2025 Valkyries free agency 6: Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner
a package deal
The whole 2025 Valkyries Free Agency series is indexed here.
Update 2025-01-18. Alyssa Thomas was cored by the Sun, so GSV would have to trade for her services.
Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner
Yeah, I also think like, you know, we saw toward the end of the Connecticut Sun season this year just how much of a stink Alyssa Thomas made about the whole practice facility thing and having to share the local community. And just like, we also saw before that, right, cop get traded to Phoenix and just talk about how much like having a dedicated place, how important you’re posted about on Instagram. But I have that important is to like me, you know, like making her career longer hopefully, right? And like AT, we already know about the labrums. She was also dealing with some kind of weird shin thing toward the end of the season - right. That kind of just went undisclosed, but we saw her like grasping at it several times toward the end of the season. So like, you know, facilities, resources, all of those things, like you just cannot discount the importance of a player, especially of, you know, her caliber. We’re talking about a top five player in the world, right, to sustain that level. What do they need? You know? And very much does feel like they [Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner] are a package deal these days.
Great point - and I hadn’t considered just the mental side of it. I mean, look, think about the end of the Fever series, right? What was being said about fans in their own arena. I mean, I, you know, I know there was a whole lot of discourse about what constituted fandoms and extreme fandoms, etc. But if a player felt that way, like their feeling, you might not agree with the feeling, but that is their reality and their perception of it, and that is valid. And if Alyssa Thomas walked away from the arena that night thinking like, “This is not sustainable,” maybe you want the fresh start of going somewhere new. And also, you know, the pitch you can reasonably make if you’re Golden State (and it depends on if not only [GSV coach Natalie] Nakase and the staff are interested in them as players) is you guys built a winning culture in Connecticut together. Come enter the next phase of your career, at least for a year here. You know, maybe give it a year to see if you like it, and be the people that create a culture before you retire.