Catching Up, Clapping Back, and Breaking Down the WNBA's West Coast

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Full Circle is an Iheartwoman's sports production and partnership with
Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Hello everyone, welcome back to another episode of Full Circle.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
We missed you missed, y'all. Sorry that we were absent
last week. Somebody had a hair appointment.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
Listen. I was going to record during my hair appointment,
but I know how important it is for y'all to
see us, and unfortunately you were going to be able
to see us.

Speaker 3 (00:29):
It looks real cute.

Speaker 1 (00:30):
Thank you, Lexie.

Speaker 3 (00:31):
I love it. It was worth it. It was worth it.

Speaker 2 (00:33):
Guys.

Speaker 3 (00:33):
We're just girls.

Speaker 1 (00:34):
Sorry, And Lexi just so happens to be a professional
athlete starting her season, so we had a lot going on.

Speaker 3 (00:40):
We had a lot going on.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
I have something to say before we get into this
Western Conference in preseason talk that we're going to have
because y'all know, I'm off X, I'm off of there,
and I've been the happiest I've ever been in my
professional career since I've been off that platform. But from
time to time, things come across my desk that I'm
involved in and instead of logging back in to address it.

Speaker 3 (01:07):
I'm gonna just address it on my show.

Speaker 2 (01:09):
So I'm not going to specifically say what tweet was
brought to my attention, but what I want to say
about Full Circle Podcast.

Speaker 3 (01:19):
Okay, I wrote this down.

Speaker 2 (01:21):
Okay, I had to write it down, you see, guys,
I have it written down because I can't miss any
of these points I'm about to make. Okay, bear with me, y'all,
so this podcast, I need y'all hopefully to appreciate my
perspective in this space because I've.

Speaker 3 (01:34):
Experienced so much in my career.

Speaker 2 (01:36):
I've been a starter, I've been a bench player, I've
been a role player. I've been a multiple D and
P player. I've been waved, I've been brought back, I've
been waved. Like anything you can experience as a professional
WNBA basketball player, I have experienced firsthand. Nothing I'm talking
about has been not experienced by me personally. So I

(01:57):
hope that you guys can, like at least appreciate shape
my perspective in that regard because I've experienced a lot
of stuff. I won't go down my accomplishments and my
milestones or anything because y'all can go on Google.

Speaker 3 (02:10):
If y'all really care that much, it's all right there.

Speaker 2 (02:13):
I also grew up in a house with probably one
of the brightest basketball minds I've ever talked to, in
my father, right. So he's a former NBA player, coached
in the NBA, coach in the WNBA front office, NBA,
all of the things that I talk to him every
single day. I was raised in that house, so I
have knowledge in that regard. So we're not going to

(02:34):
take this show and use it as an opportunity to
minimize my love and knowledge for the game, like people
tend to minimize my game in the WNBA as a player,
and that's been going on for almost my entire career.
You don't have to agree with anything that I say.
You don't have to agree with anything that Mariah says.
But I do want this platform to encourage intellectual conversations

(02:57):
about women's basketball. But if you do disagree, you do
not have to take personal digs or shots at me
as a player or as a person to get your
point across, Because now I don't care, I don't care
what point you're trying to make. If you make it personal,
especially from people that have zero professional basketball experience. I mean,

(03:19):
you have not logged a single second in the WNBA.
I do not care about anything you have to say
about me as a player. I don't I don't care
that you think that I'm not good enough to be
in the league.

Speaker 3 (03:30):
There's a ten minute video of me on YouTube.

Speaker 2 (03:33):
Making only three pointers, ten minutes of me making threes
from one season, and people still say I am not
a good shooter.

Speaker 3 (03:39):
I don't care.

Speaker 2 (03:40):
Y'all are gonna say whatever y'all want to say, but
I want this to be a space for us to
have intelligent, analytical conversations about basketball and.

Speaker 3 (03:49):
Not emotional ones.

Speaker 2 (03:50):
There's been like constant attempts to humble me, to silence
me because people think that I'm not good enough to
be in the league. I'm very proud of career that
I've put together. I spent a lot of time in
the gym. I study the game a lot, I look
at stats, I watch a lot of film, and in
my career there's been like an endless amount of things

(04:10):
that I've been completely out of my control, and all
I can do is show up and do my job.

Speaker 3 (04:14):
And that's what I've done.

Speaker 2 (04:15):
Instead of quitting or feeling sorry for myself. I've poured
into the mental side of the game and I fell
in love with it in a different way. This is
my platform, this is our show that we built, and
I love talking about basketball, and I'm always gonna include
myself in these conversations. I'm not excluded or immune to
anything that we talk about, and we gonna get into

(04:36):
that later, even when we're talking about the storm, the sparks,
everything that has been going on, the changes that have
been made. I don't exclude myself from anything positive or negative.
I was definitely hitting a stride in my career before
I got sick, like turning a real corner, and unfortunately,
sometimes in pro sports you have a very small window

(04:56):
to turn that corner. And I don't want to say
that my window has closed, but if that was my
only window, then it is what it is.

Speaker 3 (05:04):
I was making the most of that opportunity. I had
no idea what.

Speaker 2 (05:08):
Crones was gonna do to my basketball career. There were
moments where I thought I was never gonna be able
to play basketball again. So in order to continue to
stay engaged to the game that I love in the
occasion that I would be able to return, I had
to like stay engaged to what was going on in
the WNBA, the NBA to see how the game was changing.
So when I did come back, I wouldn't have I
wouldn't get left behind. It's taken me two years to

(05:31):
get back physically to compete at this level. It's not easy,
Like I don't understand why people think this league is
an easy league to be a part of. It's fucking
hard to be a WNBA player. But last night, when
I got on that court, I was so happy, like
I did.

Speaker 3 (05:47):
Not even care that I missed all my shots. I
did not care.

Speaker 2 (05:51):
Like I was out there, I was bumping people, I
was getting open, like I haven't felt like that in
two years on the WNBA floor.

Speaker 3 (05:59):
So I I don't want.

Speaker 2 (06:01):
I don't want people to take this show and use
it as another weapon to minimize me as a WNBA player,
as an athlete, as a person, as a woman, as
a black woman.

Speaker 3 (06:10):
I don't want. This is not that. And if people
want to.

Speaker 2 (06:13):
Clip out things that we say and try to make
it a negative thing, like there's nothing we can do
about that, Like.

Speaker 3 (06:20):
We said, what we're saying is what we're saying.

Speaker 2 (06:23):
If people want to clip a thirty second thing and
put it up and make it look like we're being negative,
like that's like, that's that's an issue with you. Last
thing is again, like I said, I did not care
that I didn't score last night. I don't have to
score one point at all this season for me to
deem this as a success. Because the hole that I
had to pull myself out of after being diagnosed with

(06:43):
crohnes was a deep one and I don't think people
really understand how sick I was, and I minimize the
severity of it because I didn't want to make excuses,
but it kind of led to me being like more
misunderstood than I already was, and that was something that
I wasn't expecting. And unfortunately, like I've been taken away
from the game, so I had to find other ways

(07:04):
to stay locked in to basketball and it's brought me
to new opportunities.

Speaker 3 (07:07):
So thankfully I have this show I'm.

Speaker 2 (07:10):
On Gills Arena, and being on Gills Arena it made
me realize that we don't have a space like that
in women's basketball where you can bring current players former
players together to break down games, bring real analysis, share experiences,
good and bad, talk a little shit, give flowers, and
then ultimately, like just respect the game as a whole.
So there's not going to be any negativity on this show, Like,

(07:32):
yes we're gonna talk stats, yes we're going to talk analysis,
but ultimately this is a very positive space and I'm
not going to allow people to take our beautiful baby
and make it into something that it's not. I'm very
happy that y'all are listening though. That's what I have
from it, like y'all tune then. But there's so much
that goes into being successful at the highest level and

(07:56):
having longevity is a blessing. So going into year eight
feeling this way, feeling confident about my future in this
league is something that I'm.

Speaker 3 (08:03):
So grateful for.

Speaker 2 (08:04):
And I wish that there were more conversations like this
when I was growing up, from real players and people
like you, Mariah, who genuinely want to uplift the sport,
real insight again.

Speaker 3 (08:13):
Giving flowers.

Speaker 2 (08:14):
I mean, ultimately, that's what this show is going to
be about, too, is just giving flowers as often as
we can. This was a little long winded, but I
had to get this off because I feel like that
quickly people forgot what this podcast was about so hopefully
this is like a little cute reminder about what we're
doing on full circle, and that is bringing real, genuine,

(08:34):
positive conversations to women's basketball. Y'all, not Finn turn this
into something nasty, because that's not what it is. Okay,
do we have it? Got it clip that post that
thank you? Okay, onto basketball.

Speaker 1 (08:48):
I just want to say before we move on to
the Western Conference quote unquote, is what we're calling it
analysis That just because we want this to be a
positive platform and we want to have analytical and productive
conversations about women's basketball does not mean that every single
thing we say has to be like worshiping every single

(09:11):
even you, Lexi, Like it doesn't mean that every single
thing we say has to be There are going to
be things that we cover that are like, Okay, this
could be improved that, like on the court, this could
be improved this, she could get better at this. This
team could have gotten this piece in the off season
to make themselves better. In no other sport is expected
that we're supposed to sit here and be a show

(09:33):
about analysis and being real and unfiltered. And Gil's arenas
a perfect example, Lexi, you sit there every day and
watch them talk to retired players and talk amongst each
other's every single thing they say. I just love this,
I love it's so good last night.

Speaker 3 (09:47):
Even though they lost by thirty.

Speaker 1 (09:49):
Like, you know, let's not talk about the Clippers and
what James Harden did in his fifth game seven fumbling.
You know, let's only talk about the Nuggets. That doesn't
no basketball fan even wants to hear that. When y'all
are in the barbershop, or when y'all in the hair salon,
or when y'allre talking to your friends, y'all aren't having
only exclusively she did so good last night conversations. Otherwise
you wouldn't be clipping out what we have to say

(10:11):
and trying to negate it and putting it on X
to get people to jump us. So all I have
to say is, if you're a real sports fan, having
real sports fan conversations, you know that just because Lexi
has something to say about a certain lineup or this
or that or moves being made or analysis or whatever,
and you're gonna attack her because you don't agree is ridiculous,
because any fan that has any conversations are going to

(10:35):
mention those things regardless and I did see a few
tweets of these examples, and I won't get into the specifics,
but a lot of people actually in their responses agreed
Lexi what we were talking.

Speaker 3 (10:46):
About, so ha haha.

Speaker 1 (10:49):
But like, I just want to say that just because
we do bring up because it does happen with sports,
like we're gonna have to talk about this person not
having the best game or this or that. But Lexi,
being a knows that when you're actually in those rooms
and end practice in those games at the end of
the day, they know that there are bigger things going on.
Like if Leuxi's like I didn't score a point last night,
but I don't really care because you don't know all

(11:09):
the stuff I had to overcome. But we're having these
conversations about what's going on on the court. We're not
attacking your favorite player or favorite team or favorite person.
Like we're having conversations that you would have about any
other sports. So exactly, that's all I wanted to say, Like,
don't expect us to come on here and be like
like we mean positive in the sense that it's good

(11:31):
for the game, and it's like what we wish was
out there, not like we're gonna be undug fake'll because
I know a lot of our listeners want us to
be real. We are going to be real. We're not
going to be coming for people obviously, Like I feel
like that's all ever and.

Speaker 2 (11:45):
Y'all don't need to then y'all in return, like y'all
don't need to come for us. Just if you disagree
with what I'm saying, give me some what we said,
y'allso effective field goal percentage pace net Ready. I came
in with real numbers to back what we're talking about
when we're previewing these teams for the season. If you
disagree with what I'm saying, bring me some bring me

(12:06):
some numbers. Don't show me videos. You can find videos
of anything. You could put a highlight reel of me
together and be like, damn, is she the best player
in the league, Like you.

Speaker 3 (12:16):
Can do anything or a low light reel, but people
do exactly.

Speaker 2 (12:20):
You could just show yes there's a level of eye test,
Yes that exists.

Speaker 1 (12:24):
But we're talking about w NBA players and we talk
about all the time how difficult it is to get
into stay at that level. I mean, we're singing now
like roster cuts are being made. Changes are being made.
We see how hard it gets to that level. Obviously,
if we're talking about something or we're like this team
needs to do that, we're not saying, oh, this person
is incapable of making a jump shot, exactly, No shit
that can make a jump shot. They're impressional basketball player.

(12:47):
We're saying that there are other people on other teams
that might be better at this specific skill, that might
be good in this specific spot. Obviously, everybody can do
when I asked too, if they were on a college
team right now, they probably can do everything on the court.
They're professional basketball players. Are just making critiques and blah
bah blah blah blah. If you aren't the champions, you
obviously don't need anything. We don't have a perfect time

(13:08):
right right, so things are gonna come up. It doesn't
we're not being negative. Everybody's good, So let's go ahead
and get that out of the way.

Speaker 3 (13:14):
Everybody is good.

Speaker 1 (13:15):
Yeah, if you're gonna clip me saying something negative about
what somebody's game last night, obviously I'm not a professional
woman's basketball player. I know, like you, you don't have
to come for me and LEXI, like, we know everyone's good.

Speaker 3 (13:26):
Leave us alone, Please leave us so much love. But
keep listening.

Speaker 1 (13:29):
Yeah, you can keep listening. And obviously, LEXI to you.
People are gonna as we go on to this and
as we get into the w NBA season, that's gonna happen.

Speaker 3 (13:36):
Every week.

Speaker 1 (13:36):
We're gonna get clipped. People are gonna say stuff about
the stuff we ever say. We just gotta keep talking
because obviously they're listening.

Speaker 2 (13:42):
And I'm gonna say this because this is how like
life works. There is a hierarchy of expectation and performance
based on your pay.

Speaker 3 (13:53):
And I'm not a pocket watcher by any means.

Speaker 2 (13:57):
I'm so happy that we all get to make money
playing basketball doing what we love. But there is no
reason why anybody should ever come for the ninth highest paid.

Speaker 3 (14:09):
Player on a WNBA team for anything.

Speaker 2 (14:12):
I'm sorry, Like whatever, our salaries are public information, so
I don't care about talking about mine. I'm like the
next highest paid player after.

Speaker 3 (14:21):
Rookies, like cool.

Speaker 2 (14:24):
I'm so grateful for that, but like y'all not gonna
talk to me like I'm making all this money under
underachieving and not doing I really genuinely feel that I'm
I'm getting paid what my status have shown in my career.
You know, someplace, right place, right time for me. I'm
just saying, before y'all start coming for me, y'all go

(14:45):
look at the box score and be like, oh, what
is this. Let's keep everything in the right perspective as well.

Speaker 1 (14:51):
But also Lexi, you don't I've never averaged a point
in anything ever. And I'm gonna say what I want regardless,
because if y'all want to to say something good for you,
you go find somebody to give you a mike to
talk about it. We're in it.

Speaker 2 (15:02):
Go buy your own mike.

Speaker 3 (15:04):
Yeah, do your thing. That's all y'all have done. Actually,
y'all all got mine.

Speaker 1 (15:09):
And also at Lexi, when people are coming for you
about that thing about the ninth highest paid kind of situation,
like you ask those people how much they're getting paid
to pay professional basketball? How many points do they average
in a professional basketball league?

Speaker 2 (15:21):
Yeah, I mean, I just think perspective is key. So
while we're doing this, my level of self awareness is
very high. I don't want anybody to think that we
are on this show. I'm putting myself on this pedestal
like I'm all knowing everything. I know a lot of
shit it's because I care about it and I love
it and I'm in this space. I'm I exist here.
There are not a lot of players that I can

(15:43):
have high level dialogue about all basketball with. And that's
not a shot at anybody. That's just reality. That's why,
Like I have my own show, and I talk to
you and sometimes talk to myself, like it's not something
that I have a lot of conversations with with people
that I'm around all the time, and that's okay.

Speaker 3 (16:04):
But I do understand who I am.

Speaker 2 (16:07):
I understand my stats, I understand my career, I understand
my health situation, like all those things are going on
my head when I get on this show every week.
So I don't want anybody to ever think that I'm
coming on here and I think that I'm better than anybody,
I'm above anybody, or any of those things.

Speaker 3 (16:21):
I just really want to talk about women's basketball, that's all. Okay,
Now let's actually start talking.

Speaker 1 (16:28):
And see Lexi is being very humble, but you're about
to hear some really great analysis out of a really
smart basketball mind, and y'all can shut up and get
thanks for right, Okay, Lexi. We're preseason, which is super
super exciting finally.

Speaker 2 (16:49):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (16:49):
Yeah, So as we go through these teams, I guess
if you want, if you want, before we get into
the teams, we could give a little recap of anything
that stuck out to you throughout preseason.

Speaker 3 (17:00):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (17:00):
The thing about preseason is we've all had one week
of practices, which, depending on how teams do their off
days and.

Speaker 3 (17:08):
Stuff, that's like four or five practices.

Speaker 2 (17:11):
Okay, So I don't really look at preseason to see
or formulate any real opinions, honestly, but I have five
things from the games that I saw from preseason.

Speaker 3 (17:24):
First thing is Vegas wants to win now. They came
out belt to ask they were reselling game.

Speaker 4 (17:32):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (17:32):
I was like, they look really good right now. So
say that.

Speaker 2 (17:36):
Two is that Dallas has some very difficult decisions to make.
Despite the score of the game, their rookies came out
and hooped. They looked really good for that being their
first WNBA game. I think Dallas is still gonna They're
still finding their identity. They're a very young team with
a lot of young talent and rookies, so their roster

(17:57):
cuts are going to be brutal already know they are.
Third thing is made the perfect moves in free agency.
They brought in exactly what they needed. I feel like, again,
it's preseason. Caitlin didn't play the first game, then she
played the second game in Iowa, which was an amazing
atmosphere to see on TV. That was incredible to see,

(18:17):
and they looked good. They looked very contending, I feel like,
but again, one week of practices, so I'm excited to
see how that shakes out. And the fourth thing in Chicago,
the Tyler Marsh era has begun. That Chicago team looks
night and day compared to the last year's Chicago Sky team.

(18:37):
And yes, they played the Brazilian national team, so that's
not a very good sample size in my opinion because
that team is very young. Shout out to them though,
for coming over here and challenging themselves. That's not easy
to do as a teenager to come play professional basketball players.
So shout out to the Brazilian national team. But you
can tell that he's he's making his energy felt and

(18:57):
how he wants to play basketball.

Speaker 3 (18:59):
So that was really good to see.

Speaker 2 (19:00):
And then the one thing I'll say about our team,
the Seattle Storm is we gonna play some defense and yeah,
and We'll get more into that when we get into
our breakdowns. So who do you want to start with?
What team you want to start with?

Speaker 1 (19:13):
Well, I'll say, y'all kind of put about the ass too,
but that's a conversation for no day. But Okay, we're
gonna do a quick vibe check because the preseason just
kicked off, and so we're gonna go team by team
through the West and what we're excited about and what
the fans can expect to see for this season. Okay,
starting with Minnesota, I think the biggest headline about them

(19:35):
is that they've got the same core, but a different
kind of energy is what they're trying to go into
the season with Lexi. As far as the numbers, what
are you seeing from them?

Speaker 2 (19:43):
So back to our three numbers that we used when
we broke down the Eastern teams, effective field goal, pace,
net rating, So the Links were fourth and effective field
goal tenth in pace, and third in net rating. So
I think that when you think about pace, like yes,
you're you're going to think, oh, that means they just

(20:04):
play really slow. That's not necessarily what pace means. I
remember last year, the biggest thing about guarding the Links
is that, Yes, they play a very half court game,
but they play it fast, like their cuts are fast,
their actions are fast, their player like everybody is always moving,
but they like to settle into the half court. They

(20:24):
don't play as much transition, even though they're very good
in transition. And then they were knocking down threes all
over the place. So when you think of pace with
the links, yes they were tenth, but their offense was
very very hard to guard because.

Speaker 3 (20:37):
They ran it at such a high level.

Speaker 2 (20:39):
And it like it kind of goes against like the
logic of oh, how they tenth and pace, but they
run their offense fast.

Speaker 3 (20:45):
But that's just because they like to sit in the
half court.

Speaker 2 (20:47):
So yeah, they made absolutely no change in free agency,
which I think is a good idea. We already talked
about it weeks ago, how we thought that they should
have won the finals. So they come in with a
chip on their shoulder. They traded away their first round pick.
They were like, nah, we good over here. We don't
need no, we don't need no rookies in here. Courtney
and Fie played together and unrivaled. They looked great and

(21:11):
k Mack was one of the best players at unrivaled.
I think then went from unrivaled and went and played
in euro League.

Speaker 3 (21:17):
So k Mack is ready. K Mack is ready to go.

Speaker 2 (21:20):
And to me, this team was already really talented and
already had a chip on their shoulder, I don't know
what kind of chip Bisco looked like. I think everyone
should be absolutely terrified of the Links, and I'm really
excited to see what type of beast comes out because
the way they lost the finals was so devastating, and

(21:44):
I just know that they're ready to come back and
belt to ass all season long.

Speaker 1 (21:50):
So yeah, yeah, for those who don't know, like Lexie said,
they made virtually no changes and their entire starting five
is back, and so they really their focused for the
season is can they get even better and not just
stay the same, which, like Lexi said, is terrifying because
they were already incredible. Lexi and your opinion, would you

(22:10):
count them as the biggest threat to New York possibly
running it back?

Speaker 2 (22:14):
I would say, honestly right now, And this is a
very this is biased, and I'm biased for us, of course,
but what I've been I know is not about us
right now. When I was talking about the storm, right now,
what I've seen in our training camp has been very special,
and I want to say that we are definitely contenders
as well. But I mean, based on what we've seen

(22:36):
last year to this year, yeah, I would say Minnesota
is probably the biggest threat to the Liberty running it back, Yeah,
for sure.

Speaker 1 (22:43):
Or the biggest threat to you know, whoever they might
see in the finals of things.

Speaker 2 (22:48):
And honestly, yeah, and honestly because the way our playoffs
is set up, because it's not east and West, like
Minnesota could be the best team on this side and
the Liberty could be the best on this side. But
depending on where they're falling one through eight, like they
could even meet each other even earlier than the finals.

Speaker 3 (23:07):
So I mean, like, I mean, I love that we
do it that way.

Speaker 2 (23:10):
I'm glad that we don't have the conferences. I love
that it's just one through eight. But I'm really excited
to see what that Minnesota team looks like. Alisa Peelee,
I think is also going to be a very big
part of their jump. She played with us in Nashville
au looked amazing, So seeing her jump from rookie year
to year two, I'm really excited about.

Speaker 3 (23:29):
So, yeah, Minnesota.

Speaker 2 (23:31):
They come in like, I don't think anybody is overlooking
them like they did last year at all. I think
Fee is going to be a favorite for MVP. I
think she got that attention a lot later than she
should have. Obviously, that award was ages from like All
Star Break.

Speaker 3 (23:48):
Like she had that locked up.

Speaker 2 (23:49):
But I think Fee can give her a real run
for her money to repeat as MVP if she if
she puts together a season like she did last year,
and then they potentially get to the finals again.

Speaker 3 (24:00):
So shout out to the Minnesota Links.

Speaker 1 (24:02):
Let's get into the next seam. Okay, so next we're
gonna get into the Las Vegas Aces. We kind of
tease them a little bit, but just to give you
guys some context, the biggest headline for the Aces is
is Asia Wilson somehow getting better? And is she going
to run it back MVP wise. She's coming off of
the best single season in WNBA history with twenty six
point nine points per game MVP all the records, y'all

(24:25):
saw it. Nick Commercial will sick shout out to her.
But yeah, the vibe in camp was very serious but
quote unquote fresh, and there seems to be no burnout. Obviously,
Kelsey Plumb is gone, she was traded to the Sparks.
Jewel Lloyd is now stepping into that third score role.
And the tiny undercurrent is that this could be could
be Asia's quote unquote last year in Vegas with free

(24:49):
agency looming in twenty twenty six.

Speaker 3 (24:52):
I don't think that's going to happen. They should rename
it to the Las Vegas Asians. I don't think she's
going anywhere.

Speaker 2 (25:00):
Numbers wise, effective field goal percentage two, pace for net
rating four, so top five in those categories, which is
not surprising. Like we said earlier, they looked really good
in that preseason game. They had two of their assistants
leave for head coaching jobs, which is amazing for them. Congratulations.
They added, like you said, Juel Lloyd, Tiffany Mitchell, Dana Evans,

(25:23):
and Liz Kitley who they drafted last year, but she
was injured. So this is the first time since they
Vegas got good that we've seen like a major personnel change.
When you have Chelsea Gray as your point guard, I
think you're going to be okay no matter who's on
your team. And when you have Ajil Wilson as your superstar.
You're gonna win games, so it's a matter of Honestly,

(25:45):
I think the key to this season will be Jackie Young.

Speaker 3 (25:48):
I think she has been.

Speaker 2 (25:49):
Their most consistent player offensively and defensively. And I think
that she gets overlooked a lot because she's quiet. If
you look at her numbers, they're crazy, strong as hell.

Speaker 3 (26:01):
She's smart.

Speaker 2 (26:03):
Like I said, she don't say much, so people kind
of forget about her sometimes. But I owe, every time
you play the Aces, you feel Jackie Young. She had
twenty eight points in their scrimmage, and then we said
that one thing that they were lacking last season was
consistency from the three point line, so they added some
three point shooters to give Asian more space to operate.

Speaker 3 (26:22):
Chelsea Gray seems to be in her bag, in her groove.

Speaker 2 (26:26):
She looks good, she looks healthy, she's moving well, but
she still needs space.

Speaker 3 (26:30):
That's why she was so good and unrivaled because she
had unlimited space in.

Speaker 2 (26:34):
Three on three and the gem of the draft uh
Eleiah and I I think she had eighteen points in
the preseason game, all threes.

Speaker 3 (26:41):
I think majority threes.

Speaker 2 (26:43):
They have some good rookies in there too, so I'm
excited for Vegas too, like you, it's all these new
eras happening. You know, you have your back to back
championships and pretty much some of your focal points of
your team, whether they were major players or just role
players on which are still very important, like the Alicia

(27:03):
Clarkson and Sydney Colson's like those are still very important
pieces to a championship team and a championship run.

Speaker 3 (27:09):
They're gone. How is Vegas gonna have this new identity?
Like you said, you mentioned.

Speaker 2 (27:13):
They're serious and for so many years they were kind
of like the unseerious team, like the unseerious like all Stars, Like,
it seems like they're not that anymore. It seems like
they're kind of like, now we we come in like
this is we're not funny ha ha no more. Like
as much as everyone loved that about them, it seems
like they're kind of like they still have that energy,

(27:35):
that fun energy, but it seems like they're a lot
more locked in, which is again terrifying for of us.

Speaker 1 (27:44):
Well, thinking about last year when they had their little
role and Asia stop wearing outfits. You remember, and it
was like I'm blocking in, Like I'm really not playing
with y'all white tea shirts only it feels like that
is kind of the vibe switch that they've had. It's like, Okay, yes,
we won those championships, Yes we have this MVP. Yes, yes, yes,

(28:04):
but we're not satisfied with that, and so we can't
keep playing around like oh we're satisfied, like oh yay, whoo,
we're just them.

Speaker 2 (28:12):
It seels like like they comeing in with like black
air Force energy, right.

Speaker 1 (28:17):
Which is scary because but also we've talked about this before.
I feel like when you're great, you kind of have
to be sick in the head in a way to
like make these little games for yourself to make it fun,
because being great can be boring, like constantly winning, constantly
hitting the same goals in your schedule, constantly living that
same way, it can get boring. So having these little

(28:38):
games of like treating yourself like an underdog again and
like oh no, we have to get back to that place.
And having to make those little switches to keep things
fresh for Asia, having to add pieces so that she
has space to operate, Like making those little adjustments is important,
and I think that Vegas is doing a great job
making sure that they're constantly getting better or not doing

(28:59):
things that are too drastic, but like constantly getting better
in those little ways so that.

Speaker 2 (29:03):
They have Stey and they responded an adjusted well to
Plumb leaving. That wasn't like a shock to anybody really,
Like that was a conversation that was happening before free
agency even started. That Plumb probably wanted to make a
change for herself, which is absolutely understandable and.

Speaker 3 (29:20):
Okay to do that. But yeah, when you lose even
the coaches that they brought in great.

Speaker 2 (29:26):
Hires, I feel like, so I'm I'm looking forward to
to Vegas as well, Like I'm just seeing very intentional
moves being made by so many teams that we just
have never seen before. The one thing I'm interested in
seeing is how the three point attempt fluctuates throughout the season.
So I don't think we're ever going to get to

(29:47):
where the NBA is as far as three point attempts one.
We don't have enough time and we play a lot
more defense than the NBA, respectfully. But you know, in
Vegas's preseason game, I think they got up thirty two
threes in.

Speaker 3 (29:59):
Comparison to us.

Speaker 2 (30:00):
Last night, we only got up sixteen, So it's gonna
be interesting where that number migrates to throughout the course
of a season and what teams rise to the top
and they're I mean, I'm a shooter. And that's just
something that's been the conversation around the NBA season is.

Speaker 3 (30:15):
Oh, too many threes.

Speaker 2 (30:16):
Too many threes, but they're fun and they're worth more points.
Like simple as that threes are worth more than twos.
So for me, like seeing a team like Vegas made
a conscious effort to get more three point shooting on
that team, and you look at our team, who we
made an effort to get more three point shooting on
our team, Like where that number is gonna is gonna lie?

(30:38):
Let me go look at what the WNBA average for
three point attempts last year was.

Speaker 1 (30:42):
While you look at that, I do feel like I
am more I'm a fan of watching I either want
to watch like crazy and when I say defense, I
mean like Beeflowky. I either want to watch that or
I want to watch hell threes like in the m NBA,
You're gonna kill wait like that in the MMBA, I'm
a Warriors girl like down but with that we saw

(31:05):
in their series against Houston, Houston having that crazy defense
when your shot isn't falling, it's kind of like they're.

Speaker 3 (31:11):
Looking a little bit.

Speaker 1 (31:12):
It's like, y'all can't get a two. Come on, the
threes aren't working right now, y'all can't get it too,
So there has to be balanced there because then when
the SHOT's not falling, your whole.

Speaker 3 (31:20):
Game is exactly you live by it and you die
by it.

Speaker 2 (31:23):
Not if you have a system though, which is why
I mean, I know this is a women's boxswall show,
but that's why the Celtics are so good because despite
all their three point shooting, they have a system in
place and they're very elite at making twos.

Speaker 3 (31:34):
So that's why no one can stop them.

Speaker 1 (31:37):
Well, this applies to what we're talking about too, because
it's like the w's kind of finding. Like you said,
there's not the time to be living and dying by
the three.

Speaker 3 (31:44):
So okay, while I find this, what's the next team?

Speaker 1 (31:48):
Oh well, I'm glad you brought up your storm because
next step we have the Seattle Storm. So the biggest
headline for y'all is that you're in a new era,
which Alexi are very old. Lexei is a huge part
of but it is officially deemed Necho Goomakay and Skylar
Diggins time to lead, and I'm considering y'all contenders. I

(32:09):
know we've been very vocal about that, but even if
you weren't my friend and co host, I would still
think so. After a little bit of locker room tension
last year, things have changed and they have handed leadership
officially to Mecca and sky Neka looks way more comfortable
with Seattle. She says it feels like home now and
Skyler's back in elite shape. I want to check in

(32:30):
on your rookie, because we were going to talk last week.
She hadn't reported.

Speaker 3 (32:35):
According to reports, she's here and she is tall as shit.

Speaker 2 (32:39):
Okay, tall gourage, tall girl. Yeah, she's at our game
last night.

Speaker 1 (32:45):
I love it, she so. Dominiqueaz reported from France.

Speaker 3 (32:52):
Yes, love it.

Speaker 1 (32:53):
And so the questions that are surrounding you guys are
do the Storm have a real shot to contend or
are y'all a piece away? And I'm curious, being in
those locker rooms, being at practice, being in training camp,
what are you seeing as an argument of why you
could or couldn't contend or if there are pieces you

(33:13):
feel like you guys should be looking for.

Speaker 3 (33:15):
The biggest thing I've seen is our roster depths.

Speaker 2 (33:20):
I genuinely believe that we have two lineups that can
go in and make an impact at any given time,
which you don't really see that in the w usually
see like seven eight players. Like I genuinely believe our
entire team, top to bottom, will be able to go
into a game and contribute.

Speaker 3 (33:41):
Now, how we distribute.

Speaker 2 (33:43):
Minutes and all that kind of stuff, like, I'm just
glad I'm not a coach, because it's a hard thing
to do. Like, as good as your whole team could be, realistically,
it's very hard to play more than eight players significant
amount of minutes. So I think that the best thing
about this team is that there's a maturity in our
locker room that roles can be established and enforced and

(34:07):
everybody in the locker room is going to accept that
role and be the best at it, which again that
is also something that's that's not easy to do. The
goal is a championship, and we want one badly. In
one week of camp, I've just the things that I've
experienced here in Seattle has been things that I've never

(34:29):
experienced in my career at all, from the conversations, from
the terminology, the facility is incredible, and not just because
of what it looks like and what it has in there,
but you're able to interact with your teammates off the court,
but still in the confines of work. So like, yeah,
like we can hang out in the in the ice

(34:49):
tub together, we can lift together, we can get shots
up together. Like it's not just like the the intenseness
and the competitiveness of practice.

Speaker 3 (34:58):
And then you just go home and then we show
up again the next day.

Speaker 2 (35:01):
Like there's space it, we can go eat, we can
have coffee at the facility together. Like there's so many
different spaces to interact with your teammates and your coaching staff.
In front office, like everybody's like the whole office, Like
everybody is.

Speaker 3 (35:14):
In the building. So it's really a family energy.

Speaker 2 (35:18):
And you know, not no shade to any other organizations
I've been a part of, but like they just don't
have you don't have the resources like that, so you
can't have experiences like that, you can't build a culture
like that because it's very hard. So I personally am
just so grateful and happy to be in Seattle, and
I personally don't know what role I'm going to be given.

(35:40):
We still have Ezi, Gabby, and Dominique not in camp yet.
They're all in Seattle, but none of them have practiced
with us yet. So that's three pieces that we haven't
even seen on the court yet with what we have going,
which is already going pretty well in my opinion. So
whatever role they need me to play, which I already know,
is going to be, shoot the ball. Know that. So
it's gonna be up to me to knock those shots down,

(36:02):
whether I get three shots a game or twenty three
shots a game.

Speaker 3 (36:05):
Like my job is to knock the shots down.

Speaker 2 (36:07):
But Neca and Skyler are absolutely the leaders of this team.

Speaker 3 (36:12):
They've been amazing.

Speaker 2 (36:14):
They haven't missed a practice, They do all.

Speaker 3 (36:17):
The reps like just real vets through and through. Like
we are a little old.

Speaker 2 (36:22):
We are an older team, but I'm still considered one
of the young ones, which is fun. I would like
to say experienced, but I'm really excited. We have a
lot of emphasis on defense. Like I said earlier, we
want to play in transition. We want to run their
numbers last year effective field goal nine, pace three, net
rating five, so pretty average for the most part. The

(36:45):
thing that was glaring to me was their three point percentage,
which was under thirty percent as a team, which is
actually horrible. Yeah, that's why you're there, added me Ac
Katie Lou, which she actually tore ACL so up to Lou,
love you, Gurly Pop and Eric Wheeler.

Speaker 3 (37:03):
So three to four. Very season vets.

Speaker 2 (37:07):
Know how to play the game, know how to be
amazing at their roles, mean Ac bring championship experience. Ac
is back in Seattle, which the fans were so excited
about her being back last night. Shout out to the
Seattle Storm fans. Though, by the way all preess a
game was it was real.

Speaker 1 (37:25):
That was gonna be one of my questions.

Speaker 3 (37:27):
It was real fun. So this season gonna be lit.
I'm excited.

Speaker 2 (37:30):
Like a lot of people are a little sleep on us,
I feel like because there is a lot of newness,
but like I said, there's like a maturity in this
locker room that I've never experienced before.

Speaker 3 (37:39):
So I'm really looking forward to this season for us.

Speaker 1 (37:42):
A couple of questions, So you've been in several locker
rooms and you obviously are a pro with this, and
I feel like one thing the fans I feel would
want to know a little bit more about, especially considering
the team that you're on. I feel like Skuyler and
Neka got a little bit of flack lash as quote
unquote leaders and fans aren't even in the locker room.

(38:02):
They don't know them. They're experiencing that from what you're saying,
though they're doing a really great job with that. What specifically,
as leaders, do you feel like to lead you to
a championship, because that's ultimately the goal is happening in
Seattle that hadn't happened before, and what is making it
such a great experience? Like as far as them leading
the team.

Speaker 2 (38:23):
Well, one, they both work so hard, like Mecca's in
the gym before everybody. They both take excellent care of
their bodies, which is such like an underrated thing about
being a professional athlete. Is the recovery and activation and mobility,
like all the things that they do to stay fresh.
You know, everyone looks at Lebron like Lebron is like
pinnacle of person taking care of their body, But like

(38:45):
us as women, we go through way more stuff in
our bodies than men do. Skylar's had two kids and
the way she showed up to camp, she looked like
she could go to war. Like the how good in
shape she is is it's so amazing to me after
having two children, and then even Mekka, like Nekka was
telling us before camp even started, like she really locked

(39:08):
into getting her body right in the off season and she.

Speaker 3 (39:10):
Is moving like twenty sixteen me, mep Neka like she is.
She looks great.

Speaker 2 (39:16):
So I think for them, it's like I'm just speaking
from my perspective. Looking at them as leaders is like
the way that they they gonna tell you what to do,
but they're not going to tell you something that they're
not doing themselves. And for some players you might not
like that. It's not easy to get up early and
come to the gym early. It's not easy to lift

(39:36):
every day. It's not easy to get your stretching in,
it's not easy to go on the ice to sometimes
you just want to go home and get in the bed, like,
but they gonna tell you to take care of your
body and stay you ass in shape because they're taking
care of their bodies and they stay in the ass
in shape. So for me looking at them, anything that
they say, I'm listening because they practice exactly what they preach.

(39:59):
So for me, that's like an ideal leader in my opinion,
Like you're not going to tell me something and I
look and you don't.

Speaker 3 (40:04):
You literally doing an opposite what you just told me
to do.

Speaker 1 (40:07):
Agreed, especially since you're like, okay, you're not going to be,
you know, at the gym before let me get to
the gym. I don't want to be looking like I'm
the last one every day exactly exactly.

Speaker 2 (40:15):
So they challenge their teammates in the best way possible
because they want the best for everybody. They want to
bring the best out of everybody, and I think that's
something that I as a as a teammate I appreciate
and a leader.

Speaker 3 (40:28):
But it's not like that leadership style is not for everybody,
but it's for me, so I like it. I love
it here.

Speaker 1 (40:33):
I also want to ask you about and this isn't
just Storm specific. I guess the Storm is leading me
to ask you this question, but league wise, you mentioned
the depth that you guys have and the fact that
it is difficult to play more than like eight players,
and how as a clocial, stetypical job to devvy out
what everyone's role is going to be because you have
so many great players and you want to play everyone,
but you can't. You have to make it make sense.

(40:55):
As far as the WNBA having so much talent and
they're not being have any spots. Is why we always
talk about how competitive it is and how difficult it
is to get on a roster. Number one, I want
to know as far as professionalism is concerned, and you said,
everybody just is kind of ready to play their role.
I've noticed with a lot of professional sports teams they
kind of get in a groove of who they're playing,

(41:17):
and I'll be watching as a fan and being like,
what happened to this person? Like you can't just throw
them in. But what I hear from watching press conferences
and stuff is you know, you don't want to just
throw somebody off and throw somebody new in the mix.
How does that work with staying ready and when you're
not like, okay, solid starting five or solid this is
my role as a leader, how do you stay locked in?
Like what is your experience as far as having so

(41:39):
much depth?

Speaker 2 (41:40):
Yeah, it's hard because, like you said, there is so
much talent. I personally one word, you know, we need
more roster spots. We know that already two. I want
them to make the games longer. We got too many
players and not enough minutes. We have too much talent
and not enough time. So I don't know if that's
ever going to change, because I would like throw off
a lot of stuff game times, like media like it

(42:02):
would like there's like a trickle down effect of adding eight.

Speaker 3 (42:04):
More minutes to a game.

Speaker 2 (42:05):
Would like throw off so much stuff. But I think
that is something that can happen in the future. But
the thing about having depth is that you are a
very adaptable team.

Speaker 3 (42:18):
So we don't see it as much as in the WNBA.

Speaker 2 (42:21):
But in the NBA we see like lineup changes all
the time, and not like complete lineup changes, like oh shit,
like this group ain't working, so I'm gonna just throw
this group together and see what works.

Speaker 3 (42:31):
No, it's like there's.

Speaker 2 (42:32):
Specific matchups that you might like, and you would just
some teams like to just keep their lineups how they
are and maybe they'll sub in a little earlier or
something to see what that matchup looks like. But the
thing that I really like about our team and how
NOIH runs the offense is like it's a system. It's
very free flowing, but there's rules. So wherever you are

(42:56):
on the court, whether you're the post player at this
spot or the guard of this spot, there's rules for you.

Speaker 3 (43:02):
Everybody got the same rules for.

Speaker 2 (43:03):
The most part, So whether you're at this position or
that position, if we call a certain offense, no matter
who's on the court, the play is not gonna change
as far as our baseline offense. And I think that's
something that's very important to having a deep team because
you now can throw a different group of people in
and everybody's gonna be on the same page because that's

(43:24):
just how our offense is. It's free flowing, it's fun,
it's quick, and we share the basketball.

Speaker 3 (43:29):
So I've never been on a team this deep, I
don't think.

Speaker 1 (43:33):
So.

Speaker 2 (43:34):
Again, it's hard to play one through eleven or twelve,
So yes, there's gonna be decisions being made throughout the season.
But like one game, someone might get hot and then
you might roll with that player, Like that's just the
nature of professional sports.

Speaker 3 (43:48):
But you've got to be ready.

Speaker 2 (43:49):
Watch a lot of films, stay locked in because you
never know when your opportunity is gonna come. So for
me personally, like I'm just excited to be on a
team with assystem them that I feel like I can
thrive in, whether that's on the ball, off the ball,
making passes, Like I missed my shots last night, but
I have five assists and no turnovers.

Speaker 3 (44:09):
And that's because the way our offense is free flowing, You're.

Speaker 2 (44:12):
Able to be impactful without not necessarily putting the ball
in the basket yourself. So like, I really love I
really love our offense, and we have just scratched the surface.
Apparently our playbook is vast, so I'm really excited to
keep adding to it because it's gonna be hard to guard.

Speaker 1 (44:28):
I'm excited we need to get into these last three
teams because we're running out of time. But I do
want to say that I do find it interesting that
WNBA feel like training camp season, and it's like you
do like you're saying you have so much more to explore,
and the fans are watching you guys explore that as
the season is beginning, which it's like, that's why everybody
needs to remember no overreactions to the very beginning of

(44:48):
the season.

Speaker 3 (44:49):
We're learning, we're all learning together.

Speaker 1 (45:00):
The next team we're going to get into is the
Phoenix Mercury. So their biggest headline is lots of changes
and goodbye DT, goodbye BG, and hello to some new
pieces that we're going to get into. But it's a
totally different team, younger roster built around a brand new

(45:20):
big three. Alyssa Thomas is taking on the defensive captain
role immediately, coach is preaching about positionless basketball and toughness.
Kleia Copper said that they didn't even touch a basketball
on day one and it was all about defense.

Speaker 3 (45:36):
Oh, that sounds horrible.

Speaker 1 (45:39):
So people are wondering. The biggest question surrounding Phoenix is
is Phoenix one of the scariest teams if it all
happens to click.

Speaker 3 (45:48):
I'm going to say no.

Speaker 2 (45:50):
And I say no because as good of a passer
that at is, she's not a point guard. She's like
a point forward. So yeah, she averaged atasist per game
last year. I think it was second to Kaitlin Clark,
which is amazing. But she plays like in very tight spaces,

(46:10):
like she doesn't set up the offense, she doesn't put
everybody where they need to be all the time like
a typical point guard. Her game is very unique and
it's very important. I actually really enjoyed watching her play
and facilitate. But my only concern about Phoenix is like
they don't have like a true point guard on the roster,
I don't think. And then from the roster I'm looking

(46:33):
at right now, it doesn't look like they have like
a ton of outside shooting either.

Speaker 3 (46:38):
Which was the problem that At had.

Speaker 2 (46:40):
In Connecticut, which is why they couldn't get over the hump,
is that they couldn't get it together from the three
point line. So I think Satu and Ka are some
of the most dynamic scores in the w but they're
very streaky from the three point line. So I think
that three headed monster is a force to be reckoned with.
Don't get me wrong, But like, how are they gonna

(47:02):
who is gonna be the other two players? Like what
direction are they gonna Are they gonna go massive? Because
the three of them they're pretty big. That's a big
front court slash back court. So are they gonna go
massive or are they gonna go small smaller? So I'm interested.
I think they play their first preseason game is Tuesday.
Oh they play Vegas. Actually that that'll be a fun

(47:24):
game to watch, So I'm really interested to see what
lineup they go out with to be with that big three,
because that definitely is like a big three that is scary. Yes,
that big three is scary. Is the Phoenix Mercury as
a whole scary? I don't know yet because I don't
know what type of team that.

Speaker 3 (47:38):
They're gonna be.

Speaker 2 (47:39):
Oh their numbers, Oh yes, the numbers numbers, effective field
goal six, pace eight, net rating nine. Again, those are
just like formalities talking about those numbers because the team
is so different, but again middle of the pack. Their
net rating being nine means that they didn't really play
much defense, but no shots at Diana Tarassi.

Speaker 3 (48:00):
She didn't really play much defense their last year or two, but.

Speaker 1 (48:03):
That's why they didn't touch a basketball all day on
a training camp.

Speaker 2 (48:07):
Yeah, so I think, I mean, I think Satu and
Ka are very versatile defenders. At is a bully, respectfully,
She's gonna knock your block off. So yeah, they could
be terrifying defensively for sure if they really buy into that.

Speaker 3 (48:22):
But they want to score. They want to score to basketball.
So I'm very.

Speaker 2 (48:27):
Interested to see what direction they go in as far
as their personnel surrounding that big three, because we've seen
big threes other places, and as good as a big
three is, your supporting cast is just as important as
your stars. I can't wait to see what that supporting
cast looks like, because if they put the right players
in the right positions, that team could be very, very good.

Speaker 1 (48:47):
I will say the good news and the bad news
I have for Phoenix is as far as their brand
new young big three is concerned, that's really exciting for
them to step into this new era. At the same time,
it's also exciting that, like what you're saying is building
all of those little things surrounding them. Okay, who's the
other two gonna be? Like the depth essentially that I

(49:10):
feel like will come with time if they're able to
keep them together for a while. The bad news is,
as long as I've been a sports fan, not just
in women's basketball, not just in men's basketball, but really
in any sport, when we see teams kind of go
decide to go all in on a big three of
any sort, that usually means that you're sacrificing depth in
some sort of way, And so can they Does their

(49:33):
front office have the ability to find the right personnel
that wants to be there and we'll buy into the
system correctly, and we'll work with those three players and
can they find that. If they can, then scary. But
if they can't, then like what you were saying, them
three are scary, but what about everybody else exactly?

Speaker 3 (49:51):
So it's gonna be interesting. I'm really excited to watch
them play.

Speaker 2 (49:54):
I haven't really even been again since I'm not on
I'm not chronically online like I used to be really
seeing any of these practices clips or anything like that.
So they have good players in camp. They have very
talented players in camp. They added Klannie Brown and Sammy
would come as well in free agency. So Sammy is
a very intelligent high i Q shooter and Kilanie is

(50:18):
some size that they lost when BG left.

Speaker 3 (50:20):
So it's gonna be interesting to see what direction they
go in.

Speaker 2 (50:23):
And I mean, I think the safest thing to guarantee
some success is from the defensive end, because that has
nothing to do with your personnel. That's that's effort and
schemes and all be on the same page. So if
they can take care of that in the offense secondary,
I think they're gonna be fine. But we'll see on
Tuesday what they come out with I'm excited next team.

(50:45):
I feel like I know what team the next team is.

Speaker 1 (50:47):
Yeah, you do, because you feel them common. That's that PTSD. Anyways, y'all,
I'm being messy, okay, l L LA. Actually we're getting
into the Los Angeles Sparks. So the biggest headlines, as
if we don't already know, is Kelsey Plum is quote
unquote changing everything. According to reports coming out of training camp,

(51:10):
the Sparks finished dead last last year, but apparently, according
to reports coming out of training camp, Plumb is already
looking to set a culture of accountability and hard work
first in drills and second and staying after practice and
attempting to mentor the rookies. Coach is giving Plumb the
keys to lead without ego. And they had a huge

(51:31):
roster turnover eleven new players in camp. And yeah, I
guess the main thing when it comes to Sparks is
it does a culture reset actually work in year one
of having a new star and leader or is it
going to be a longer and larger process.

Speaker 2 (51:49):
You know, I feel like we have talked so much
about Connecticut blowing up what they had going on over there.
La did something very similar. It was like a mass
staging of the organization. I feel like new coaches, like
you said, eleven new players. I think that the process

(52:11):
wasn't as drastic as Connecticut.

Speaker 3 (52:14):
When they did it all at one time.

Speaker 2 (52:16):
I think in LA it's been a slow phase out,
and I think I was the last piece of that
phase out. I think I was the last piece of
that Derek Fisher experiment that happened in LA. The fact
that you have three of your four last seasons missing
the playoffs and being in the lottery and never getting

(52:36):
a number one pick is insane. I think that's a
mixture of mismanagement in the front office and bad luck.
If you guys want to know who the last four
number one picks were, they were a Leah Boston, Ryan Howard,
Kaitlyn Clark, and Pagebackers. And this past draft they had
a forty eight percent chance to get the number one
pick and did not get it. So I feel like

(52:57):
just a massive change of energy you needed to happen,
and unfortunately for me, I was part of probably that
bad energy that was lingering over the La Sparks organization.

Speaker 3 (53:11):
And that's just how it is.

Speaker 2 (53:12):
Sometimes, Like, yes, some of it can be personal, at times,
but overall, like you can't really go into a new
space with old.

Speaker 3 (53:22):
Shit still there. And I think I was part of
the own shit that was going on.

Speaker 2 (53:27):
I mean, they got rid of me, they got rid
of Zie, they got rid of lead like everybody out.
So the numbers are tenth in effective field goal, fifth
and pace, and eleventh in net rating. So just poor overall,
like I said, finishing in the lottery three of the
last four seasons, which means you're one of the worst teams.

Speaker 4 (53:45):
In the league.

Speaker 2 (53:46):
So for them, I mean, yeah, I think they've been
saying new era and culture reset for the last three years.
I think this year is the first time it's actually
like going to be a thing. And I think bringing
in a player like Kelsey Plumb is like them stamping
like okay, yeah, we're we're all in on this new
era of LA Sparks basketball, and it's gonna be good
for them. I mean, the league isn't a better place

(54:07):
when LA is good, Like I remember growing up when
Candice Parker was on the Sparks, Like the WBA is
just fun when LA is good. Then you go to
LA Sparks games, they're lit, they're fun, like same with NBA.
The NBA is in a better place when the Lakers
are good.

Speaker 1 (54:24):
It's like that in every sport. I mean, it was
fun when they went to the Super Bowl. It's fun
when the Dodgers are winning the World Series. It's fun regardless, LA.
I think that a big part of that is Cameron
Brink obviously being able to have a healthy season. I
was sick to see her go down, especially with the
Olympics and everything, so praying that she has a healthy

(54:47):
season and a long, happy career. And on top of that,
like you said, with the number one picks thing, I
think that that, at least for me as a fan,
was a huge conversation before the lottery, because it was
like the sparks were in like a lower place and
everybody's like, oh, Page La, imagine Paige in La.

Speaker 4 (55:04):
Like really with the mob crazy that that didn't happen,
Like with the momentum the WNBA is building right now
having a player like that.

Speaker 1 (55:15):
Obviously they have Cam, but like having a player like
that in La, it like what would move the needle?
For sure? Now, how cool would it be to see
like a Juju in La?

Speaker 2 (55:25):
I would love to see Juju in La, But again,
it's like the Sparks, like you can tell that they
were banking on that number one pick because they traded
away the second pick to us, which for me, you
traded that away.

Speaker 3 (55:37):
Are you crazy? Thank you?

Speaker 1 (55:39):
La? That's another thing I was going to say, And
I feel like you probably can't say this, and you
can't yell at me for saying it either, because I
just have to say it. So my thing also is
is this at fault of the front office, because at
the same time you are La, you are the Sparks.
It is going to be really good for the league.
If the Sparks are really good. So why do you

(56:00):
have You're talking about the facilities you have in place
in Seattle, and how what a momentum builder that's been
for you, allowing you to be in this new spot
and get to know your teammates and seeing Nekka and
Skylar lead and seeing them in the gym first, and
then getting in the ice bath and be like, damn,
I'm not gonna go home. They're going to in the
ice bath. Those kind of things are a advantage for

(56:20):
a team, especially trying to build a new culture. So
if you're La, why the hell do you not have
facilities yet that would make it a big free agent
destination that's already LA and would make people want to
play there and would allow these rookies that you can
bring in to do better. Like that also feels to
me like a fault of front office. Why are you
doing things like you treading away the second pick? Like

(56:42):
that's in my opinion, Yeah.

Speaker 2 (56:44):
I yeah, I mean I think the facility thing is
more of a fault of ownership. Yeah, I'm hoping that
there is something in place.

Speaker 1 (56:51):
About all the higher power.

Speaker 3 (56:53):
Yeah, I do believe that there is something in the
works in LA.

Speaker 2 (56:56):
I want I'm going to give them the benefit of
the doubt because there's no way that there's not even
a plan in place of getting a facility for a
team like the La Sparks. So I'm going to give
them the benefit of the doubt in that regard trading
away that pick, Like I didn't understand that. I mean,
I guess you don't want to put all your faith
in a nineteen year old. That's fair when you could

(57:19):
get Chelsey.

Speaker 3 (57:20):
Like the home mark of sports.

Speaker 2 (57:22):
People do it all the time, not at the W obviously, Hey,
I wouldn't have traded if I wouldn't have traded that pickaway.

Speaker 3 (57:31):
Yeah, I wouldn't have done it.

Speaker 2 (57:32):
But again, you don't know what goes on in these offices,
what kind of conversations people are having.

Speaker 3 (57:37):
So again I.

Speaker 2 (57:38):
Would love to say thanks, because I'm confused, LA for
giving us that number two pick.

Speaker 1 (57:44):
LA really handed you a lot of blessings this year.
They gave you a B they gave you, they gave
you a championship contending situation.

Speaker 3 (57:51):
They gave me baby Wemby.

Speaker 1 (57:53):
You're free of the words reset and culture and so
good for you, and yeah, I feel like it's such
an and the number two picks. So you got Christmas
from literally situation. So it worked out.

Speaker 2 (58:07):
But I think La, again, La, they were last, like
you said, so they can only go up technically, not really,
because now we have the Valkyries, they could go down.

Speaker 3 (58:16):
I don't see that happening.

Speaker 2 (58:17):
I'm happy for them being able to turn the page
because I was there for a lot of the dysfunction,
So for them to be able to move past that,
I hope that they're able to and they can move
forward and bring the Sparks back to being that dominant LA. Like,
there's just the expectation of winning in Los Angeles, So

(58:39):
I don't like that. The sparks kind of just have
been they're just the sparks, like they don't deserve that.
We don't deserve that as WNBA teams to be a
second thought now because we don't win, So hopefully they
can bring that energy back because.

Speaker 3 (58:55):
They deserve it.

Speaker 1 (58:55):
Being a second thought also isn't going to cultivate winning either.
If you're gonna make them a set at afterthought because
they're not winning, well then they're never gonna win. So exactly, exactly,
speaking of young people, the number one picks, we're going
to talk about the Dallas Wings. So it's officially Paige
Becker's time in Dallas. Page and a Rique have to

(59:16):
figure out how to mesh quickly, especially when it comes
to sharing the ball, but their chemistry has already shown
up in camp. We've seen some fun clips of Dja
roasting Page and whatnot, what not, just having a good
little time. Page is adjusting to the pro screens, the spacing,
the physicality, duh, Welcome to the league, girl. And so
there's a lot of questions among fans who's more important

(59:37):
to Dallas ceiling, is it Page or Rique? Or both
finding the way.

Speaker 3 (59:41):
To co exist. It's a good question, and we had
I wrote.

Speaker 1 (59:47):
This before we watched what unfolded against the Aces, and
so yeah, some takeaways from that as well.

Speaker 2 (59:57):
Dallas has a lot of work to do because they
do have a lot of new players and yes they're
technically they are veterans, but they're like baby veterans, so
being in a new city, new team, new teammates, that
takes time to adjust. Dallas played a lot of their
rookies compared to Vegas, and their rookies looked great.

Speaker 3 (01:00:20):
Actually, they didn't look afraid.

Speaker 2 (01:00:22):
They looked very comfortable out there, especially playing against a
Las Vegas team. To answer your question about who's more
important to the ceiling, I think it's not saying that
Arik is not important. But we know what she can do,
like she gonna put that ball in the basket, Like
we know what she gonna show up and do every night.

(01:00:43):
We don't know what Page is going to bring to
this team yet, and I think Arik has been a
consistent scoring threat her entire WNBA career. So what is
Paige going to do to compliment that? Because that is
Arique's team as of right now. So what is Page
going to come in and do to compliment that they
brought in Like you said, Djena, Melissa maisja heinz Allen

(01:01:03):
and Ty Harris, which are very solid pickups and free agency.
But like I said, young ones, I don't think Ty
played in their preseason game. She played in AU and
Nashville was excellent. She's a great floor general. She can
knock down the three very consistently. So adding her into
the mix is going to definitely help paigeen Arique as
far as spacing and playmaking. Their numbers last year seventh

(01:01:25):
in effective field global percentage, first in pace, but last
in net rating.

Speaker 3 (01:01:30):
So obviously they need to defend better. They brought in it.

Speaker 2 (01:01:35):
They literally brought in a defender in Djona who was
last year's most improved player. So she's come in with
a lot of confidence and now with a lot more responsibility.
Whole new coaching staff, new front office. So like other
teams in the league, new era on the way. So
my only concern is I know Kurt Miller. He don't

(01:01:56):
do well with young players. I'm gonna just say that
right now.

Speaker 3 (01:02:00):
He needs to be.

Speaker 2 (01:02:01):
Patient with this team and help them grow and develop.
And keep breathing life into them because he's so used
to having veteran players.

Speaker 4 (01:02:09):
This is not that.

Speaker 2 (01:02:10):
So I'm hoping that as a GM, he's not a coach,
he's a GM, he in the front office, that he
will understand that this team is extremely talented, but they're
going to go through some growing pains, as we saw
already in preseason losing a preseason game by that many points.
It's crazy, but it happens when you have a new
team that's really young and figuring it out, playing against

(01:02:31):
a team that wanted to show everybody from day one
that they're they're not here to play no games. So
Dallas is going to be fun team to watch, I think,
And I think this is also going to be a
very pivotal part of Arique's career because she does want
to win. She won in college and she just hasn't
had the personnel I think, to win at this highest level.

(01:02:54):
And I think that she can help this team win
if they all buy into whatever content role identity that
they're gonna roll with, because I want her to win,
like she's such a great player and her the only
knock on her has been like that her teams just
haven't won enough. So I'm excited for Erique because I
think this is going to be a very very important

(01:03:15):
year for her because we know what she can do.
She's gonna score that ball. So what kind of leader
is she going to be because we haven't really seen
her in that role yet on a team, So I'm
really excited for her to show that side of her game.

Speaker 1 (01:03:35):
Boryman, I do want to say about Dallas, we did
the same thing with I mean, it's a different situation
than Indiana, but with Caitlin, when her first week, couple weeks,
first few games in the league, everyone's like, welcome to
the league moment, she's getting humbled, like what people have
been saying whatever, Like people like overreacted and then she
like very quickly turned that around when she got used

(01:03:56):
to things. So, like you said, it's about patience and age.
Literally just got off a parade from like five minutes,
like she was a college kid fifteen minutes ago. So
it's like, let's all breathe. She has a whole franchise
on her shoulders and Yukon that wasn't really the case.
It was like Yukon had very high championship prowess, and
really talented players and like they were them and she

(01:04:18):
just had to step in and be her. And this
is kind of like, Okay, no girl, we're relying on
you to lift this situation up. So this is new.

Speaker 2 (01:04:24):
I will say though, also with like that, welcome to
the league's stuff. Us as a league and as veterans,
I think we have made this a more welcoming environment
for this rookie class. Not saying that last year it
was like overly hostile by any means, but I feel like, well,

(01:04:44):
one because I haven't seen it because I haven't been online,
the energy feels different this year, like as far as
these rookies coming in and how the season is starting,
like it's overwhelmingly more positive, but also still very competitive.
Last year it was like complete hostility going into the season,
like it was insane.

Speaker 3 (01:05:05):
I never felt that before going into a season, and like.

Speaker 2 (01:05:09):
The competitiveness, like it wasn't like there was no competition
type energy in that it was just like just hostile
and mean and nasty. This year, I feel like it's
very high level, high energy, competitive, respectful. That's just how
I feel personally. I don't know if anybody else has
anything feels anything differently. But I feel this season is

(01:05:33):
different for these rookies, and I hope that they feel
welcomed to the w like whether they're in a good
situation up not so good situation, whether they make the
team their waves, like, I hope that we've done a
better job as older players and veterans to make this
like an enjoyable.

Speaker 3 (01:05:49):
Experience for them.

Speaker 2 (01:05:50):
So that's what I hope. That's what I've been feeling.
I hope that that's not too far off.

Speaker 3 (01:05:54):
But I do know it's a different energy compared to
last season.

Speaker 1 (01:05:57):
I know that based on the press and the coverage
of training camp, it seems like they feel that way.
So everything seems positive.

Speaker 2 (01:06:03):
Oh, and shout out to having all the preseason games
on TV, Like that's amazing.

Speaker 3 (01:06:07):
That's never happened.

Speaker 2 (01:06:08):
I never thought I would see today WNBA preseason would
be on television, So shout out to us.

Speaker 1 (01:06:15):
Yeah, congratulations. I mean, y'all deserve that, period, But I
feel like that's really exciting. Lastly, and then we'll leave
y'all alone. But I know y'all been waiting for this
because this has been some trending news. I can't wait
to hear Lexi's if any of that. So the Golden
State Valkyries, obviously nothing I can tell you all about
last season because there was no last season. But I
will say everything is new, new coaches, new front office,

(01:06:38):
new team, new logo, new everything is new. And then
as far as going into the season, they listen. Cuts
are inevitable when it comes to the WNBA, as we
always talk to you about it. The WNBA can invite
a certain amount of players to training camp, that does
not mean that they're going to make the roster. And
the Golden State Valkyries have shocked a lot of people

(01:07:00):
when the expansion team announced their first cut. Chyanne Sellers,
this is smart to debate online about teams possibly prioritizing
international talent, which is something that me and Lexi have
spoken at length about and been jumped about on this platform.
So since it's a turning topic, we are going to
be talking about it. Lexi, first of all, what is

(01:07:21):
your reaction to the news. And she's a seventeenth overall
draft pick, so it's this whole thing is a shock.

Speaker 2 (01:07:27):
So yeah, especially for an expansion team and how she
finished her season, she finished her season very strong. For
them to cutting her, this early. It's also a blessing
of disguise because it gives her enough time to possibly
get picked up by another team and go to another camp,
which is something that people don't realize. Once you get waved,
once you're off waivers.

Speaker 3 (01:07:50):
Another team can come pick you up like your life.
Your career in life is not over. If you get waved,
like you still have the opportunity to go make another team.

Speaker 2 (01:07:57):
The announcement seem very heartless and cut throat, and I
think that's what always rubs people the wrong way. But y'all,
it's not y'all's business to know why someone got cut, because,
first of all, it could be she had a poor
outing in camp.

Speaker 3 (01:08:13):
You don't want to put that out there. Maybe she
just wasn't a fit. You don't want to put that
out there.

Speaker 1 (01:08:17):
Like well, Natalie's statement on the move was she picked
up everything that we asked her to do, did everything
that we asked. It's just that I have to choose
the best twelve that are going to fit. Doesn't mean
the most talented, it means the best twelve. So it
seems like they're saying that she wasn't a fit, which
to me, the confusing thing about that is.

Speaker 3 (01:08:37):
Why did she pick her fit?

Speaker 1 (01:08:39):
Why draft her at all? Exactly, especially with plenty of
talented players, you know, as an option. Why?

Speaker 3 (01:08:45):
I mean, I think that was a safe answer. I
think that was the hr answer.

Speaker 2 (01:08:49):
Like I said, you don't want to throw anybody under
the bus because you don't want to mess up someone's
potential next opportunity or landing spot. But like I said,
cutting her that early in camp was surprised. Some people
were talking about maybe she wasn't healthy. I think one
of her family members stepped in and said, my girl
is good to go.

Speaker 3 (01:09:08):
She is healthy. But this is my least favorite part.

Speaker 2 (01:09:11):
About preseason and our season is these roster cutdowns. They're
very heartbreaking, they're very hard, and you don't know what
is going on in these camps. You don't know like
what is going on behind the scenes. So yeah, a
lot of these cuts are very hard to understand because
you're not you're not there. So again we said the

(01:09:33):
Valkyries are like the Euro All Stars, but I don't
know Connecticut. Last night they was looking very Euro All
Stars too. But Natalie knows what she's doing, Like you
gotta you gotta trust the process, and it is sad
when you see young players' dreams get shot down like
this immediately. But it's not the INFRA for sure, Like

(01:09:54):
she's too talented and she'll bounce back playing on rival,
playing at you, play overseas, get picked up, like there's
so many opportunities for her.

Speaker 3 (01:10:04):
So I just hope that she's not discouraged.

Speaker 2 (01:10:05):
But I know that that decision like shocked a lot
of people, but I want to ensure everybody that, like,
it's really part of this business. Unfortunately, I've I've been
victimized by the WNBA as well. So I remember when
when I signed to Chicago, they like Bleacher Report made

(01:10:26):
like a graphic.

Speaker 3 (01:10:26):
About it, and I was like, I remember that I'm
on a training camp deal. Why would you make me
a graphic?

Speaker 2 (01:10:36):
But again, like that's how good I was playing in
Minnesota for when I got signed to Chicago, people were like, oh,
that's a great pickup.

Speaker 3 (01:10:45):
Whole time it was it was training camp and I
got cut.

Speaker 2 (01:10:48):
Like that's just how the WNBA is, and you just
got to be able to bounce back and put your
head down in work and just roll with the punches
because you never know where they're coming from. Like literally,
Bleacher Report put me in a sky uniform, gave me
little clouds everything. I said, oh no, because this is
not a guarantee contract. It's not even a regular contract. Tryout,

(01:11:12):
y'all put me on bleach report for a tryout.

Speaker 1 (01:11:16):
It's all right. That means you're her. That's all that. Man.

Speaker 3 (01:11:18):
I remember that one up. I was like, oh, brother,
But it all worked out in the end.

Speaker 1 (01:11:23):
Well, LEXI that we had a lot. We had a
lot today, but it was fun.

Speaker 4 (01:11:30):
I know.

Speaker 2 (01:11:30):
Sorry, guys, this is a long one, but again we haven't.
We missed last week, so we had to kind of
make up for a lost time.

Speaker 1 (01:11:36):
We had a lot to catch up.

Speaker 2 (01:11:37):
One preseason Western Conference. I'm excited for the season. We
are on the road for our first two games, unfortunately,
but very exciting.

Speaker 1 (01:11:46):
Nonetheless, I'm gonna miss you guys for the week. But
now we're in the era where stuff is happening every day,
so we'll have so much to talk about by the
time we're back.

Speaker 3 (01:11:56):
Yeah, so preseason games this week. Tune in y'all.

Speaker 2 (01:12:00):
Tune into those games, and thank y'all for tuning in
to another episode of Full Circle Podcasts.

Speaker 3 (01:12:06):
We will see y'all next week. Bye bye.

Speaker 1 (01:12:11):
Thanks for listening to Full Circle. We'll be back next
week with more basketball for the Girls by the girls.
We want to hear from you. Leave us a review
on Apple Podcasts, and tell us what you want us
to talk about. Full Circle is hosted by Lexi Brown
and Mariah Rose. Our executive producer is Jesse Katz. Our
supervising producer is Grace Fuse. Our producer is Zoe Danglab.

(01:12:32):
Listen to Full Circle on America's number one podcast network,
iHeart Open your free iHeart app and search full Circle
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