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Last season didn’t go as planned for the Los Angeles Sparks.
They missed the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season, parted ways with their head coach Curt Miller and got the No. 2 pick in the WNBA Draft, a brutal consolation prize as it means they’ll likely miss out on Paige Bueckers.
It’s a new year though and the Sparks are already making changes. Lynne Roberts is taking over as head coach and free agency is fast approaching.
With a rebuild well underway and some tough decisions to make up and down the roster, here is everything you need to know before WNBA free agency begins.
Who is on the roster?
Eight players are on the roster heading into free agency, barring trades: Julie Allemand, Cameron Brink, Lexie Brown, Rae Burrell, Zia Cooke, Dearica Hamby, Rickea Jackson, and Azurá Stevens.
The minimum number of players on a WNBA roster is 11 and the maximum is 12. Thus, the Sparks can sign two to three players in free agency.
How much money will they have to spend?
Financially, they currently have $1,036,170 in their books, giving them $470,930 in cap space they can use via free agency.
Key free agency dates
The first important dates to remember for WNBA free agency are Jan. 11-20. This is when teams can make qualifying offers and “core player” designations and can exclusively negotiate with in-house free agents.
Free agency begins on Jan. 21, when teams can talk to opposing players and make contract offers. While news will undoubtedly break during this period, nothing will be official until Feb. 1, when players can sign their new contracts.
Who will be a free agent for the Sparks?
Before examining the available players in the league, they have a few of their own free agents to decide on. Aari McDonald is a restricted free agent, Kia Nurse is unrestricted and Li Yueru is a reserved player.
They can core Nurse during this window and sign her to a one-year supermax, ensuring she stays with the team and does not test free agency. However, given that she was a role player on the league’s worst team, the Sparks will likely let her test free agency and not core her.
Yueru is the only reserved player the Sparks are dealing with this offseason. Players are considered reserved when they have three or fewer years of WNBA service and are on an expiring contract. Los Angeles can extend a qualifying offer to Yueru during the Jan. 11-20 window.
If they make an offer, another team can match it once free agency begins. If the Sparks do not extend the qualifying offer before Jan. 20, she will become an unrestricted free agent.
Yueru is a tough player to get a read on. She clearly has talent and shows promise, but she is still finding her place in the WNBA and averaged 5.1 points and 3.7 rebounds in the 38 games she played.
McDonald is a restricted free agent, which works the same way in the WNBA as in the NBA. The Sparks can match any contract offer an opposing team makes or choose not to and let McDonald walk this offseason.
What will the Sparks do?
With the Sparks having a handful of spots, a decent amount of cap room and a new coach in charge, expect many changes in Los Angeles.
There is always a lot of roster upheaval in the WNBA, especially for rebuilding teams. There will be players making surprise returns, trades that will be made and stars taking their talents to new teams.
If the Sparks play their cards right, they can start 2025 in a positive direction, keeping the parts of the team that are promising and gaining some talent that can bring them back into the playoffs.
One glaring need the team has is a quality guard. It’s been a carousel in the backcourt since the departure of Chelsea Gray after the 2020 season.
They need an elite player to handle the ball and run the offense. It’ll be interesting to see if they believe that player is already on the roster, if they sign someone new in free agency, if they make a trade or if they use their No. 2 draft pick to acquire such a player.
Come Jan. 11, we will begin to better understand the vision for the 2025 Sparks.
All cap numbers come from Her Hoop Stats. You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.
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