WNBA Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: WNBA, Wade, Two-Way Candidates

January 14th, 2020 at 2:05pm CST by Luke Adams

The WNBA and its players union have reached a landmark labor deal, announcing the tentative eight-year agreement today, as Doug Feinberg of The Associated Press outlines.

The new Collective Bargaining Agreement will increase the average and maximum salaries for players while enhancing standards and benefits related to travel and maternity leave. The deal, which has been approved by players and still must be ratified by owners, includes a 50-50 revenue sharing split beginning in 2021.

“I call it historic,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said. “The CBA guarantees substantial (financial) increases. The way we are paying these players is different than the past. … The top couple players are tripling (in pay) where they were. Other players are making $200-300K. The average will be over $130K. Everyone gets an increase here.”

The WNBA is also introducing a mid-season competition called the Commissioner’s Cup, per Mechelle Voepel of ESPNW. The event could be a mini-preview of what’s to come in the NBA, where commissioner Adam Silver has pushed the idea of an in-season tournament.

“We will designate Cup games the first half of the season leading into the Olympic break this year,” Engelbert said. “And then [for] the two teams with the best records, we will have a final in August as our first game back to re-launch the season. In 2020, the cash prizes will be more moderate, but in 2021, we’re going to step them up as we seek sponsors.”

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Dwyane Wade is taking on a “significant” role with CAA Sports, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Wade and CAA announced today that they’ve partnered to create CAA AMP, a cultural strategy agency within CAA’s brand consulting division, per Liz Mullen of SportsBusines Journal (Twitter link). It’ll be a busy year for Wade, who will also appear on TNT and CBS Sports as an NBA and NCAA commentator.
With Wednesday’s deadline for two-way signings looming, Jake Fischer of SI.com (Twitter link) identifies Dakota Mathias and Kaiser Gates as potential candidates for two-way contracts. Fischer also mentioned Marquese Chriss just before word broke that Chriss would be signing a two-way deal with Golden State.
John Hollinger of The Athletic explores which under-the-radar trade candidates teams should be pursuing as the deadline approaches, listing Derrick Rose, Nemanja Bjelica, and Dennis Schroder as targets that would make sense.

WNBA Players Could Sit Out Next Season

August 22nd, 2019 at 6:10pm CST by Chris Crouse

The WNBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement will expire in October at the end of the league’s season and the players are concerned about the future of the league, as Kimberly Cataudella of Newsday relays.

Liberty’s Tina Charles said that “sitting out the season is always an option.” Other players have echoed that sentiment.

Both sides are optimistic that a deal will be done in time for next season. The WNBA negotiations will focus on the league’s vision for the future as well as pay structure and benefit concerns.

“The reality is that we have to make a living,” WNBA legend Sue Bird said. “We have categories that we have highlighted as a union, areas that we really want to see the change in, and salary is No. 1.”

According to Cataudella, the WNBA’s base salary is about $75,000 and average compensation is $116,000. Players also receive benefits such as insurance and housing.

Average attendance in the WNBA is down and the league lost $12MM in 2018. Last year, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said that “on average, (the WNBA) has lost over $10MM every year” of existence.

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Northwest Notes: Nuggets, Bird, Westbrook, Presti

July 29th, 2019 at 8:13pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Keeping his young core group together is enough to make the Nuggets a prime Western Conference contender, general manager Arturas Karnisovas told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on “The Woj Pod” (hat tip to the Denver Post’s Mike Singer).

“Definitely we’re banking on our continuity,” the Nuggets GM said. “A lot of teams that made changes and added huge pieces and stars, they’re still dealing in hypotheticals. We’ve watched this group show us last year, take us to a 54-28 season, having the best home record, 34-7, so this group is (established) and they’re still the third youngest group in the league.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

Longtime WNBA star Sue Bird has a wide variety of duties as a basketball operations associate with the Nuggets during her league’s offseason, as Alex Coffey of The Athletic details. She observes games and practices, sits in on front office meetings, watches film and helps scouting college and international players. She also provided advice to point guard Monte Morris, which he found insightful. “She helped me stay encouraged when things were getting tough,” Morris said. “She would tell me things she noticed in how I played. It wasn’t always positive. There were times when she was like, ‘This guy’s guarding you this way. Try to counter him this way.’ Just little things like that.”
The Thunder have lost superstars before but the trade of Russell Westbrook to the Rockets has left a void, as Brett Dawson of The Athletic details. The bond between Westbrook and the city was stronger than any other star player.
Thunder GM Sam Presti remains hopeful the team can be fairly competitive next season despite trading away Westbrook and Paul George, Nick Gallo of the team’s website writes. “It’s going to be a different iteration of Thunder team than we’ve seen over the last several years,” Presti said. “The way we were able to pivot has given us the opportunity to have a much brighter future going forward and still have a team coming back this season that we feel good about.”

WNBA Lands Major TV Deal

April 22nd, 2019 at 10:36am CST by Chris Crouse

The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) announced that it has a multi-year contract with CBS Sports for the network to televise live WNBA games starting in the 2019 season, according to the league’s website.

“Through our partnership with CBS Sports Network, the WNBA is joining an elite lineup of premium sports programming,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “We thank CBS Sports for making such a meaningful commitment to women’s basketball and for providing another platform to showcase the world-class athletes of the WNBA.”

There will be 40 live, nationally-televised WNBA games in prime time and on weekends on the network, with the first game on May 25 when the Minnesota Lynx take on the Chicago Sky. The league is entering its 23rd season.

“We are truly excited to partner with the WNBA, bringing the country’s premier women’s sports league to CBS Sports Network. This partnership is one of the biggest and most impactful women’s sports programming arrangements ever at CBS Sports, offering national exposure of 40 games per year,” said Sean McManus, Chairman, CBS Sports.

“This agreement provides great live content throughout the summer in primetime and on weekends, and aligns two great brands in the WNBA and CBS Sports. We look forward to working with the WNBA for many years to come.”

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