The Minnesota Lynx put together an impressive run during the 2017 WNBA season, leading to the franchise’s fourth championship in seven seasons.
But now the retooling begins.
And starting this week, the Lynx will begin the process of trying to figure out exactly what their 2018 team will look like.
Monday marked the official start of free agency in the WNBA. Teams are now able to start negotiating contracts with free agents, although no deals can officially be signed until Feb. 1.
The league released the updated list of core players, reserved players, restricted free agents and unrestricted free agents.
But what do these categories mean?
Core players are essentially the same as franchise-tagged players in the NFL, as teams are allowed to assign one of their veteran free agents as a core player, giving them exclusive negotiating rights with that player.
Reserved players are free agents who have played three or fewer years in the WNBA, therefore giving their team exclusive negotiating rights with them.
Restricted free agents have the ability to sign with any team, but their previous team can match any offer to keep that player, if it wishes. Unrestricted free agents can essentially do whatever they want.
Now, let’s dive in and take a look at Minnesota’s roster as it currently stands, what the Lynx need and a few names on those lists that could make for a nice fit in Minnesota this season.
Who’s on the roster, who’s on the market
Minnesota will have a bulk of its players returning from last year, a team that contained one of the oldest rosters in the WNBA.
Thankfully, several key contributors for last season will still be around. Seimone Augustus, 2017 MVP Sylvia Fowles, Maya Moore, Lindsay Whalen, Alexis Jones, Cecilia Zandalasini and Temi Fagbenle are all under contract with the Lynx for 2018.
Players from last year’s championship team that aren’t under contract are unrestricted free agents Rebekkah Brunson and Renee Montgomery and restricted free agent Natasha Howard. Based on their pasts with the team, it’s hard to see either of them go anywhere else in free agency.
It will be interesting to see how the Howard situation plays out. She is a restricted free agent, so Cheryl Reeve and company could very well just wait and see how aggressive other teams are trying to sign Howard before sending her an offer. Howard is just 26 years old and with Pierson gone, she could move into a key role at the forward position coming off the bench.
Meanwhile, Plenette Pierson announced her retirement at the end of the 2017 season, and Jia Perkins is likely to follow her out the door.
What the Lynx need
Even if Minnesota manages to retain all three of Brunson, Montgomery and Howard, there are still a few holes it will have to fill before next season.
Most notably, the void left by Pierson at the power forward/center position coming off the bench backing up Brunson and Fowles.
Pierson was the third option coming off the bench for the Lynx in 2017, behind Montgomery and Perkins. Pierson’s inside-outside offensive ability made her a valuable asset. You’d think Minnesota would look to add a similar piece in the free agent market this offseason.
Another necessity for the Lynx will come at the shooting guard position if Perkins indeed does hang her shoes up. As somewhat of a combo guard, Perkins was a key piece down the stretch of last season and specifically in the Finals against the Sparks. Perkins was a solid deep ball threat, while also being asked to initiate the offense occasionally. It will be interesting to see if Minnesota reaches out to sign a player in free agency to fill that hole, or if the Lynx reach into the players they hold rights to for that roster spot.
Along with just filling out the rest of the roster, those are two key areas that the Lynx will need to focus on as free agency and the offseason advances.
Salary cap and free agents
According to a spreadsheet of salaries that Summitt Hoops released during the season last year, the Lynx spent about $891,600 on player salaries in 2017.
Hypothetically, let’s say Minnesota re-signs Brunson, Montgomery and Howard, which seems extremely likely. Assuming those players would maintain – or have similar – contracts than what they had a season ago, that would bring the Lynx to a total salary of $787,246, leaving them with a little under $120,000 left to spend in the open market before reaching the salary max of $901,000.
Likely, that salary gap would give Minnesota the flexibility to sign one solid bench player.
Adding Zandalasini at the end of last year – someone who likely to get a larger role on the 2018 squad – along with having a large amount of guards and wings in general, you get a sense that Minnesota will shift its focus to replacing Pierson’s spot this offseason.
There are a few players that I personally would like to see fill that void with the Lynx this season, starting with restricted free agent Tiana Hawkins. Hawkins is a 6-foot-3 forward that spent the 2017 season with the Washington Mystics. Hawkins has the ability to be a post presence, while also having the ability to stretch the floor and shoot from deep. Lynx fans got plenty of chances to see her in the WNBA Playoffs last season.
As far as unrestricted free agents and players who could be more easily obtainable, players such as Danielle Adams – a post and 3-point threat from Connecticut who had a limited role in 2017 – and Courtney Paris – a 6-4 center from Dallas that isn’t a deep-ball threat but shoots the ball extremely well – are a few names that could make for nice additions.
Another player to watch that isn’t a free agent but rather a player the Lynx hold rights to as another possible addition to the roster is Anna Cruz, who appeared in 2016. Cruz has the potential to fill in a guard bench role, kind of playing a similar role as she did in 2016 and a role that Zandalasini held near the end of last season.
Free agency is about to begin. The Lynx have a lot to figure out before they make an attempt to secure back-to-back titles in 2018.
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