When the negotiation period for WNBA free agency opens Saturday, do not expect the Lynx to be as active as they were last year.
"Relatively speaking, the level of aggression will not be the same,'' Cheryl Reeve said.
Reeve is the general manager and coach of the Lynx, who struck hard a year ago, signing starters Kayla McBride and Aerial Powers and center Natalie Achonwa to deals.
That's not to say there aren't challenges this year. There are. It's just that many of them are in-house.
The Lynx will open free agency — official signings can't be made until Feb. 1 — with $432,198 in cap room. They have nine players under contract, a number that includes the fact Bridget Carleton has signed her qualifying offer. Under contract are McBride, Powers, Achonwa and Damiris Dantas, whose deals are all guaranteed; and Carleton, Napheesa Collier, Crystal Dangerfield, Rennia Davis and Jessica Shepard.
Center Sylvia Fowles and guards Layshia Clarendon and Rachel Banham are unrestricted free agents.
Free agency will begin with some big challenges:
- Getting a final decision from Fowles on her immediate future;
- Devising a plan to compete in 2022 without Collier, who is pregnant and likely to miss most, if not all, of the season;
- Solidifying the point guard position, which could be done by re-signing Clarendon.
Fowles showed no signs of slowing down in 2021, her 14th season. She was named an All-Star for the seventh time and named defensive player of the year for the fourth time. It is with Fowles that free agency starts for the Lynx. Or, more accurately, it is with Fowles' decision on whether to continue playing or retire with the idea of becoming a mother. Reeve said she and Fowles would meet next week and begin the process of arriving at a final decision.
