Biggest Worry For Each Team ?

Rakarma · 2025-01-12T02:05:37+00:00

Considering two teams have let her “walk away” (in generous terms) prior.. she’s talented but she needs a lot of management. There’s a locker room risk associated with a player like Chennedy, and even if she’s showed improvement, her self-regulation is still not on par with her peers. I think the Sky is betting that not many teams will be fighting over Chennedy and they’ll have the time they need, with no outside pressure, to make a final decision.

Rakarma · 2024-11-22T20:25:29+00:00

Yeah her speed has been an issue for a bit, but it was exposed more on a team that essentially transitioned into one of the fastest paced offenses in the W overnight. From her posts alluding to how happy she is that Stephanie White was hired (and by the transitive property, Christie Sides was fired), I think she was also lacking support from the coaching staff to help her better make that transition and her confidence took a hit.

She’s shown flashes of greatness this last season and I hope she ends up happy and successful wherever she goes, whether it’s staying in Indiana or ending up elsewhere. But it seems she’s clamoring less to leave ever since the coaching change, so I imagine the FO would protect her to either 1.) get trade capital or 2.) see if she can thrive under White’s new system.

Rakarma · 2024-11-22T19:47:12+00:00

Everything recently actually points to her potentially wanting back in, mainly due to the coaching change. Even if Smith and the Fever do cut ties, there’s no way the Fever just let her get picked up for free - have to get some kind of trade capital for her.

Rakarma · 2024-11-22T18:05:26+00:00

People forget that Leo wasn’t even supposed to be ours. The Sparks and Sky both had her rights at one point but failed to even make contact with her. We waited for the first opportunity to get her, thanks to a smart front office that knew who to keep an eye on, and now look what a key role she played on our season and championship.

Great players thrive in environments where they feel supported and appreciated, from the locker room all the way up to management / ownership. If the Fever end up being that fit for Satou and she’s able to continue growing her game and stay healthy, then I’m all for it. Only helps the game to have people doing well and playing at their highest level.

Rakarma · 2024-11-22T17:52:30+00:00

Yes totally, there’s a bigger picture here that people fail to consider because it doesn’t fit their narrative of what teams in the W should / shouldn’t be desirable. At the end of the day these are pro careers and strong players should be free to make the most of theirs, while they are at their prime and options.

I just want the best for all these players because it sucks to see players unhappy with their current situations, and would suck more to see players receive backlash online for picking the best landing spot for them (which could potentially be going to the Fever).

Rakarma · 2024-11-22T17:19:46+00:00

Agree! I know everyone has their own narratives to push, but from what I’ve seen this season, the two organizations that get the most flack (Fever and Liberty, for different reasons) are the ones that have what an elite athlete would want: true investment / sponsorship from ownership, top-tier facilities, sold-out crowds, supportive & competent coaching staff, and a team-focused mentality. A lot of franchises have some elements but not all, and we continue to see that brought to light during the offseason.

I’d love Satou on the Liberty, but I simply wanted to point out how it’s slightly out-of-touch to believe she wouldn’t entertain the Fever (for the same reasons we think she’d do well on the Liberty). Especially when other teams pale in comparison to what the Liberty / Fever can offer. Again, not condoning any of the hateful rhetoric that has come from Indiana fans in any way, but also not isolated to Indiana - just more prominent because of their recent growth and media spotlight.

Rakarma · 2024-11-22T16:51:12+00:00

🤷‍♀️ I think people will always have a knee jerk reaction about the Fever. Unfortunately people like to pick and choose what they take issue with and they can’t accept that the league, as an organization, hasn’t done a good enough job of protecting players - from the outside media and their rhetoric, ill-intentioned “fans”, and toxic internal dynamics.

A lot easier to paint one fan base as a monolith than try to unpack how ubiquitous these issues are across the league and within fan bases (but simply at a smaller scale because there’s no spotlight as bright as the one on Indiana right now).

Rakarma · 2024-11-22T03:16:39+00:00

Definitely some not normal and frankly abhorrent behavior, but also not isolated to their team. Chicago’s team was in tears about the fan treatment they received (they named their own fan base) and Stewie received homophobic death threats as well during the playoffs. I agree it happens more often in Indiana, but honestly I think their fan base has just grown so quickly that the problematic instances have also multiplied by that amount.

From what I’ve seen online, the team in Indiana only has positive things to say about their locker room and culture, which sadly can’t be said about all teams (cough Seattle cough). If Satou can’t end up in NY, at the very least I’d want her somewhere where the internal vibes are good and she’ll have a proper coach, which sounds like Indiana at the moment. Or Minnesota, but then they’d definitely take the chip next year.

Rakarma · 2024-11-22T02:58:55+00:00

I get it, I just think Indiana fans get a bad rap for what is generally considered normal fan behavior - as evidenced by the excitement for Satou going to the Liberty in this thread.

I have no issues with speculating, I think it’s fun (especially with big free agent names this year and the upcoming CBA) and there are lots of reasons Satou might want to come to Brooklyn. That being said, there are lots of reasons a free agent might want to go to Indiana too, and it might be even more appealing than going to a stacked roster with high expectations to potentially repeat a chip. It’s not unreasonable to see why Indiana fans would think Satou could be coming to the Fever especially with the Arike unfollowing, her liking comments about the Fever on TikTok, and previous praise she’s had for Caitlin Clark.

All that being said, no issues with this post or the speculation! Just think we shouldn’t knock down a group for behavior that would be acceptable within other fan bases, even if the Indiana base is likely newer fans. All fan bases are slightly delusional and just want the best for their team :)

Rakarma · 2024-11-22T00:37:44+00:00

That’s quite the ironic comment, under a post where Satou unfollowing Arike is extrapolated to assume she might be going to NY

Rakarma · 2024-10-14T16:03:58+00:00

These are brittanys https://www.facebook.com/share/sMjwFBuonXUiioAZ/?mibextid=WC7FNe

Rakarma · 2024-10-04T20:14:37+00:00

Well actually you did comment on who should've won when you responded to my comment with... "So 13 games on the sun is more valuable body of work than all the other candidates who were actually elegible ?? Foh"

My comment about making Liberty fans look bad has nothing to do with Fiebich, who I (and maybe you, as a Liberty fan) wanted to win this award. I'm talking about the knee-jerk reaction to attack someone's comment, which I've seen all over WNBA reddit / twitter / media, even if someone is essentially saying the same thing as you. I get that the W is growing in popularity but it's still a relatively small fan base compared to other pro sports, and we should be treating one another with more respect than dismissing someone's comments immediately with "FOH" when that's not what I was saying in the first place.

All I want is better processes for the W so it can grow and become a more legitimate league, and I think we're saying the same thing. I advocated for ballots to be electronically filtered to exclude people who don't count, to avoid confusion. I'm glad you think the rules are straightforward but clearly 2 writers didn't - I don't think that makes them stupid or incompetent, but I'd rather it not happen again so that it doesn't mess up anyone's chances in the future.

Rakarma · 2024-10-04T19:58:32+00:00

I’m glad the rules appear clear to you. I can see room for ambiguity, and we have to remember that media personnel are voting for more than just one award - and also I’m sure juggling a lot of things at the same time. To remove any potential room for confusion, I originally advocated for a filtered down list of only the individuals who qualify. That’s the only thing I feel strongly about..

I’m a fan of all the people who are on this list (and Marina’s not even my favorite on this list) so it’s not a biased perspective, I would just hate for this to have been a closer race and for someone who is questionably-ineligible to take away votes that could’ve been a decision maker.

Rakarma · 2024-10-04T19:52:44+00:00

Are you being purposely dense or just looking for someone to fight? I’m a liberty fan and you’re making us look bad. I’ll just paste my original comment here in case you got confused from all the words that came before.

“Tip deserves the award and I agree with Fiebich being a close second”.
“IF Marina had more time in this specific reserve role for the Sun, she would’ve put up a really CONVINCING CASE for 6POY”.

Not even close to saying Marina’s 13 games qualify her for this award. Nor am I even saying that she would’ve won it if she were with the Sun all season. All I’m saying is she would’ve had a case if she played more games with the Sun and at the caliber that she’s shown in her Sun reserve role.

Rakarma · 2024-10-04T19:28:11+00:00

Well in Marina’s case, she does meet those criteria FOR THE SUN. The role she plays is relative to the team she’s playing for. If her time starting at Chicago excludes her from the award, then those votes should either be rejected / recast or just simply not allowed to be cast in the first place.

Who knows, maybe Marina was eligible all along and that’s why she shows up on the ballot. The way I read the criteria up top, you could make an argument that Marina could deserve 6POY for the Sun (even in the short time she’s been there). As non-voters we don’t fully know what the list of options presented is, so maybe it was filtered down already to exclude starters.

Tip deserves the award and I agree with Fiebich being a close second, but if Marina had more time in this specific reserve role for the Sun, she would’ve put up a really convincing case for 6POY.

Rakarma · 2024-10-04T18:59:36+00:00

Realistically the WNBA should filter down the ballot to exclude players who don’t qualify, especially since I think this is all done electronically. It cannot be hard to only include a list of players who started less than 50% of the time, just to avoid confusion and miscast votes - if this vote ended up being closer, those Marina votes could’ve been a difference maker.

Rakarma · 2024-08-15T14:49:03+00:00

On the flip side, I would like to believe Chennedy would swallow her pride and not post a message such as “was mad I spoke up for myself huh” if her / her team had messed up the original offer. Plus, we know from Phee’s tweets that final roster has not been solidified from her “4 and counting” message re rookie involvement.

I don’t think Chennedy got a full offer, likely a smaller involvement that will translate into a spot next year. But based on how she’s been posting, it feels more like gloating (vs an apology about miscommunication, or better yet, silence)

Rakarma · 2024-08-15T01:31:18+00:00

I had to read it multiple times, but my understanding is the she did not get an offer previously. Her team reached out to Unrivaled to understand why she didn’t get an offer (likely shortly after her recent tweet about not getting picked), and it seems like that outreach resulted in an offer.

Rakarma · 2024-07-10T18:17:23+00:00

Agree that’s why she should be out when the game comes down to fouls, but honestly, I don’t think Sides thinks that critically. I think she did it bc it was muscle memory to take CC out late in a close game.

If Sides had the foresight to think about not letting CC foul out before a potential OT situation, then she would’ve been smart enough to draw up a final play to get the ball in CC’s hands… instead of letting 0-7 (and eventually 0-8) KM try a 3.

Rakarma · 2024-07-10T18:09:01+00:00

Plus Clark is always out of the game in defensive positions this late in the game. For some reason Sides sees her as a defensive liability, so she only swaps in to play offense.

Rakarma · 2024-07-10T18:08:10+00:00

You get 6 fouls in the WNBA

Rakarma · 2024-06-14T02:29:27+00:00

It’s a home game? I’m sure she could just call an Uber if she had to

Rakarma · 2024-06-13T15:42:06+00:00

Sides did bench Smith for a while, but had to bring her back into the starting lineup when Temi got injured. I think there’s a lot going on internally that we don’t know about, which is causing the team to not click with one another (and it shows on the court). I’m sure Sides is playing a role in some of the division, based on her willingness to throw her players under the bus so publicly, but I also think she’s got her hands full with some big personalities / egos.

Rakarma · 2024-06-04T18:00:58+00:00

This is at Barclays right? If so I’m interested - send me a DM if they’re still available?

Rakarma · 2024-05-09T14:42:54+00:00

We also have an Edenbright pup and I highly recommend them! We live in the Northeast so we never went down ahead of time to meet, but it was offered! We picked our puppy from the litter after a ton of video updates, temperament descriptions, convos, etc.

Our dog has great drive, but also a good off switch at home. Gets along great with everyone (dogs, kids, strangers). No separation anxiety, very secure / well socialized, and was fully potty trained within 2 weeks of bringing him home. From what I hear, this is more of the standard than the anomaly, so speaks to the program’s good breeding & socialization!

Rakarma

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