July 16, 2025 • 31 mins
It’s a birthday edition of Full Circle and Mariah’s turning 25! She and Lexie kick things off with some celebration before diving into a mid-season WNBA check-in. They break down the top four teams: the Lynx, Liberty, Mercury, and Storm, and talk about who’s rising, who’s slipping, and what’s happening behind the scenes. Lexie opens up about her season so far and health, addressing rumors and setting the record straight. They also unpack key roster moves and how teams are navigating the WNBA’s tight salary cap. The episode wraps with excitement for All-Star Weekend!
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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. Hey, y'all,
welcome back to another episode of the Full Circle podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Hey Lexi, Hey birthday girl, Guys. Is Mar's birthday today?
Big twenty job. Happy birthday to the girl.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Thanks queen working on her birthday, working on her birthday.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Look at her.
Speaker 4 (00:31):
It's a month.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
I never take a day off, you feel me never.
But we have so much exciting stuff going on.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
I know, but this episode's gonna be short and sweet.
I know we always say that, but we actually mean
it this time because we both have things to do today.
But first we had to tap in with our full
Circle family.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
So Mariah, what we got. How are you feeling?
Speaker 3 (00:51):
I know you like, yeah, you love Island bubble and
then you come visit us once a week. Right?
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Are you doing? Like? I'm great?
Speaker 4 (01:00):
Love Island's over so I can go back to being
sane again. That had me. I was psychoanalyzing people I.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Don't every single night, and I was watching all of
your videos.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Oh my gosh, people keep saying that to me, They're like,
I don't even watch it, but I was watching the recaps.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Yep, sure was. I didn't even need to watch it.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
I had all of y'all on TikTok updating me and
telling me everything that was going on, and it was
crazy and I'm glad it's over.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
So right, Love Islanders night BA basketball? Right, listen to
basketball Talk.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Yeah, well, we're halfway through the season and so right
now we're going to take a look at who's rising,
who's stalling, what might be next for some of the teams,
and of course it is All Star week, so very exciting,
very good time.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
Lexi gets a little breather. So how you feeling, Lexi?
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Well, guys, if you have been following the WNBA season,
you've been noticing that I have not been playing like
at all. Really, I have had now back to back DMPs.
I do want to set something straight because I've actually
had multiple people ask me if I'm okay, and yes,
(02:10):
I'm fine.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
I am.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
I'm one hundred percent healthy. I had to go get
this procedure handled, like anybody dealing with a nagging injury
or anything like that like that needs to take a
few days to rest and recover. For some reason, my
journey with Crone's disease in the w has been very tumultuous.
(02:34):
If I could put it lightly, It's like a lot
of overreacting and misunderstanding like what I deal with day
to day.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
I did not miss a single day of training camp.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
I did not miss a single practice prior to my
procedure and the procedure the games I missed the few
games before I.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
Decided to get the procedure.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
I was playing like less than five minutes a game,
so that was like a personal decision. The surgeon that
I have in Seattle was going out of town for
a few weeks, so we had to get it handled
sooner than later, so we had to do it then.
But I'm healthy and I want everybody to know that
that I am fine. I just am not in the
(03:16):
rotation on my team right now. And was that a
surprise to me? Yes, it's been a little bit of
a surprise as the season has gone on.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Was this what was communicated to me when I got traded? No,
it was not.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
So this is just me, you know, I don't see
what people are saying. I just these are the conversations
that are literally coming to me in person and messaging
and text and stuff and people like checking in, which
I really appreciate. But yeah, I'm like not playing because
I'm not in the rotation. My number one role on
this Seattle Storm. I have it on a printed piece
(03:51):
of paper in my locker. Efficient three point shot maker,
that is my number one role.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
We don't take a lot of threes.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
We don't don't shoot a lot of threes, we don't
really have an offense set up for threes. So that
role has been a little difficult for me to fulfill.
So I have given myself a new role, which is being,
you know, a professional, hard working, supportive teammate. And I've
been here before as a rookie. I was here in Chicago.
I was here, and I can do it again because
(04:21):
I'm a professional and that's what you do.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
You show up for work every single day.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
So anybody wondering or a key key king, like why
likes he sick again, She's not playing, No, It's just
it is what it is. We've resigned, which we'll get
into it later with the salary cap stuff, because we're
definitely gonna talk about some salary cap stuff later. But
we signed a new guard, Tiffany Mitchell actually, who was
waived by the Aces, who we talked about on this show,
and she got here a few days ago. Her first
(04:46):
two games, she's played twenty plus minutes in both games.
So you know, sometimes it's a fit, sometimes it's not
a fit, and you just kind of have to figure
it out. But I just want everybody to know that
I am healthy and I'm good and I'm fine, and
that is Lexi's I check. Sorry for another rant, but no,
it's important to me. Are like, yeah, yeah, I'm healthy.
(05:08):
I need everybody. Even fans at the game are like,
are you okay? Are you healthy? Are you good? Like
I'm fine. Just something that I had to take care
of and handle. But every day I'm cool. I'm in
the gym, I'm working out, doing my pilates, getting my
shots up, doing all of the things. So period, that's it.
That's the end of my rant.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
You said the record strate, Lexi. I know that's right.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
I just feel like all I do is set the
damn record straight. But it's like, this is what this
platform is for. This is why I'm so grateful for it,
because I don't want to throw anybody under the bus.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
I'm not trying to.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
I don't want to be disrespectful, like that's never my intention,
but sometimes like if you type something out or post something,
things can get lost in translations. So I prefer to
do it here where people can hear me, people can
see me and understand that, like this is just the
ebbs and flows of a career sometimes, and you know,
you just got to roll with it, amen.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
And I feel like if you aren't setting the record
straight for yourself, other people are going to do it
for you. So there should be no shame in like
speaking for yourself and about what's going on. And I
love how you said you have a new role that
you form for yourself, and that's being a supportive teammate,
being a member of the organization, doing what you can
with what you have, Like you're being a professional and
(06:27):
you're doing what you're supposed to do. So anybody who
has a knock on that.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Is bored is bored, and mean, yes, exactly.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
But we're going to do a little mid season check
in Lexie. I'm sure you have some thoughts or things
to say about a few of the teams, but I
guess we'll go through like the top couple, chop it up,
then go through the next Mm.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
Hmm, okay, So what we got top four teams right now?
Who are the top four teams?
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Minnesota number one still the gold standard. They've had some
recent losses that have shown some vulnerability, but they're eighteen
and four and still very much them. Phoenix had a
little bounce back fourteen and six. Do Wanta Bonner returns
and they have a road test incoming post All Star
Break which will be interesting. But I believe they have
the best road record of the entire w right now,
(07:16):
so I think that they'll be okay. But the Liberty
John Quell Jones injury has hurt them, but they're starting
to find their rhythm again. And then Seattle, they're kind
of in the middle of the pack thirteen to nine
more wins and losses, obviously, But the question people are
asking about y'all, Lexi is are they built for a
playoff run? So how are you feeling about the top four?
Speaker 3 (07:38):
You know, this top four the only team that has
genuinely not surprised me. But we talked about it at the
beginning of the year of what this team was going
to look like is Phoenix, and I've always said this
about them, like that is a very well put together
team that they have in Phoenix, and just adding to
Wanta Bonner just makes them even more dangerous. I think Minnesota,
(08:01):
New York US veteran led teams, teams that didn't make
too many changes in the offseason to their core being
at the top of the standings isn't really surprising to
me at all.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
We've played all of those.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
Teams multiple times actually, so it actually is going to
be nice to start playing some new teams post All
Star Break because I feel like we've played the same
like four teams five thousand times so far this season.
So I will say, like these records, it's interesting because
it does feel like the same group of teams are
like have been just beaten up on each other for
the last few weeks. So I'm really excited for post
(08:38):
All Star Break, especially for this top four group of teams,
because I think they're going to see some newness, some
younger teams, some more.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Feisty teams, I should say. And yeah, it's going to
be exciting. You know.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
The second half of the season is going to be
really good because we're finally going to see some new matchups.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Yeah, and then after them, we've got Indiana eleven and ten.
The Caitlin Clark effect is real. Their offense is flowing again.
And then Atlanta twelve and nine sliding a little bit.
I got a little too big of my in my
birches at the beginning of the season. But we are
still solid. Just need a reset post All Stars. And
(09:17):
then Washington some clutch queens, Okay, three Shaws right before
the All Star break. Do we feel like they're peaking
at the right time? And then Las Vegas ten and eleven.
This is surprising. I feel like it's in an underachievement
to what I assumed that they were going to do
at least at this point in the season, ten and
eleven below five hundred. But Asia is of course still
(09:39):
giving some MVP stat lines.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
Yeah, this group honestly is very interesting. Like you said,
we'll start with Vegas. Like when they made that move
for jewele Lloyd, I think everybody was like, oh, like
they're about to be back on their shit. They're about
to be top of the league again, but not realizing
like Superstar, linking up is not always like the easy fix,
(10:03):
the quick fix. We see it in the NBA all
the time, like these things take time. I think she
is figuring it out. Also their system. They actually are
a team that has been at the top of the
transactions page constantly this entire season, which we'll get into
that a little bit later. But Asia is literally just
chasing feed down for that MVP. I mean, I think
(10:24):
that it fees a ward to lose at the moment,
but Asia is very close. Like if Asia got another MVP,
I would not be surprised. But she's gonna have to
turn this season around for that team, and obviously that's
a very heavy load.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
It's a lot to ask.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
One player to carry a team, especially a team that's
struggling a little bit. But credit to her for always
showing up and willing her team to win. We just
played Washington yesterday and they beat us. They're a very
good team and definitely one of the overachievers, especially with
(11:00):
how young they are. Psych's fresh off of All Star
snub came in with a vengeance and I've always enjoyed
watching Sonya.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Citron play when she was at Notre Dame.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
But her basketball IQ is off the charts and you
didn't really get to see it that much at Notre
Dame because obviously she's WNBA player, so she's already light
years ahead of her peers in college. So everything kind
of looked very easy for her. And she doesn't show
a lot of emotions. She's very even keeled, so I
(11:30):
don't think people really realize how elite she was. And
I always thought she was one of the best players
on that Notre Dame team, So watching her live yesterday,
I was very impressed with her, her poise, her leadership.
Same with Kiki, like how she played at USC and
on the Mystics, it's like night and day, Like it's crazy,
(11:51):
but like she's so talented, she's a good defender, she's versatile.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Like those two are going to be a problem.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
And I hope that the Mystics keep together for a
few years because it will be really fun to watch
them continue to grow in their careers together, Like you
don't really see that that much in the w two
rookies or two young players kind of going through a
few years together. I think that's something that could be
really fun and a great story for the Mystics moving forward.
How do you feel about your dream? We beat them
(12:19):
on a game winner in Atlanta.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
That was lit.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
Shout out to Skyler, But I mean we had our
hands full with them for sure, our residents during fan
over here.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Yeah, I think, listen, things happen. It's a long season.
It's a long season. It's a long season. I think,
like starting off so hot, we're getting into All Star break.
Everybody's tired. You know, everybody needs a couple of days off.
Well besides All Stars, but everybody needs a couple days
(12:50):
off to reset, get their minds right. It won't be
all right. You always say All Star happened so early
in the season. The teams are still getting you know,
their systems together. Things are so new in Atlanta right now,
like they just need some time. But that's crazy, And
I am like, I have a bone to pick with
the Dream because I wanted to obviously come to your
(13:10):
game in Atlanta, and I didn't get my tickets until
like an hour before the game, and by then I
couldn't go because I had to do a family thing.
Speaker 4 (13:17):
So honestly, maybe it was like shielding me from the.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Get together Atlanta Dream.
Speaker 4 (13:23):
But I'll be at the I'll be at the next
one for show.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
I didn't play anyway, So you didn't you ain't miss
me do anything?
Speaker 2 (13:31):
Guys. It's not This is not funny, guys, but it
has to be.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
It has to be funny. I have to laugh sometimes
you have to keep crying my life. I don't think
y'all understand how much I must laugh to keep from
crying or crashing out. I think a lot of people
should take this approach to the rough times, not saying
that this is a rough time. I'm very blessed and grateful,
like my life is amazing, but I want to play basketball.
Speaker 4 (14:04):
Okay, the bottom so we got Golden State.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
The bottom of the yare all WBA players, and y'all
know how we feel.
Speaker 4 (14:14):
Loven respect.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Okay, go to State ten and ten, historic start for
an expansion team, but hitting some growing pains, as to
be expected. Chicago seven and thirteen, but that number doesn't
encapsulate the big wins that they've had lately.
Speaker 4 (14:28):
Camilla Cardoso's return is changing their energy.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Angel showed out for me after my little video. She
has been going crazy. Shout out to her for the
two K cover and all the crazy things she got
going on. The Sparks seven and fourteen quietly improving. They
need one more win to match last season, so good
for them. Steady improvement is all we can ask for.
And Dallas six and sixteen page is the bright spot.
(14:52):
She looks great, as we've talked about, great, but some
consistency is missing, some growing pains obviously, and then Coneticuette
three and eighteen the streak might be over and less
something major changes, but again this was kind of to
be expected at the beginning of the season.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Where do I want to start here? Golden State? We
play them Wednesday. They have our number.
Speaker 3 (15:14):
We need to beat them for whatever reason. I'm like,
I feel like you keep playing them, That's what I say.
Like we're playing the safe teams over and over and
over for whatever reason. The Valkyries are a matchup nightmare
for us. We touched on this when the game happened.
Last time we played them. They beat us by like
twenty five or something. Another game I didn't play in,
(15:35):
but I was not even there. I'm excited for that
game because we are in a space right now where
we're still finding our identity as a team, and this
game going into All Star Break I think is like
make or break. Honestly, this is just my opinion. Everything
(15:55):
I say guys, is just me. I'm not spilling no
lockerroom keys, secrets, nothing. This is just how I feel
as a teammate and someone that has now is watched
more than I've played.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
I see a lot. So this game is huge for us.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
We need to win it, obviously, but in the case
that we don't win it, we have to at least
put together a forty minute game that we could be
proud of and build on. Golden State home court advantage
is crazy, like.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
We talked about.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
So they're going to get tested on the road, just
like all the other teams do. But I think that
they're very different home versus away, So we're going to
see that for Golden State. Like you said about Chicago,
they've quietly been figuring it out. Angela has been killing it,
Camilla is back, Elizabeth Williams has been holding it down
(16:46):
in her absence. So shout out to you will friend
of the Pods, she was our guest. If you guys
want to go tap in with her, go back to
one of our episodes the Sparks. Yes, they're about to
pass our wind total from last year. Very happy for them,
Lou Dallas Page. Like you said, it's the page show.
But they're starting I think their last game they started
(17:09):
for rookies, so they've really just pivoted to completely one
hundred percent rebuild mode.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
And I love that for them.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
I love that for that rookie group because they're playing
really well. They're playing extremely well, but there is just
a gap of rookie talent and veteran talent and experience
that is just going to show up in these games.
But that's not taking away at the level that those
rookies are playing at, they're very impressive. And then Connecticut
they actually just beat us. Also in Connecticut they put
(17:39):
up ninety three points on us, so they have the
capability to beat teams. A lot of their losses are
actually very close losses. But again, they just have a
lot of new players, young players, new coach, new staff,
a lot of things that just aren't ideal for a
WNBA team. They're about to get sold I think according
(17:59):
to they reported earlier in the season.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
So there's a lot going on in Connecticut.
Speaker 3 (18:04):
But they come out and play hard and I can't
knock anything that they're doing because they did beat us.
So shout out to Connecticut and shout out to my
girl Brio Hartley. You know, she's been she's been killing
it and I'm really excited to see her back in
the league. And she had a great season and athletes unlimited.
So I'm going to shout out my girl, Bria Hartley
because she's been holding it down even though they haven't
(18:24):
been able to get any wins for real, she's really
been playing extremely well and solidifying her spot in this
league because she deserves to be in it.
Speaker 4 (18:32):
So shout out to Bria, Shout out to Connecticut. There's
a lot going on there.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
I mean, when you lose your whole start in five,
you got to you gotta just chop the europe you
know what I mean, Like you got to try your best,
and everybody individually kind of showing what they have to
bring to the league getting those wins where you can
playing hard. Obviously, everyone's a professional, so they're not just
like it's not like they're out there just like playing
on exactly.
Speaker 4 (18:53):
But yeah, I just these things take time.
Speaker 1 (18:55):
And that is always somebody in every sports league. It's
always some team. It sucks when it's you, but it's
always something to you. But I was excited to hear
what you had to say. About the salary cap moves
and roster manipulation.
Speaker 4 (19:10):
Let's talk money, y'all.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
LEXI, I want to hear your overall thoughts on the
very tight salary cap environment going on right now in
twenty twenty five.
Speaker 3 (19:19):
Yes, guys, Okay, I know we had our CBA episode
months ago, but in case y'all needed a brief refresher
of what a salary cap is, I will tell you.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
So.
Speaker 3 (19:30):
Basically, what the salary cap is is the amount of
money a team has to spend on their players. Okay,
so our current salary cap per team is about one
point five million dollars, So that means you have the
budget five million dollars to distribute.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
That's the budget to distribute to your players. So I.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
Dug deep into the salary cap stuff this season. I
played for the Sky because I was a victim of
salary cap manipulation and.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Gymnastics, so I had to. I brought it upon.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
Myself to get a better understanding of how this stuff works.
So now when all these transactions are going on throughout
the season, I'm always tapped in because y'all know, I
want to be a general manager one day.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
I want to build a dream team with.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
A salary cap like that's literally, like the last goal
I have on my little Lexi's checklist is to be
a general manager. So I'm always tapped into these transactions.
So I get all my information from this website called
her Hoop Stats, So shout out to them because they
just have everything laid out and very easy to read
and understand. So, like I said, salary cap one point
(20:40):
five million dollars, like give or take, you know, a
couple thousand per team. Each team is required to carry
eleven to twelve players. A minimum contract salary for a
player with zero to two years is sixty six thousand dollars.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
We're estimating here, okay.
Speaker 3 (20:56):
The minimum salary for a player with three or more
years is around seventy nine thousand dollars. A maximum contract
for a player is two hundred and fifteen thousand dollars,
and a super max contract is about two hundred and
fifty thousand dollars. Okay, So with all these numbers in mind,
(21:17):
we have nine teams that are carrying all twelve players.
You have three teams carrying eleven, and you have one
team currently only carrying ten, and that's the Aces, and
they are actually over their cap by about twenty grand,
so they're the only team that's like in the negative
when it comes to their salary cap. And then there's
(21:37):
five teams that have over six figures left in their
salary cap, and that's Connecticut, the Mystics, the Valkyries, the Liberty,
and the Fever. Okay, are you guys keeping up peer? Okay,
this is what has been going on in the league,
the manipulation of these salary caps. Since June first, there
has been over seventy transactions that in perspective, last season
(22:02):
at this same amount of time in the season, there
was less than half of that as far as transactions,
so there's been a lot of moving around.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Fans are lost, fans are confused. I'm confused.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
July thirteenth, which was yesterday, was the last day to
cut or wave players.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
So now all of our contracts are guaranteed for the
rest of the season.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
But the trade deadline is August seventh, so there still
could be movement. But your players are safe for now,
because in my experience in this league, no one's ever safe,
so I don't put nothing past anybody.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
So that is what's going on with the salary cap.
And Riot.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
She wrote down a few key moves that have like
peaked people's interest about this salary cap moving because like,
what the hell is actually going on?
Speaker 1 (22:50):
Yeah, I mean, there's been some mid season hardship signings.
We talked about hardship contracts and a couple episodes ago,
but basically because of the roster spots, people getting hurt
and things, people getting other opportunities, and actually, I believe
we talked about how it is unlikely or like a
little bit more difficult for somebody to prove themselves with
a hardship and like get an opportunity. But Airy got that,
(23:13):
so I mean a little bit different in her case,
but she did get an opportunity. And then veteran waves
slash trades, slash leaving slash very dramatic. We got do
Wanna Bonner's exit from Indiana, and then we've got teams
like Chicago and Washington reshuffling their rotations, players being waved
to make room for other players that are being traded.
Speaker 4 (23:36):
Very interesting.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
My question to you, Lexi is since the trade deadline
is so late from now and we just saw that
big move where obviously there was the trade and then
players getting waved and picked up and whatever. Now that
players can't be waved, does that mean there will be
less trades because you can't wave players to make room
in the cap.
Speaker 3 (23:56):
Correct, So, like I said, it's always hard to make
trades in the league because people's contracts and their talent
versus their peers, like it's very hard to get those aligned.
And because we have a hard cap in the NBA,
if you go over the cap, you just get financially penalized.
(24:19):
In our league, you just can't go over at all,
Like it's just you can't do it.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
So I don't know if trades will happen.
Speaker 3 (24:28):
They're possible, Like I said, there's a good amount of
teams that have enough money to sign players and trade
players and make space in their salary caps. But the
Valkyries waved Stephanie Talbot yesterday and she was on a
protected contract. So, like I said, like you might think
you're protected, you might think you're good, and you're not.
(24:50):
So being in this league, for I would say the
majority of players is like mental warfare.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
Every day.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
You're literally trying out to stay on the team every
day until the middle of the season. If you're on
a protected or an unprotected contract guys. I played in
this league for six years on unprotected deals, So for
half of the season every year of my career until
this year, I was worried about getting waves or cut
(25:20):
if we weren't winning enough, if I wasn't doing my
job well enough, Like that's.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
Something that's in the back of your mind all the time.
Speaker 3 (25:27):
The teams with the most transactions this season have been
Golden State, Phoenix, Vegas, Dallas, and LA, and none of
their reasonings for the transactions are the same. You know,
Dallas has been dealing with a lot of injuries, a
lot of players going to play in Europe for EuroBasket.
You have LA, which seems like they're just trying to
(25:48):
like get their roster together. But like then you're like,
what is the point of training camp if now we're
halfway through the season and you're like redoing your entire roster.
Golden State I think has the most transaction by far,
and again you have training camp. You have players that
don't make the team in training camp, and then two
months later, while I here, they are And that's basically
(26:09):
what happened to me in Chicago. So I did a
whole training camp, got cut, was brought back after my
salary fell under the cap, and now I'm just seeing
a master manipulation from these front offices of these salary caps.
You mean to tell me that you just signed to
Wanna Bonner for a veteran minimum.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
Do Wanna Bonner is a Hall of Famer.
Speaker 3 (26:31):
Do Wanna Bonner is top three and scoring all time
and she's right now playing way under her value, way
under her value. And shout out to Phoenix for making
that happen. I mean, there's loop poles and for everything.
(26:53):
It's like little things like that that make me just
look at front offices like what does the intent of
some of the decision make? And that's going on, and
that's kind of even how I feel about the trade.
For me, what was the intent? Nobody told me anything.
I still don't know why the trade happened. So LA
has been recycling and shuffling their roster. I'm playing about
(27:16):
the same amount of minutes I played my first season
in the league.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
So for me, I'm just sitting.
Speaker 3 (27:22):
Like looking at the front offices like, Okay, what was
the reason?
Speaker 2 (27:25):
What was the point?
Speaker 3 (27:26):
Because it doesn't really seem that either situation has benefited
from the trade. That I had absolutely no conversation about
or saying. So it's like little things like that, And
then again, you're looking forward to next year, where the
whole CBA is hopefully going to be improved and better
and everybody's a free agent and everybody's going to be
moving around again, and you just have a lot of
(27:48):
these front offices treating players like they're just disposable things
that don't have feelings and didn't work their whole lives
to get here. And because next year it's all going
to just be a free for all again, people have
it's showing that there's a little bit of a lack
of loyalty and.
Speaker 2 (28:03):
Professionalism from the top.
Speaker 3 (28:05):
And I'm not really afraid to say that because that's
something that I want to do and I don't want
to if I ever get the opportunity to run a
team and be a general manager, I would never treat
players a way that I've seen players being treated in
the way that I've been treated throughout my career. So
I think it's fun to look at this and see
what's going on, but I also it's also not fun
seeing players being waved and sent home and re signed
(28:29):
and playing way under what they deserve and all this
other stuff that goes on. But like again, business, business
is business, and it's ugly sometimes, and the fans are
definitely like, this is brutal, and it is. Y'all are right,
it is brutal. It's nasty work for the most part.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
Extremely Yeah, And that's why it's important though, to have
people like you and players in positions of power in
the league because you have had these experiences. You know
how it and what it's like, how you'd want those
things to be handled. Everyone knows that business is business
and money is money, and the teams and general managers
have to do what they have to do for their organization.
(29:09):
But conversations can be had with your players, Things can
be spoken about. There can be a level of transparency.
People can get paid what they deserve. Absolutely, your contract
should match your level of talent. Hopefully next year with
the free for all, things balance out a little bit more.
But it's really nice to hear your perspective on that,
because I feel like a lot of people don't know
(29:30):
when they're just.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
Like, yeah, what's going on.
Speaker 3 (29:32):
I mean, it's crazy, like people can say or feel
however they want about my game, my career, et cetera.
But I feel like I have the utmost respect for
every player in this league, and I have the utmost
respect for this game that I love and that has
given me so many opportunities. So I've gotten to the
point where, like, i just want to talk about things
(29:53):
that affect me, that have affected me and that affect
other players, because I'm not the only player that has
dealt with situation that I've dealt with.
Speaker 2 (30:01):
But like the.
Speaker 3 (30:02):
Vastness of my experiences in this league, like there's not
very many people that can talk about this type of
stuff because I've really experienced literally any little crazy thing
that you can experience, good and bad, like lowest the
low's getting cut, highest of highs, winning a championship like
and everything in between. And I'm really happy that I
(30:25):
have this show, I have you to talk about these
things and judgment free Zone because people who tune in
want to tune in because they want to hear what
we have to say. So yeah, I'm just glad that
the Waves are done. They're over, But I don't see
the transaction stopping, Like transactions are going to continue because
(30:47):
that's what the season is. And yeah, I mean I
think It's good that everyone could just take a deep breath,
go into All Star Weekend, enjoy themselves, and then lock
back in for the second half of the season.
Speaker 4 (30:59):
And we'll be here recap it all.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
So before we go, I just want to remind everybody
that All Star Weekend is happening this weekend and d
We've got the three Point Contest and Skills Challenge on
Friday in the All Star Game on Saturday night on ABC, Disney,
ESPN wherever you get your sports Okay, watch it. I
am so excited for All Star Weekend. I hope you
guys will all be tuned in like I am, and
(31:21):
I can't wait to.
Speaker 4 (31:21):
Debrief next week. Thanks for listening to Full Circle.
Speaker 1 (31:25):
We'll be back next week with more basketball for the Girls,
by the girls.
Speaker 4 (31:29):
We want to hear from you.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
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. Listen to Full Circle on America's
number one podcast network, iHeart Open your free iHeart app
and search Full Circle with Lexi Brown and Mariah Rose
(31:52):
and start listening
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. Hey, y'all,
welcome back to another episode of the Full Circle podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Hey Lexi, Hey birthday girl, Guys. Is Mar's birthday today?
Big twenty job. Happy birthday to the girl.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Thanks queen working on her birthday, working on her birthday.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Look at her.
Speaker 4 (00:31):
It's a month.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
I never take a day off, you feel me never.
But we have so much exciting stuff going on.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
I know, but this episode's gonna be short and sweet.
I know we always say that, but we actually mean
it this time because we both have things to do today.
But first we had to tap in with our full
Circle family.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
So Mariah, what we got. How are you feeling?
Speaker 3 (00:51):
I know you like, yeah, you love Island bubble and
then you come visit us once a week. Right?
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Are you doing? Like? I'm great?
Speaker 4 (01:00):
Love Island's over so I can go back to being
sane again. That had me. I was psychoanalyzing people I.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Don't every single night, and I was watching all of
your videos.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Oh my gosh, people keep saying that to me, They're like,
I don't even watch it, but I was watching the recaps.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Yep, sure was. I didn't even need to watch it.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
I had all of y'all on TikTok updating me and
telling me everything that was going on, and it was
crazy and I'm glad it's over.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
So right, Love Islanders night BA basketball? Right, listen to
basketball Talk.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Yeah, well, we're halfway through the season and so right
now we're going to take a look at who's rising,
who's stalling, what might be next for some of the teams,
and of course it is All Star week, so very exciting,
very good time.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
Lexi gets a little breather. So how you feeling, Lexi?
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Well, guys, if you have been following the WNBA season,
you've been noticing that I have not been playing like
at all. Really, I have had now back to back DMPs.
I do want to set something straight because I've actually
had multiple people ask me if I'm okay, and yes,
(02:10):
I'm fine.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
I am.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
I'm one hundred percent healthy. I had to go get
this procedure handled, like anybody dealing with a nagging injury
or anything like that like that needs to take a
few days to rest and recover. For some reason, my
journey with Crone's disease in the w has been very tumultuous.
(02:34):
If I could put it lightly, It's like a lot
of overreacting and misunderstanding like what I deal with day
to day.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
I did not miss a single day of training camp.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
I did not miss a single practice prior to my
procedure and the procedure the games I missed the few
games before I.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
Decided to get the procedure.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
I was playing like less than five minutes a game,
so that was like a personal decision. The surgeon that
I have in Seattle was going out of town for
a few weeks, so we had to get it handled
sooner than later, so we had to do it then.
But I'm healthy and I want everybody to know that
that I am fine. I just am not in the
(03:16):
rotation on my team right now. And was that a
surprise to me? Yes, it's been a little bit of
a surprise as the season has gone on.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Was this what was communicated to me when I got traded? No,
it was not.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
So this is just me, you know, I don't see
what people are saying. I just these are the conversations
that are literally coming to me in person and messaging
and text and stuff and people like checking in, which
I really appreciate. But yeah, I'm like not playing because
I'm not in the rotation. My number one role on
this Seattle Storm. I have it on a printed piece
(03:51):
of paper in my locker. Efficient three point shot maker,
that is my number one role.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
We don't take a lot of threes.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
We don't don't shoot a lot of threes, we don't
really have an offense set up for threes. So that
role has been a little difficult for me to fulfill.
So I have given myself a new role, which is being,
you know, a professional, hard working, supportive teammate. And I've
been here before as a rookie. I was here in Chicago.
I was here, and I can do it again because
(04:21):
I'm a professional and that's what you do.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
You show up for work every single day.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
So anybody wondering or a key key king, like why
likes he sick again, She's not playing, No, It's just
it is what it is. We've resigned, which we'll get
into it later with the salary cap stuff, because we're
definitely gonna talk about some salary cap stuff later. But
we signed a new guard, Tiffany Mitchell actually, who was
waived by the Aces, who we talked about on this show,
and she got here a few days ago. Her first
(04:46):
two games, she's played twenty plus minutes in both games.
So you know, sometimes it's a fit, sometimes it's not
a fit, and you just kind of have to figure
it out. But I just want everybody to know that
I am healthy and I'm good and I'm fine, and
that is Lexi's I check. Sorry for another rant, but no,
it's important to me. Are like, yeah, yeah, I'm healthy.
(05:08):
I need everybody. Even fans at the game are like,
are you okay? Are you healthy? Are you good? Like
I'm fine. Just something that I had to take care
of and handle. But every day I'm cool. I'm in
the gym, I'm working out, doing my pilates, getting my
shots up, doing all of the things. So period, that's it.
That's the end of my rant.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
You said the record strate, Lexi. I know that's right.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
I just feel like all I do is set the
damn record straight. But it's like, this is what this
platform is for. This is why I'm so grateful for it,
because I don't want to throw anybody under the bus.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
I'm not trying to.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
I don't want to be disrespectful, like that's never my intention,
but sometimes like if you type something out or post something,
things can get lost in translations. So I prefer to
do it here where people can hear me, people can
see me and understand that, like this is just the
ebbs and flows of a career sometimes, and you know,
you just got to roll with it, amen.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
And I feel like if you aren't setting the record
straight for yourself, other people are going to do it
for you. So there should be no shame in like
speaking for yourself and about what's going on. And I
love how you said you have a new role that
you form for yourself, and that's being a supportive teammate,
being a member of the organization, doing what you can
with what you have, Like you're being a professional and
(06:27):
you're doing what you're supposed to do. So anybody who
has a knock on that.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Is bored is bored, and mean, yes, exactly.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
But we're going to do a little mid season check
in Lexie. I'm sure you have some thoughts or things
to say about a few of the teams, but I
guess we'll go through like the top couple, chop it up,
then go through the next Mm.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
Hmm, okay, So what we got top four teams right now?
Who are the top four teams?
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Minnesota number one still the gold standard. They've had some
recent losses that have shown some vulnerability, but they're eighteen
and four and still very much them. Phoenix had a
little bounce back fourteen and six. Do Wanta Bonner returns
and they have a road test incoming post All Star
Break which will be interesting. But I believe they have
the best road record of the entire w right now,
(07:16):
so I think that they'll be okay. But the Liberty
John Quell Jones injury has hurt them, but they're starting
to find their rhythm again. And then Seattle, they're kind
of in the middle of the pack thirteen to nine
more wins and losses, obviously, But the question people are
asking about y'all, Lexi is are they built for a
playoff run? So how are you feeling about the top four?
Speaker 3 (07:38):
You know, this top four the only team that has
genuinely not surprised me. But we talked about it at the
beginning of the year of what this team was going
to look like is Phoenix, and I've always said this
about them, like that is a very well put together
team that they have in Phoenix, and just adding to
Wanta Bonner just makes them even more dangerous. I think Minnesota,
(08:01):
New York US veteran led teams, teams that didn't make
too many changes in the offseason to their core being
at the top of the standings isn't really surprising to
me at all.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
We've played all of those.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
Teams multiple times actually, so it actually is going to
be nice to start playing some new teams post All
Star Break because I feel like we've played the same
like four teams five thousand times so far this season.
So I will say, like these records, it's interesting because
it does feel like the same group of teams are
like have been just beaten up on each other for
the last few weeks. So I'm really excited for post
(08:38):
All Star Break, especially for this top four group of teams,
because I think they're going to see some newness, some
younger teams, some more.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Feisty teams, I should say. And yeah, it's going to
be exciting. You know.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
The second half of the season is going to be
really good because we're finally going to see some new matchups.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Yeah, and then after them, we've got Indiana eleven and ten.
The Caitlin Clark effect is real. Their offense is flowing again.
And then Atlanta twelve and nine sliding a little bit.
I got a little too big of my in my
birches at the beginning of the season. But we are
still solid. Just need a reset post All Stars. And
(09:17):
then Washington some clutch queens, Okay, three Shaws right before
the All Star break. Do we feel like they're peaking
at the right time? And then Las Vegas ten and eleven.
This is surprising. I feel like it's in an underachievement
to what I assumed that they were going to do
at least at this point in the season, ten and
eleven below five hundred. But Asia is of course still
(09:39):
giving some MVP stat lines.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
Yeah, this group honestly is very interesting. Like you said,
we'll start with Vegas. Like when they made that move
for jewele Lloyd, I think everybody was like, oh, like
they're about to be back on their shit. They're about
to be top of the league again, but not realizing
like Superstar, linking up is not always like the easy fix,
(10:03):
the quick fix. We see it in the NBA all
the time, like these things take time. I think she
is figuring it out. Also their system. They actually are
a team that has been at the top of the
transactions page constantly this entire season, which we'll get into
that a little bit later. But Asia is literally just
chasing feed down for that MVP. I mean, I think
(10:24):
that it fees a ward to lose at the moment,
but Asia is very close. Like if Asia got another MVP,
I would not be surprised. But she's gonna have to
turn this season around for that team, and obviously that's
a very heavy load.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
It's a lot to ask.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
One player to carry a team, especially a team that's
struggling a little bit. But credit to her for always
showing up and willing her team to win. We just
played Washington yesterday and they beat us. They're a very
good team and definitely one of the overachievers, especially with
(11:00):
how young they are. Psych's fresh off of All Star
snub came in with a vengeance and I've always enjoyed
watching Sonya.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Citron play when she was at Notre Dame.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
But her basketball IQ is off the charts and you
didn't really get to see it that much at Notre
Dame because obviously she's WNBA player, so she's already light
years ahead of her peers in college. So everything kind
of looked very easy for her. And she doesn't show
a lot of emotions. She's very even keeled, so I
(11:30):
don't think people really realize how elite she was. And
I always thought she was one of the best players
on that Notre Dame team, So watching her live yesterday,
I was very impressed with her, her poise, her leadership.
Same with Kiki, like how she played at USC and
on the Mystics, it's like night and day, Like it's crazy,
(11:51):
but like she's so talented, she's a good defender, she's versatile.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Like those two are going to be a problem.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
And I hope that the Mystics keep together for a
few years because it will be really fun to watch
them continue to grow in their careers together, Like you
don't really see that that much in the w two
rookies or two young players kind of going through a
few years together. I think that's something that could be
really fun and a great story for the Mystics moving forward.
How do you feel about your dream? We beat them
(12:19):
on a game winner in Atlanta.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
That was lit.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
Shout out to Skyler, But I mean we had our
hands full with them for sure, our residents during fan
over here.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Yeah, I think, listen, things happen. It's a long season.
It's a long season. It's a long season. I think,
like starting off so hot, we're getting into All Star break.
Everybody's tired. You know, everybody needs a couple of days off.
Well besides All Stars, but everybody needs a couple days
(12:50):
off to reset, get their minds right. It won't be
all right. You always say All Star happened so early
in the season. The teams are still getting you know,
their systems together. Things are so new in Atlanta right now,
like they just need some time. But that's crazy, And
I am like, I have a bone to pick with
the Dream because I wanted to obviously come to your
(13:10):
game in Atlanta, and I didn't get my tickets until
like an hour before the game, and by then I
couldn't go because I had to do a family thing.
Speaker 4 (13:17):
So honestly, maybe it was like shielding me from the.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Get together Atlanta Dream.
Speaker 4 (13:23):
But I'll be at the I'll be at the next
one for show.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
I didn't play anyway, So you didn't you ain't miss
me do anything?
Speaker 2 (13:31):
Guys. It's not This is not funny, guys, but it
has to be.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
It has to be funny. I have to laugh sometimes
you have to keep crying my life. I don't think
y'all understand how much I must laugh to keep from
crying or crashing out. I think a lot of people
should take this approach to the rough times, not saying
that this is a rough time. I'm very blessed and grateful,
like my life is amazing, but I want to play basketball.
Speaker 4 (14:04):
Okay, the bottom so we got Golden State.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
The bottom of the yare all WBA players, and y'all
know how we feel.
Speaker 4 (14:14):
Loven respect.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Okay, go to State ten and ten, historic start for
an expansion team, but hitting some growing pains, as to
be expected. Chicago seven and thirteen, but that number doesn't
encapsulate the big wins that they've had lately.
Speaker 4 (14:28):
Camilla Cardoso's return is changing their energy.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Angel showed out for me after my little video. She
has been going crazy. Shout out to her for the
two K cover and all the crazy things she got
going on. The Sparks seven and fourteen quietly improving. They
need one more win to match last season, so good
for them. Steady improvement is all we can ask for.
And Dallas six and sixteen page is the bright spot.
(14:52):
She looks great, as we've talked about, great, but some
consistency is missing, some growing pains obviously, and then Coneticuette
three and eighteen the streak might be over and less
something major changes, but again this was kind of to
be expected at the beginning of the season.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Where do I want to start here? Golden State? We
play them Wednesday. They have our number.
Speaker 3 (15:14):
We need to beat them for whatever reason. I'm like,
I feel like you keep playing them, That's what I say.
Like we're playing the safe teams over and over and
over for whatever reason. The Valkyries are a matchup nightmare
for us. We touched on this when the game happened.
Last time we played them. They beat us by like
twenty five or something. Another game I didn't play in,
(15:35):
but I was not even there. I'm excited for that
game because we are in a space right now where
we're still finding our identity as a team, and this
game going into All Star Break I think is like
make or break. Honestly, this is just my opinion. Everything
(15:55):
I say guys, is just me. I'm not spilling no
lockerroom keys, secrets, nothing. This is just how I feel
as a teammate and someone that has now is watched
more than I've played.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
I see a lot. So this game is huge for us.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
We need to win it, obviously, but in the case
that we don't win it, we have to at least
put together a forty minute game that we could be
proud of and build on. Golden State home court advantage
is crazy, like.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
We talked about.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
So they're going to get tested on the road, just
like all the other teams do. But I think that
they're very different home versus away, So we're going to
see that for Golden State. Like you said about Chicago,
they've quietly been figuring it out. Angela has been killing it,
Camilla is back, Elizabeth Williams has been holding it down
(16:46):
in her absence. So shout out to you will friend
of the Pods, she was our guest. If you guys
want to go tap in with her, go back to
one of our episodes the Sparks. Yes, they're about to
pass our wind total from last year. Very happy for them,
Lou Dallas Page. Like you said, it's the page show.
But they're starting I think their last game they started
(17:09):
for rookies, so they've really just pivoted to completely one
hundred percent rebuild mode.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
And I love that for them.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
I love that for that rookie group because they're playing
really well. They're playing extremely well, but there is just
a gap of rookie talent and veteran talent and experience
that is just going to show up in these games.
But that's not taking away at the level that those
rookies are playing at, they're very impressive. And then Connecticut
they actually just beat us. Also in Connecticut they put
(17:39):
up ninety three points on us, so they have the
capability to beat teams. A lot of their losses are
actually very close losses. But again, they just have a
lot of new players, young players, new coach, new staff,
a lot of things that just aren't ideal for a
WNBA team. They're about to get sold I think according
(17:59):
to they reported earlier in the season.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
So there's a lot going on in Connecticut.
Speaker 3 (18:04):
But they come out and play hard and I can't
knock anything that they're doing because they did beat us.
So shout out to Connecticut and shout out to my
girl Brio Hartley. You know, she's been she's been killing
it and I'm really excited to see her back in
the league. And she had a great season and athletes unlimited.
So I'm going to shout out my girl, Bria Hartley
because she's been holding it down even though they haven't
(18:24):
been able to get any wins for real, she's really
been playing extremely well and solidifying her spot in this
league because she deserves to be in it.
Speaker 4 (18:32):
So shout out to Bria, Shout out to Connecticut. There's
a lot going on there.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
I mean, when you lose your whole start in five,
you got to you gotta just chop the europe you
know what I mean, Like you got to try your best,
and everybody individually kind of showing what they have to
bring to the league getting those wins where you can
playing hard. Obviously, everyone's a professional, so they're not just
like it's not like they're out there just like playing
on exactly.
Speaker 4 (18:53):
But yeah, I just these things take time.
Speaker 1 (18:55):
And that is always somebody in every sports league. It's
always some team. It sucks when it's you, but it's
always something to you. But I was excited to hear
what you had to say. About the salary cap moves
and roster manipulation.
Speaker 4 (19:10):
Let's talk money, y'all.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
LEXI, I want to hear your overall thoughts on the
very tight salary cap environment going on right now in
twenty twenty five.
Speaker 3 (19:19):
Yes, guys, Okay, I know we had our CBA episode
months ago, but in case y'all needed a brief refresher
of what a salary cap is, I will tell you.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
So.
Speaker 3 (19:30):
Basically, what the salary cap is is the amount of
money a team has to spend on their players. Okay,
so our current salary cap per team is about one
point five million dollars, So that means you have the
budget five million dollars to distribute.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
That's the budget to distribute to your players. So I.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
Dug deep into the salary cap stuff this season. I
played for the Sky because I was a victim of
salary cap manipulation and.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Gymnastics, so I had to. I brought it upon.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
Myself to get a better understanding of how this stuff works.
So now when all these transactions are going on throughout
the season, I'm always tapped in because y'all know, I
want to be a general manager one day.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
I want to build a dream team with.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
A salary cap like that's literally, like the last goal
I have on my little Lexi's checklist is to be
a general manager. So I'm always tapped into these transactions.
So I get all my information from this website called
her Hoop Stats, So shout out to them because they
just have everything laid out and very easy to read
and understand. So, like I said, salary cap one point
(20:40):
five million dollars, like give or take, you know, a
couple thousand per team. Each team is required to carry
eleven to twelve players. A minimum contract salary for a
player with zero to two years is sixty six thousand dollars.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
We're estimating here, okay.
Speaker 3 (20:56):
The minimum salary for a player with three or more
years is around seventy nine thousand dollars. A maximum contract
for a player is two hundred and fifteen thousand dollars,
and a super max contract is about two hundred and
fifty thousand dollars. Okay, So with all these numbers in mind,
(21:17):
we have nine teams that are carrying all twelve players.
You have three teams carrying eleven, and you have one
team currently only carrying ten, and that's the Aces, and
they are actually over their cap by about twenty grand,
so they're the only team that's like in the negative
when it comes to their salary cap. And then there's
(21:37):
five teams that have over six figures left in their
salary cap, and that's Connecticut, the Mystics, the Valkyries, the Liberty,
and the Fever. Okay, are you guys keeping up peer? Okay,
this is what has been going on in the league,
the manipulation of these salary caps. Since June first, there
has been over seventy transactions that in perspective, last season
(22:02):
at this same amount of time in the season, there
was less than half of that as far as transactions,
so there's been a lot of moving around.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Fans are lost, fans are confused. I'm confused.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
July thirteenth, which was yesterday, was the last day to
cut or wave players.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
So now all of our contracts are guaranteed for the
rest of the season.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
But the trade deadline is August seventh, so there still
could be movement. But your players are safe for now,
because in my experience in this league, no one's ever safe,
so I don't put nothing past anybody.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
So that is what's going on with the salary cap.
And Riot.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
She wrote down a few key moves that have like
peaked people's interest about this salary cap moving because like,
what the hell is actually going on?
Speaker 1 (22:50):
Yeah, I mean, there's been some mid season hardship signings.
We talked about hardship contracts and a couple episodes ago,
but basically because of the roster spots, people getting hurt
and things, people getting other opportunities, and actually, I believe
we talked about how it is unlikely or like a
little bit more difficult for somebody to prove themselves with
a hardship and like get an opportunity. But Airy got that,
(23:13):
so I mean a little bit different in her case,
but she did get an opportunity. And then veteran waves
slash trades, slash leaving slash very dramatic. We got do
Wanna Bonner's exit from Indiana, and then we've got teams
like Chicago and Washington reshuffling their rotations, players being waved
to make room for other players that are being traded.
Speaker 4 (23:36):
Very interesting.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
My question to you, Lexi is since the trade deadline
is so late from now and we just saw that
big move where obviously there was the trade and then
players getting waved and picked up and whatever. Now that
players can't be waved, does that mean there will be
less trades because you can't wave players to make room
in the cap.
Speaker 3 (23:56):
Correct, So, like I said, it's always hard to make
trades in the league because people's contracts and their talent
versus their peers, like it's very hard to get those aligned.
And because we have a hard cap in the NBA,
if you go over the cap, you just get financially penalized.
(24:19):
In our league, you just can't go over at all,
Like it's just you can't do it.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
So I don't know if trades will happen.
Speaker 3 (24:28):
They're possible, Like I said, there's a good amount of
teams that have enough money to sign players and trade
players and make space in their salary caps. But the
Valkyries waved Stephanie Talbot yesterday and she was on a
protected contract. So, like I said, like you might think
you're protected, you might think you're good, and you're not.
(24:50):
So being in this league, for I would say the
majority of players is like mental warfare.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
Every day.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
You're literally trying out to stay on the team every
day until the middle of the season. If you're on
a protected or an unprotected contract guys. I played in
this league for six years on unprotected deals, So for
half of the season every year of my career until
this year, I was worried about getting waves or cut
(25:20):
if we weren't winning enough, if I wasn't doing my
job well enough, Like that's.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
Something that's in the back of your mind all the time.
Speaker 3 (25:27):
The teams with the most transactions this season have been
Golden State, Phoenix, Vegas, Dallas, and LA, and none of
their reasonings for the transactions are the same. You know,
Dallas has been dealing with a lot of injuries, a
lot of players going to play in Europe for EuroBasket.
You have LA, which seems like they're just trying to
(25:48):
like get their roster together. But like then you're like,
what is the point of training camp if now we're
halfway through the season and you're like redoing your entire roster.
Golden State I think has the most transaction by far,
and again you have training camp. You have players that
don't make the team in training camp, and then two
months later, while I here, they are And that's basically
(26:09):
what happened to me in Chicago. So I did a
whole training camp, got cut, was brought back after my
salary fell under the cap, and now I'm just seeing
a master manipulation from these front offices of these salary caps.
You mean to tell me that you just signed to
Wanna Bonner for a veteran minimum.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
Do Wanna Bonner is a Hall of Famer.
Speaker 3 (26:31):
Do Wanna Bonner is top three and scoring all time
and she's right now playing way under her value, way
under her value. And shout out to Phoenix for making
that happen. I mean, there's loop poles and for everything.
(26:53):
It's like little things like that that make me just
look at front offices like what does the intent of
some of the decision make? And that's going on, and
that's kind of even how I feel about the trade.
For me, what was the intent? Nobody told me anything.
I still don't know why the trade happened. So LA
has been recycling and shuffling their roster. I'm playing about
(27:16):
the same amount of minutes I played my first season
in the league.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
So for me, I'm just sitting.
Speaker 3 (27:22):
Like looking at the front offices like, Okay, what was
the reason?
Speaker 2 (27:25):
What was the point?
Speaker 3 (27:26):
Because it doesn't really seem that either situation has benefited
from the trade. That I had absolutely no conversation about
or saying. So it's like little things like that, And
then again, you're looking forward to next year, where the
whole CBA is hopefully going to be improved and better
and everybody's a free agent and everybody's going to be
moving around again, and you just have a lot of
(27:48):
these front offices treating players like they're just disposable things
that don't have feelings and didn't work their whole lives
to get here. And because next year it's all going
to just be a free for all again, people have
it's showing that there's a little bit of a lack
of loyalty and.
Speaker 2 (28:03):
Professionalism from the top.
Speaker 3 (28:05):
And I'm not really afraid to say that because that's
something that I want to do and I don't want
to if I ever get the opportunity to run a
team and be a general manager, I would never treat
players a way that I've seen players being treated in
the way that I've been treated throughout my career. So
I think it's fun to look at this and see
what's going on, but I also it's also not fun
seeing players being waved and sent home and re signed
(28:29):
and playing way under what they deserve and all this
other stuff that goes on. But like again, business, business
is business, and it's ugly sometimes, and the fans are
definitely like, this is brutal, and it is. Y'all are right,
it is brutal. It's nasty work for the most part.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
Extremely Yeah, And that's why it's important though, to have
people like you and players in positions of power in
the league because you have had these experiences. You know
how it and what it's like, how you'd want those
things to be handled. Everyone knows that business is business
and money is money, and the teams and general managers
have to do what they have to do for their organization.
(29:09):
But conversations can be had with your players, Things can
be spoken about. There can be a level of transparency.
People can get paid what they deserve. Absolutely, your contract
should match your level of talent. Hopefully next year with
the free for all, things balance out a little bit more.
But it's really nice to hear your perspective on that,
because I feel like a lot of people don't know
(29:30):
when they're just.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
Like, yeah, what's going on.
Speaker 3 (29:32):
I mean, it's crazy, like people can say or feel
however they want about my game, my career, et cetera.
But I feel like I have the utmost respect for
every player in this league, and I have the utmost
respect for this game that I love and that has
given me so many opportunities. So I've gotten to the
point where, like, i just want to talk about things
(29:53):
that affect me, that have affected me and that affect
other players, because I'm not the only player that has
dealt with situation that I've dealt with.
Speaker 2 (30:01):
But like the.
Speaker 3 (30:02):
Vastness of my experiences in this league, like there's not
very many people that can talk about this type of
stuff because I've really experienced literally any little crazy thing
that you can experience, good and bad, like lowest the
low's getting cut, highest of highs, winning a championship like
and everything in between. And I'm really happy that I
(30:25):
have this show, I have you to talk about these
things and judgment free Zone because people who tune in
want to tune in because they want to hear what
we have to say. So yeah, I'm just glad that
the Waves are done. They're over, But I don't see
the transaction stopping, Like transactions are going to continue because
(30:47):
that's what the season is. And yeah, I mean I
think It's good that everyone could just take a deep breath,
go into All Star Weekend, enjoy themselves, and then lock
back in for the second half of the season.
Speaker 4 (30:59):
And we'll be here recap it all.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
So before we go, I just want to remind everybody
that All Star Weekend is happening this weekend and d
We've got the three Point Contest and Skills Challenge on
Friday in the All Star Game on Saturday night on ABC, Disney,
ESPN wherever you get your sports Okay, watch it. I
am so excited for All Star Weekend. I hope you
guys will all be tuned in like I am, and
(31:21):
I can't wait to.
Speaker 4 (31:21):
Debrief next week. Thanks for listening to Full Circle.
Speaker 1 (31:25):
We'll be back next week with more basketball for the Girls,
by the girls.
Speaker 4 (31:29):
We want to hear from you.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
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. Listen to Full Circle on America's
number one podcast network, iHeart Open your free iHeart app
and search Full Circle with Lexi Brown and Mariah Rose
(31:52):
and start listening
Hosts And Creators
Lexie Brown
Mariah Rose
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