, made to be stars in the WNBA. There is also a world where McKenzie Forbes ends up being the best value pick in this entire draft with her ability to space the floor next to star players.
Haub: A+. Arguably the two highest ceiling players in the draft with already high floors. Rickea Jackson may play the Cappie Pondexter to Caitlin Clark’s Seimone Augustus in that the second pick may end up with a similarly illustrious career when all is said and done. Brink has some work to do when it comes to staying out of foul trouble and refining her shooting touch. But her spotting up in the NCAA Tournament shows she’s made strides to be able to play away from the basket.
Preseason Thoughts:
Chauny: LET THEM GIRLS GO TO THEIR GRADUATIONS!
Season Expectation:
Chauny: I don't see playoffs this year, but they are going to make this Rookie of the Year race the most fun it's been in the last few years.
Minnesota Lynx
Draft Selections: Alissa Pili, Kiki Jefferson
Draft Grades:
Tyler: A. The Alissa Pili to Minnesota agenda has been one pushed in the No Cap Space for months and the prophecy came true. Frankly, I don’t know exactly what role the versatile Pili will find herself in while wearing a WNBA jersey. What I do know is there is no better franchise to figure that out at than with Cheryl Reeve and the Lynx. Incredibly excited with how Pili develops and the situations she is put in.
Haub: B+. I am an Alissa Pili believer at the next level. There’s plenty of questions in regards to her on the defensive side of the floor but there is no denying her footwork, shooting and spacing at this level. Playing in Lynne Roberts’ system at Utah showed all of the things that will keep her in the league. As for Jefferson, how quickly people forget what a force she was for James Madison. The numbers dipped when she headed to UL but part of that is a function of the Walz system. She’s versatile and can fill a variety of roles.
Preseason Thoughts:
Chauny: The good news is they finished the preseason 2-0. The not so good news is those two games were against teams that also won’t be contending for a title this year as they figure themselves out.
Season Expectation:
Chauny: I’m not saying the Lynx are tanking for Paige Bueckers…but I’m not saying they not either. I think this is a rebuild year. You lost Aerial Powers, who was a pain in Cheryl Reeve’s side, but still a bucket. Rachel Banham, oddly enough, was cooking in Connecticut during the preseason so that’s another hole to fill. Diamond Miller continues to grow and gives hope of the future, but I think this is a learning year and not a contending year.
New York Liberty
Draft Selections: Marquesha Davis, Esmery Martinez, Jessika Carter and Kaityln Davis.
Draft Grades:
Chauny: I wanted to fail them, but I put my hate aside and gave them a C. They picked up a gritty defender with is absolutely needed to cover their starting guard's deficiencies but they should've drafted Jaylyn Sherrod. Drafting her instead of signing would've moved them up to a B in my book.
Tyler: B-. I see the reasoning, still working on seeing the exact fit with these players given the style that New York likes to play. Davis has the chance to be an answer to a lot of perimeter defensive questions that the Liberty had posed to them during last season.
Haub: C+. I understand the Liberty’s thought process. This team needs defenders in the worst way possible especially when we look ahead to deeper playoff runs. At the same time, either the system has to change or you have to just go whole hog into being the WNBA Houston Rockets. Martinez and Davis both come from systems at Arizona and Ole Miss respectively that like to slow down possessions and play gritty defense. Marquesha Davis was able to play in transition and is the wing defender that the Liberty have been asking for. Kaitlyn Davis was a prolific defender and shotblocker for USC. Each can rebound but fit within Sandy Brondello’s system feels iffy on the surface.
Preseason Thoughts:
Chauny: The Liberty followed their finals disasterclass up with an equally embarrassing preseason loss to Chicago to start the year. Sandy Brondello was disgusted in the postgame presser and for a good reason because why did they look like that? Everyone made a BIG stink about how this team loves each other and their chemistry is championship level too and they came out and played like a team that had just learned each other's names during shootaround.
Season Expectation:
Chauny: If they keep Jaylyn Sherrod they I think it makes up for Marine Johannés being out this year. They'll most likely contend for one of the top two spots for majority of the year.
Phoenix Mercury
Draft Selections: Jaz Shelley, Charisma Osborne.
Draft Grades:
Tyler: C. This was…fine for Phoenix? Coming into the draft they weren’t working with too much but I am most interested in seeing if Charisma Osborne can carve a role out for herself. While having been drafted late in the WNBA Draft, we have seen her play at a much higher level than what the pick would suggest.
Haub: C+. It’s hard to grade out Phoenix when they had two third round picks and a roster that is built to win now. Shelley and Osborne are both excellent guards at the college level and showed they can influence the game in a variety of ways. I’m especially interested in Osborne, who I felt had more to show at UCLA this season after a disappointing (relative to expectations) Sweet 16 exit in the NCAA Tournament. She was a first rounder on some preseason mock drafts and the talent is certainly there. But ultimately these selections are more about roster spots than it is about immediate contributors. And well…the initial draft grades turned out to be prescient, I guess…
Preseason Thoughts:
Chauny: The Mercury didn't need ANY of those 42 people they cut???
Season Expectation:
Chauny: The Mercury have a healthy balance of youth and experience and should slide in to the playoffs if they new head coach whose hand they have to hold during his new feminist journey can do his job properly. In a bizarre turn of events, Natasha Cloud is now besties with Sophie Cunningham so maybe she'll also be up for the task of teaching Coach Girl Dad about women's basketball.
Seattle Storm
Draft Selections: Nika Mühl, Mackenzie Holmes
Draft Grades:
Tyler: B+. UConn guard who wore #10 being drafted to Seattle in the first round? That will never work! Nike Mühl put everyone on notice in the NCAA Tournament with just how high of a level she can play on the defensive end. If the offensive side of the ball can become more consistent then the Storm have themselves a long term point guard.
Haub: B-. Drafting Holmes feels like a bit of a stash given that her surgery will take her out of this upcoming season. But I am a believer in her ability to hang on a roster for a little while. She has some shades of Megan Gustafson in her game and “Pancake Mama” has made a career in the W. As for Muhl, I saw all I needed to see in the Elite Eight and Final Four matchup. She’s an absolutely elite defender, even at her size and the question is if that can translate at the top level. There’s plenty of defense first guards that have struggled to stay on WNBA rosters, from Brea Beal to Didi Richards, so Muhl will have her work cut out for her to prove she has an offensive game that can keep her in Seattle. That can change the grade in retrospect.
Preseason Thoughts:
Chauny: ALWAYS HELP YOUR TEAMMATE UP! No but seriously, I loved, loved, LOVED the soundbite clip on the team page of Ezi Magbegor encouraging the team at practice. She still very young with so much potential in my opinion, so to hear her becoming more vocal is a great sign for the Storm. They all locked in to beat the brakes off of the Phoenix Mercury on behalf of Skylar Diggins-Smith so I’m liking what I’m seeing
Season Expectation:
Chauny: If they get clicking early I could see them pushing New York out of that two spot I have them in in my mind. I know I’ve said half the league will be competing for that 3 spot and they are one of them and honestly *might* have the best chance at knocking off the Aces? Far too soon to tell, but if it happens I will absolutely gloat.
Washington Mystics
Draft Selections: Aaliyah Edwards, Kaylynne Truong, Nastja Claessens
Draft Grades:
Tyler: A-. For me, Aaliyah Edwards got outshined at times being on the outside looking in of the solidified Top 4 but she brings star level potential to Washington. Kaylynne Truong will provide some extra spacing for Shakira Austin alongside Edwards. All and all, I see the vision.
Haub: B+ … Not only did the Mystics get a player at a position of need, they got arguably the best available player on the board at the time (maybe even got lucky with Dallas selecting Sheldon too). The Shakira Austin - Aaliyah Edwards pairing is going to be a lot of fun for Eric Thibault to work with especially as Elena Delle Donne looks to enter a different phase of her career. Claessens is a 19 year old draft-and-stash and Mike Thibault will always have some diamonds in the rough. That’s kind of his thing.
Preseason Thoughts:
Chauny: Why did they give their season ticket holders bags of microwave popcorn?
Season Expectation:
Chauny: I predict it's going to be a down year for the Mystics. I expect a healthy Shakira to take that leap and Aliyah Edwards to have a strong campaign backing her up, but the absence of Elena Delle Donne and Natasha Cloud will be felt. It's year two of the Mystics being in dire need of a certified bucket getter and right now I don't think the answer is on the current roster.