u/GWTim78

Assuming they stay together and are healthy, which young duo do you think wins a title first? Not necessarily which is best, but who wins a title first.

Feel free to discuss and rank them 1-5 in the comments.

*this might heavily depend on where JuJu and Sarah Strong end up.

*setting aside Olivia Miles as she doesn’t have anyone to pair with and would likely run away with the vote.

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When San Antonio drafted Wemby, everyone knew it was just a matter of time before they ascended to the top of the NBA ranks. Few thought it would happen so quickly, but with a couple more top draft picks, they made it to the Finals earlier than expected.

It’s starting to feel that way with Seattle. Drafting Malonga second in 2025, followed by Awa Fam falling into their laps at #3, and picking up Flau’jae in a trade, they appear destined to take over the league soon while Caitlin, Paige, Angel, and Olivia end up playing catch up before even having a chance to lay claim to a title.

They’ll have another decent draft pick next summer, cap space, and if they decide to trade Ezi, they could add another big piece.

Scary what this team might look like even as soon as next season.

​I'm not entirely sure of the exact reason the Fever decided not to bring back Natasha Howard. My guess is that Tash asked for a larger contract, the Fever declined thinking they could upgrade the position for cheaper (reasonable) while Tash figured she'd be due a bigger salary elsewhere than the one she ended up with (also reasonable, especially considering the FA contracts that were signed at that position).

At this point in the season, it's harder to identify one move that has impacted both teams to such a degree. The Fever have struggled to find a consisent contributor at the four, while Tash now anchors the league's best defense by a considerable amount. There is a greater gap in DRTG between the Lynx and GSV at 2 than there is between GSV and Vegas at 10. She is also one half of a monster pick and roll combo with rookie Olivia Miles feasting at the rim with a career high 62.5% FG%.

I stongly believe that if the Fever re-signed Tash, they would likely be in the top tier of the league with at most 3-4 losses right now. The fit wasn't perfect but it wasn't nearly as bad as fans remember. When Clark, Boston, and Howard shared the court last season, the Fever were +12.1 points per 100 possessions. For comparison, A’ja, Jackie Young, and Chelea Gray were +14.4.

Again, the offensive fit wasn't perfect, but with AB playing much more on the perimeter, there would have been opportunities to grow that combo even more. And her screening, defense, and rebounding at that position is sorely missed.

The truth is that Fever fans never really gave Tash a chance after her "MVP" comment in the preseason - even though I think that was actually complimentary of Caitlin as she figured she'd be getting a lot of easy buckets. But even now, most Fever fans won't admit it was a mistake to let her go.

On the flip side, it's interesting to consider who the Lynx would have ended up with had Tash re-signed. Nneka had already turned them down at that point. Perhaps...Mo Billings.

Players making more this season than Howard's $700K:

Alanna Smith

Kennedy Burke

Temi Fagbenle

Mo Billings

Stefanie Dolson

Courtney Vandersloot

Olivia Nelson-Odoba

Sami Whitcomb