Mercedes Russell

Are the Seattle Storm signing another former UConn star? (No, not that one.)

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Beyond a few procedural moves and applying the core designation to Jewell Loyd, it has been a tame offseason for the Seattle Storm so far. That might be about to change.

The Athletic’s Chantel Jennings reported free-agent big Stefanie Dolson is down to two finalists: the Storm and the New York Liberty. Beyond potentially adding the two-time All-Star, Seattle’s pursuit of Dolson could send a big message about what the team plans to do with Mercedes Russell.

Russell is a restricted free agent, which allows the Storm to match any offer sheet she receives. That doesn’t guarantee she’ll be back, though. Seattle’s front office may have a firm dollar figure in mind for the 2018 second-round pick. Should another team meet or exceed that amount, then the franchise could be prepared to lose a center who has been a key cog over the last few years.

Those are the sacrifices one has to make when your two best players are free agents and only five players are under contract. You can’t keep everybody.

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Storm Free Agency Preview: I’ve got a blank space, baby

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Talisa Rhea, it’s your time to shine.

The Seattle Storm promoted Rhea to general manager in April 2021, by which time the team had already executed their biggest offseason moves. While she had been the assistant GM under Alisha Valavanis since 2019, she hasn’t yet had the opportunity to truly leave her imprint on the roster.

That will change this winter.

The Storm’s official roster at the moment is a bit sparse.

This was likely entirely by design based on Seattle’s offseason business in 2021. The team didn’t re-sign Alysha Clark and traded the pair of Natasha Howard and Sami Whitcomb, both of whom were free agents, to the New York Liberty. While that hindered the Storm’s chances of successfully defending their WNBA title, it cleared the deck for 2022, when they had a slew of players out of contract including Breanna Stewart, Jewell Loyd, Mercedes Russell and Jordin Canada.

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Playing the Long Game

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Tiger Woods won the 1997 Masters by the largest margin ever less than a year after becoming a professional. Later that season, he was victorious in the Byron Nelson Classic. He was 21 and poised to dominate the PGA Tour.

Instead, Woods decided to totally revamp his golf swing. While that meant taking a step backward in the short term as he figured things out, it laid the groundwork for one of the most dominant stretches in the sport’s history. By tweaking his swing to emphasize control over power, Woods perfected his game and ensured he would continue to stay miles ahead of the competition. If he doesn’t think proactively, then the Tiger Slam probably never happens.

On Wednesday, Seattle Storm general manager Alisha Valavanis changed the team’s swing.

Having already lost Alysha Clark to free agency, Seattle traded Natasha Howard to the New York Liberty for the No. 1 pick in the 2021 WNBA draft, the Phoenix Mercury’s 2022 first-rounder and the Liberty’s 2022 second-rounder. The Storm flipped the No. 1 pick to the Dallas Wings for Katie Lou Samuelson and a 2022 second-rounder while simultaneously sending the Phoenix pick to the Minnesota Lynx for Mikiah Herbert Harrigan. Sami Whitcomb also went to the Liberty in a sign-and-trade for the rights to Stephanie Talbot.

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The Morning After: Whew!

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Sami InterviewThe Seattle Storm nearly threw away a 21-point lead Wednesday night against the Minnesota Lynx before holding on for a 90-79 victory.

Seattle fended off Minnesota’s late charge, scoring 10 unanswered points in the final three minutes to earn its 11th win and move to fourth in the WNBA standings.

Natasha Howard had a career-high 33 points and was one of four Storm starters to score in double figures. Sami Whitcomb shot 5-of-11 from beyond the arc en route to a 15-point night and added eight assists.

Lexie Brown was a big reason for the Lynx’s second-half turnaround as she scored a team-high 20 points. But Odyssey Sims and Napheesa Collier were a combined 5-of-23 for 13 points.

 

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The Morning After: Third Time’s A Charm

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Dolson ConfusedThe Seattle Storm now sit third in the WNBA after defeating the Chicago Sky 79-76 on Friday in Seattle.

Five different Storm players scored in double figures. Jordan Canada’s 17 points led the team, and she added six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Natasha Howard shot only 3-of-14 from the field but got to the free-throw line nine times, which helped her pour in 14 points. She was one rebound short of a double-double as well.

Diamond DeShields had a game-high 19 points but shot 0-of-5 from beyond the arc. Jantel Lavender earned a double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) in the defeat.

One game separates the Storm from the second-place Washington Mystics and they’re 1.5 games off the Connecticut Sun.

 

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Breaking Down the Storm’s Start to 2019

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Stewie PhoneThe Seattle Storm are a little over a quarter of the way through the 2019 WNBA regular season, having compiled a 5-4 record through their first nine games.

Seattle’s hopes of successfully defending its 2018 championship appear slim, but the bar for success changed drastically when Breanna Stewart was lost for the year to a ruptured Achilles. Then came Sue Bird’s knee surgery that has delayed her season debut indefinitely.

Forget winning a title; just reaching the playoffs would be an achievement.

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The Morning After: Jewell B. Loydin’

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KML KimbroughNot content to sweep them in the 2018 WNBA Finals, the Seattle Storm continued to torment the Washington Mystics.

The reigning champions outscored Washington 22-8 in the fourth quarter and overcame what was a seven-point deficit in the final three minutes to earn a 74-71 win Friday.

Jewell Loyd delivered the game-winner, hitting a jumper from just past the free-throw line with 7.7 seconds remaining. Loyd had 14 points, three rebounds and two assists in the victory.

Mercedes Russell had a career night, setting personal bests in points (15) and rebounds (11). Natasha Howard matched her double-double, pouring in 19 points and collecting 11 boards.

Elena Delle Donne led the Mystics with 19 points, but only four of those points came in the second half. Kristi Toliver only played 9:28 after getting two quick technical fouls.

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The Morning After: Catch The Fever

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Screen Shot 2019-06-12 at 8.35.46 AMThe Seattle Storm held on for an 84-82 victory Tuesday night against the Indiana Fever.

A foul on Natalie Achonwa helped decide the outcome as Jewell Loyd made a pair of free throws with 24.4 seconds remaining to put Seattle ahead. Loyd hit another free throw to make it a two-point game with 9.1 seconds left.

Loyd had 18 points, three rebounds four assists and three steals in the win. Mercedes Russell (13 points) and Natasha Howard (26 points) both set career highs in scoring and narrowly missed out on double-doubles, collecting eight and nine rebounds apiece.

Kelsey Mitchell went off for 21 points, while Candice Dupree had a double-double (10 points, 15 rebounds).

At 4-3, the Storm are now sixth in the WNBA.

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The Morning After: Dan Hughes, 2018 WNBA Champion

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Screen Shot 2019-05-31 at 10.29.07 PM
To be fair, the graphic is 50 percent correct

Following an ugly loss to the Minnesota Lynx, the Seattle Storm rebounded with a commanding 82-66 win over the Atlanta Dream on Friday night.

Natasha Howard led all scorers with 19 points and added 14 rebounds, four assists, two steals and three blocks to an excellent all-around night. Jordin Canada chipped in with 12 points and seven assists, while Jewell Loyd finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and four dimes.

Tiffany Hayes battled foul trouble early on and never found her groove, scoring nine points on 2-of-4 shooting. Renee Montgomery had a night to forget as well, shooting 1-of-6 for three points.

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The Morning After: NOT THE BEES! NOT THE BEES! AAAAAHHHHH!

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Screen Shot 2019-05-30 at 9.23.31 AMThe Seattle Storm won’t be going undefeated in 2019.

The defending WNBA champions fell 72-61 to the Minnesota Lynx on Wednesday night. Seattle couldn’t dig out of the hole it created for itself following a nine-point opening quarter.

Natasha Howard was the game’s leading scorer (18) but finished with just five rebounds—one game after grabbing a career-high 16 boards in the team’ season opener.

The Storm held Sylvia Fowles in check for the most part offensively, limiting the 2017 MVP to seven points. Fowles hammered Seattle on the glass, though, finishing with 13 rebounds.

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