Ty Harris, Brie Jones, Olivia Nelson discussed on Winsidr WNBA Show
Automatic TRANSCRIPT
Agency. Now that we're kind of through the thick of it and you can talk a little more openly, you're able to kind of core, maintain Brie Jones, letitia Hyde man. We talked about ty Harris. I think you and I were talking about how much we just loved ty Harris and what she brings tip Hayes, Olivia Nelson dota. What are your just overall general thoughts? Cinnamon, going to as much detail as you want about just the free agency you guys just had and being able to put the pen to the paper of all the things you just talked about in the roster that you've built. Yeah, you know, it's a combination of things in, you know, I'm very thankful that I don't have to be a GM and have to worry about not just the combinations, but the numbers and all of that too. But one of the things I think is really important, particularly in Connecticut and what I feel like Connecticut has done a really good job of is have a balance of veterans of those midyear players who are in the year three, four, 5, and rookies. You know, it's a team, and I think it's really important that you develop the players that you draft so that you're not having to start over and rebuild in the draft. Like, this is really the first year that we've seen, you know, such movement such drastic movement in free agency. Typically, you build a WNBA team through the draft. And you're not getting mostly everybody could offer the same thing that everybody else could, right? And so it was like you're building your team and your franchise through the draft. And once they're done, you're rebuilding through the draft. And so for us, I wanted to make sure that number one, keeping Brianna Jones was huge. You know, she is a player who, you know, from the time I was covering her in college to the time that I took the job. It's just you're in awe of the way that she had continued to improve. And fly under the radar and be so successful. I mean, to be a most improved player to be a 6th player of the year to be an all star, and she hadn't really even been a cornerstone of anything that was going on in the organization on the court. And she's ready for that. She's ready to be that go to. And so to be able to keep her as really that centerpiece was huge. And she and Alicia Thomas play really, really well together. So that was big for us. You know, I think natisha heideman is one of the up and coming really, really good guards in our league. You know, she was playing, she was playing behind jazz Thomas, but she had gotten thrown into the fire and let a team to a championship game. You know, to the finals. And you know, I think for her, just to continue to grow and continue to get better, you know, she was the best three point shooter by percentage on the team. It was important to keep her because I think she's a good young talent that we can continue to develop. And I can not wait until breon January can work with her every day. And help her become an elite guard in our league. So keeping her was really important, you know, I think ty Harris has the potential to be a really good garden this league too. And she's been buried. You know, and hasn't really had much of an opportunity to blossom. And I think that she's ready. And, you know, oftentimes, and we see this a lot in the WNBA, and in our league, and we've saw it from the time this league of the league's inception, is sometimes it's just getting on the right team, like getting around the right people and you can just flourish. It's not always where you're drafted. It's then finding finding that next spot that fits. And I think ty has an opportunity to come in and to be really successful. I love the way that she can run a team. If you can be a point guard on a team that Don staley coaches, you know, you know that you're ready. You know that if the best point guard who ever played our game and dawn staley trust you, then we should trust you, right? And I think that ty Harris has the ability to run a team, you know, obviously she can play off the ball too and knock down shots. I think that that's going to be big for us. She can do some things defensively. I think she's an underrated defender. Really good in the two man game. And so I'm really looking forward to what she can bring. You know, Olivia Nelson a daughter is a young post player that I think can really develop in our system. And if you're going to play behind Brie Jones and Alyssa Thomas every day in practice, you're going to get better. I also like the fact that she played in a system at Connecticut that utilized their big to facilitate. And we will utilize our big to facilitate. She was a great passer in college. She was a great facilitator, and will utilize her in this way as well. And she can develop in our system and in our franchise and I think that she's got great great upside, great potential. And a great mind for the game. Now, I think Becca Allen is going to be big for us too. The ability to stretch the floor, be another long player. I mean, we haven't even talked about DB because obviously we're talking about free agency, but the ability to have the one of honor and Rebecca Allen, you know, on the wing or swing into the fore, if we need them to stretch the floor, is really going to help us.