WNBA thread… 28.5 ain’t your pay cut

[BTExpress]

Clark and Reese's college seasons ending just before the WNBA season was starting really gave the pro league a nice boost that likely won't be there next season.

 

[HanSenSE]

 

[Twirling Time]

Dude drove to Indianapolis to get busted. Thank Tebow these wackos get mostly caught in the bud.

 

[HanSenSE]

 

[Della9250]

A bunch of draft picks are also in the deal. This is indefensible:

Sources told ESPN the Sparks were uncertain about who would be available at the No. 2 pick

I can tell you who is available with that pick: everybody but Paige Bueckers

 

[PCLoadLetter]

A bunch of draft picks are also in the deal. This is indefensible:

Sources told ESPN the Sparks were uncertain about who would be available at the No. 2 pick

I can tell you who is available with that pick: everybody but Paige Bueckers

I think the pick might be a little more complicated than that.

With the CBA expiring and a new deal coming, Bueckers could benefit greatly by spending one more year at UConn and waiting for the new salary structure. If she gets drafted number one by Dallas she could stay in college and Dallas loses her rights at the next draft. If she tells Dallas not to draft her she has very serious leverage. I could be wrong, but I don't think she'll be in Dallas next year.

But if Dallas pashes on that risk and she's available at number two, playing for a loaded Sparks team in Los Angeles may be too good to pash up.

 

[Starman]

Well, Bueckers is from Minnesota, so you might guess she could make huge endorsement bucks there, plus there's the Connecticut Sun.

Does she have another year of college eligibility? Between COVID and her injuries I lost track. I was under the impression this was her final college season.

 

[sgreenwell]

Well, Bueckers is from Minnesota, so you might guess she could make huge endorsement bucks there, plus there's the Connecticut Sun.

Bueckers is going to make a ton of endorsement money wherever she goes. Hell, she already has deals with Bose, Gatorade and Dunkin, and I think she's already signed up for Unrivaled. She has a redshirt year left, so she has leverage. NIL and the popularity of women's college basketball means she's probably not significantly altering her financial outlook by staying in college or going pro.

 

[PCLoadLetter]

Bueckers is going to make a ton of endorsement money wherever she goes. Hell, she already has deals with Bose, Gatorade and Dunkin, and I think she's already signed up for Unrivaled. She has a redshirt year left, so she has leverage. NIL and the popularity of women's college basketball means she's probably not significantly altering her financial outlook by staying in college or going pro.

And with the new CBA coming, her first pro contract could be a hell of a lot better if she waits a year. NIL takes the sting out of waiting.

If I'm her, going to Dallas is out of the question. I either wait a year or get myself to LA, joining a killer roster and giving the league a Caitlin-Paige rivalry to turn into their own Magic-Bird... except they're both kinda Bird.

 

[Della9250]

I think the pick might be a little more complicated than that.

With the CBA expiring and a new deal coming, Bueckers could benefit greatly by spending one more year at UConn and waiting for the new salary structure. If she gets drafted number one by Dallas she could stay in college and Dallas loses her rights at the next draft. If she tells Dallas not to draft her she has very serious leverage. I could be wrong, but I don't think she'll be in Dallas next year.

But if Dallas pashes on that risk and she's available at number two, playing for a loaded Sparks team in Los Angeles may be too good to pash up.

But now L.A. gave up that second pick, so that option is off the table.

 

[Alma]

Well, Bueckers is from Minnesota, so you might guess she could make huge endorsement bucks there, plus there's the Connecticut Sun.

Does she have another year of college eligibility? Between COVID and her injuries I lost track. I was under the impression this was her final college season.

This will likely be her final season.

Lauren Betts has the greatest upside in the Draft, presuming she comes out. But there will be an expectation for Dallas to select Bueckers so the sport can prolong the fiction that she's as good as Caitlin Clark. I'm sure multiple UConn alums-turned-ESPN-analysts will insist Bueckers is even better or, as a consolation prize, would have been without the injuries.

 

[PCLoadLetter]

But now L.A. gave up that second pick, so that option is off the table.

Oy. You are correct. Total brain fart on my part.