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Why WNBA free agency can’t progress right now

Why WNBA free agency can’t progress right now

The WNBA and the WNBPA (the players’ union) are currently trying to come to terms on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. With their previous CBA now expired as of Jan. 9, we are in a new phase of negotiations. Gone are the extension periods, and now we are in what’s called “status quo.” Basically… nothing has changed. The only thing that is different now than it was last week is that either side can decide to enter into a work stoppage now, if they so choose.

As we discussed last weekend, it would be way more likely for the players to strike than it would be for the WNBA to hold a lockout. There isn’t much point to locking out the players, and it would probably just make things worse. There haven’t been any reports about the players seriously considering a strike yet, so now we just wait… for how long, no one knows.

If we were operating under business as usual, WNBA free agency would have started this past Sunday. It was the original date that teams were able to start sending out qualifying offers to free agents. This could have still happened without a new CBA agreed upon, but it was unlikely any players would have engaged with those offers, much less signed anything. While the league had informed teams that this was coming up, per protocol, there was also talk of a moratorium on free agency as Friday’s expiration date came and went.

By the end of the weekend, it seems like the sides had agreed to this moratorium. This means all free agency has been halted until a deal is reached.

It makes sense, given that a lot of the transactions that would be happening right now would be between teams and restricted free agents, and the players are trying to eliminate team-controlled negotiations in the new CBA. Right now, teams have the power to “core” players, hold onto their negotiation rights, and have more control over these players. The players themselves would like more free agency freedom in their next deal.

It’s not unprecedented, either. The NWSL’s new CBA went so far as to eliminate the draft, and eligible players just jump right into free agency. Players want more autonomy on where they play.

Now, all of this considered, the time it’s taking to come to terms on a new WNBA CBA is going to start having effects on the WNBA season. The league definitely cannot proceed with free agency without a new deal, so the moratorium is the right way to go, but that doesn’t mean this is making things easier. We are looking at having an extremely condensed WNBA offseason in which we will need to fit in an expansion draft, 80% of the league negotiating as free agents, and a WNBA draft — not to mention a possible sooner start to training camp and the fact that many players will be participating in FIBA World Cup Qualifying tournaments in mid-March.

Funny enough, we are also about to hit another milestone — the previous WNBA CBA was agreed to on Jan. 14, 2020. Which means we are about to head into uncharted waters as far as how long it’s taking the sides to agree on a new deal. Now, as we know, 2020 ended up taking a turn, and the WNBA season didn’t happen until later in the summer due to the pandemic, so it didn’t matter too much that it took until Jan. 14 to come to terms. This year, though, it will matter.

Any of the items on our offseason to-do list would be unprecedented on their own, and even if they occurred on time. A two-team expansion draft between Toronto and Portland, a huge free agency market, and a 15-team WNBA Draft with a huge market of extreme talent. Shoving that all into a tiny time frame will be… chaotic.

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INDIANAPOLIS — It’ll be hard to find any contest this WNBA season that compares to Thursday’s Fever-Aces showdown.

Both teams had enormous scoring runs across the first three quarters, then played down to the final buzzer in overtime and regulation. A pair of costly miscues from Caitlin Clark at the end of each segment set up Chelsea Gray for two buzzer beaters, the first to send the game to the extra session and the second to give the Aces an improbable win.

“We still battled,” Clark said postgame. “We still fought and we put ourselves in position to win the game and then, honestly, it was me that made costly errors for us. So that’s on me to help us win. That’s my job. That’s what I get paid to do.”

No game is decided by the play or mistakes of one player, but Clark’s late faux pas will certainly draw attention, as is the case with everything she does.

At the end of regulation, both Clark and Mitchell had chances to ice the game away at the line in the final seconds. The latter split her pair, missing the second before A’ja Wilson stepped out of bounds to turn the ball over while trying to save it.

Clark would eventually get to the line with seven seconds left and the chance to make it a two-possession game with Indiana up 75-72. She would miss both looks, keeping the door open for Las Vegas. Gray took full advantage, coming up with a loose ball on a broken play before calmly burying a long-range look to tie the game.

“This can’t happen,” Clark said. “Those are free throws I usually make. Certainly frustrating. Obviously, one of them gives us a two-possession lead and I kind of cost my team there for sure. So that’s on me.”

The two teams traded baskets throughout the extra session with Wilson and Mitchell doing the lion’s share of the scoring for their respective teams. Eventually, the Fever found themselves in a familiar spot, leading by one with just under 30 seconds remaining.

A bit of confusion and miscommunication left Clark standing near mid-court with Wilson, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, in front of her, 30 feet from the basket. Despite the situation, Clark could not create a shot and turned the ball over after Wilson tipped a pass in the air and corralled it. The Aces did not call a timeout and raced down the court before Gray capped off her heroics with the game-winner.

All that came after some huge momentum swings in the first three frames. The Fever were flying up and down the court in the second period, blowing the game open with a 24-4 run to take a 42-22 lead with four minutes left in the first half.

In direct response, the Aces scored the final 15 points of the second period and the first seven points of the third quarter to take the lead. In the end, the Aces went on a 40-11 run that spanned their largest deficit and largest lead of the game, the latter coming at 62-53 early in the fourth.

Clark certainly had a role in pulling Indiana back into the game, including a pair of big threes that gave Indiana the lead, the latter coming with 1:48 left. An Aliyah Boston puback off her own miss put the hosts ahead 74-72 with 30 seconds left before the Fever forced a miss from Wilson to set up the frantic finish.

Postgame, Clark willingly shouldered the blame for the loss. However, on a night when the Fever turned the ball over 21 times, gave up 12 offensive rebounds and shot 35% in the second half, her head coach wouldn’t let her.

“I think you like that as ownership,” Stephanie White said. “But as an athlete and as a coach and as somebody who’s been around for a long time, it doesn’t come down to one singular thing. Like we know that. She’s disappointed in herself certainly, as I’m sure a lot of our players are. But we got to use it as fuel.

“And she’s going to be better. I know she’s going to be better on Saturday because of it. I mean she’s a competitor. She’s a fighter…But it doesn’t come down to one thing and I know, again, it’s easy to look at it and think that it does, but it was a collection of things. If we cut our turnovers in half, it’s a different ballgame.”

#Caitlin #Clark #takes #blame #wild #Fever #loss #Aces #happen">Caitlin Clark takes blame in wild Fever loss to Aces: ‘This can’t happen’  INDIANAPOLIS — It’ll be hard to find any contest this WNBA season that compares to Thursday’s Fever-Aces showdown.Both teams had enormous scoring runs across the first three quarters, then played down to the final buzzer in overtime and regulation. A pair of costly miscues from Caitlin Clark at the end of each segment set up Chelsea Gray for two buzzer beaters, the first to send the game to the extra session and the second to give the Aces an improbable win.“We still battled,” Clark said postgame. “We still fought and we put ourselves in position to win the game and then, honestly, it was me that made costly errors for us. So that’s on me to help us win. That’s my job. That’s what I get paid to do.”No game is decided by the play or mistakes of one player, but Clark’s late faux pas will certainly draw attention, as is the case with everything she does.At the end of regulation, both Clark and Mitchell had chances to ice the game away at the line in the final seconds. The latter split her pair, missing the second before A’ja Wilson stepped out of bounds to turn the ball over while trying to save it.Clark would eventually get to the line with seven seconds left and the chance to make it a two-possession game with Indiana up 75-72. She would miss both looks, keeping the door open for Las Vegas. Gray took full advantage, coming up with a loose ball on a broken play before calmly burying a long-range look to tie the game.“This can’t happen,” Clark said. “Those are free throws I usually make. Certainly frustrating. Obviously, one of them gives us a two-possession lead and I kind of cost my team there for sure. So that’s on me.”The two teams traded baskets throughout the extra session with Wilson and Mitchell doing the lion’s share of the scoring for their respective teams. Eventually, the Fever found themselves in a familiar spot, leading by one with just under 30 seconds remaining.A bit of confusion and miscommunication left Clark standing near mid-court with Wilson, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, in front of her, 30 feet from the basket. Despite the situation, Clark could not create a shot and turned the ball over after Wilson tipped a pass in the air and corralled it. The Aces did not call a timeout and raced down the court before Gray capped off her heroics with the game-winner.All that came after some huge momentum swings in the first three frames. The Fever were flying up and down the court in the second period, blowing the game open with a 24-4 run to take a 42-22 lead with four minutes left in the first half.In direct response, the Aces scored the final 15 points of the second period and the first seven points of the third quarter to take the lead. In the end, the Aces went on a 40-11 run that spanned their largest deficit and largest lead of the game, the latter coming at 62-53 early in the fourth.Clark certainly had a role in pulling Indiana back into the game, including a pair of big threes that gave Indiana the lead, the latter coming with 1:48 left. An Aliyah Boston puback off her own miss put the hosts ahead 74-72 with 30 seconds left before the Fever forced a miss from Wilson to set up the frantic finish.Postgame, Clark willingly shouldered the blame for the loss. However, on a night when the Fever turned the ball over 21 times, gave up 12 offensive rebounds and shot 35% in the second half, her head coach wouldn’t let her.“I think you like that as ownership,” Stephanie White said. “But as an athlete and as a coach and as somebody who’s been around for a long time, it doesn’t come down to one singular thing. Like we know that. She’s disappointed in herself certainly, as I’m sure a lot of our players are. But we got to use it as fuel.“And she’s going to be better. I know she’s going to be better on Saturday because of it. I mean she’s a competitor. She’s a fighter…But it doesn’t come down to one thing and I know, again, it’s easy to look at it and think that it does, but it was a collection of things. If we cut our turnovers in half, it’s a different ballgame.”  #Caitlin #Clark #takes #blame #wild #Fever #loss #Aces #happen

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