The Golden State Valkyries have not shown interest in trading for Seattle center Li Yueru after she requested a trade, league sources told the Chronicle on Wednesday….
Yueru, a 6-foot-7 center in her first season with the Storm, is averaging 2.9 points and 1.6 rebounds in 9.1 minutes. Yueru’s representatives requested a trade after her playing time didn’t increase following the first seven games.
Above I mentioned that waiving players is an option that I did not think GSV would take. While that remains to be seen, other WNBA teams have waived players going to Eurobasket as detailed at SB Nation.
[[
Players who have bigger roles on championship-contending teams, like Gabby Williams of Seattle and Marine Johannes of New York, who both represent France, or Satou Sabally in Phoenix, who represents Germany, have already opted out of Eurobasket. …
Sevgi Uzun was waived the other day from the Phoenix Mercury for this purpose, and now, on Wednesday, the Minnesota Lynx have done the same. Marieme Badiane, who plays for the French National team, has been waived. Badiane had only played 11 minutes total over three games this season in the WNBA, not scoring any points.
Presumably, they knew several Europeans would leave for Eurobasket when they made the picks, so they knowingly chose to have a very difficult June due to absence of full season players. Good news: It may not repeat in two years, as the roster may change substantially during free agency. But then, of course, there are the Olympics, which will again involve a number of foreign players.
Simply put, it seems to be a clear risk to have too many foreign players on your team.
Yes… luckily everyone expected GSV to have a bad record so if the Valks can have a lot of spirited losses and inspiring wins AND a good draft pick, that might be the best combination.
And yup two years is an eternity away and the new CBA is may reshape the entire league
It's really unfortunate that this tournament is going to create a competitive disadvantage for the V's. I think they might have the most players playing overseas?
I didn’t do a comprehensive survey, but I believe GSV will have by far the most players lost to Eurobasket because (1) GSV has a lot of Europeans and (2) a number of the other ones are NOT going to Eurobasket, like Malonga and Johannes and others.
On the hardship players, local bias but I was surprised Haley Jones hasn't done better in the W, might be worth a flyer.
But, I'd really like to see Amihere back, I thought she was one of their better players in pre season.
Could be a tough stretch if Tip is out for a while, that only leaves 9 available even with the hardship, I think? Or is there an injury exception so they can backfill for her as well? Might need to re read the article more closely
I'm also surprised Haley Jones hasn't done better in the W. She was the heart of that championship squad for Stanford just a few years ago. Just goes to show how the W is "bigger, faster, stronger". Haley Jones' main advantage in college was her size and versatility - she was a tweener point forward, like a Draymond Green on offense. But that role is easily countered in the W-level with bigger, tougher defenders. Haley doesn't have a deep bag on offense. She isn't feared as a shooter, and doesn't really create offense that efficiently.
Similar to Jonathan Kuminga, if Haley wants to make a major impact in the W, she has to work on her 3pt shooting.
WNBA should give enough emergency hardship exceptions to get to 10 active players.
The article perhaps was not clear: Haley Jones was listed as already signed to a 2025 hardship contract by PHX today, so she’s probably not going to join GSV.
I am happy that WNBA players represent their countries in international competitions. The Valkyries ,as I understand, purposefully chose to have international players on the roster so they are aware of the consequences for their inaugural season. Not a problem for me.
You wrote:
What is Eurobasket?
It’s basically the Olympics for women’s basketball, taking place Jun 18 - 29, 2025.
There are Olympics for women's basketball !
Eurobasket might more accurately be called one of the top international competitions for women's basketball. Although I believe there have been some pretty good national teams outside of Europe ( Brazil, Japan, USA etc).
1. I saw them try to a few plays, particularly handoffs under the basket, that reminded me of the Warriors’s plays. Anyone else identify particular plays in the game?
2. As Arnold said at the very beginning, the team does not have any star quality go to players and this will like make it hard for them to win games. This was especially true against the Lynx who have some very good shooters and all-WNBA type players. I’m wondering if shooting is something that can improve during the season, or if this is just how it is and what we should expect going forward. Presumably some plays will enhance a player’s ability to make shots. So are the Valkyries working on plays to put players in the best situation?
1. There have been a handful of Warriors plays I noticed (not necessarily directly from GSW thought). They have
- a wing pick and roll and have a hand signal similar to GSW,
- HORNS 1 which I called HORNS Flex with GSW (ball goes to set a screen for a corner)
- HORNS Flare which I actually made a video comparing to GSW
- a play called 55 which has the same name at GSW, so that probably was borrowed directly, unless both came from the same source
I want to make a video about 55 next if I have time.
2. The GSV offense is often getting pretty good looks from 3 and compared to the WNBA, GSV is shooting a lot of threes. Unfortunately, there aren’t any elite 3 point shooters except maybe Zandalasini. Salaun has the high 3 volume, but that line drive shot is a worry. In comparison, it feels like the entire MIN team is better than everyone on GSV at shooting 3s.
The other problem is that when teams overplay the three point line, GSV doesn’t have great talent to punish with drives. They are doing quite well considering none of the expansion players were considered a Top 6 player on any team.
3. Finally, I don’t know if people are feeling discouraged by the last 3 games, but they were literally against both WNBA Finalists. Our team is a ragtag bunch of rejects that have been together for 1 month and have had starters injured for every game. And they are not backing down from the absolute best in women’s basketball and playing even or better through large stretches.
GSV have been better than I expected!
Things will continue to be rough, as the next game is against the #3 team in the WNBA and we’ll lose a bunch of players for Eurobasket for June. But I expect to see ferocious fight and heart, and if we ever get a Full Squad, then they should be able to beat all but the top WNBA teams.
The spontaneous, huge burst of joyous applause at the end of the game for the team would suggest that people are not discouraged. Martin and Burton both mentioned that the team appreciated that the crowd stuck with him through the harder part of the game and supported them to the very end. It may be hard to sustain in June, but I expect that the team will be supported wholeheartedly through the rest of the season.
1.> Would love to see a video about "55" as I've seen Kerr signal that play for the Warriors.
2.> Agree that Zandalasini might be their best shooter. Kate Martin, Steph Talbot, Thornton, Tip, Veronica Burton are good shooters, but they need a split-second more time to get their feet set. Janelle Salaun is a volume-shooter. Reminds me of Celtics' Antoine Walker. Not efficient, but someone's still gotta shoot the ball and be a scoring threat.
3.> This is an excellent point. Can't be discouraged playing against Liberty and Lynx as these 2 teams are definitely a tier above the rest of the league. The fact that they played the Liberty tough last Thursday and played a great first half against the Lynx is an encouraging sign. There's no superstar talent, but the chemistry is great. Coach Nat has them all playing tough D with physicality. It's fun to watch and - like Eric said - they've been better than I expected.
4.> If they keep playing with this much energy and effort all season, I can see them battling for a playoff spot in September. I think an 18-26 record will be sufficient to get into the playoffs.
I think this is how it is going forward. If you look at the Lynx, they have players with skillsets that stand out. Napheesa Collier is an MVP candidate and is capable of scoring from the pick and roll if teams don't send help. One play that Cheryl Reeve used a lot in their playoff run last season was a high pick and roll between Phee and one of their guards. If there was a switch, Phee would immediately roll hard and post up the smaller player switched to her. When this happens, the defense has to send help or Phee would get a good-quality shot. And when the help comes, they swing the ball around and usually end up with an open 3. Phee is an elite short-roll player.
Courtney Williams has the skillset to create her own shot (elevate for the mid-range jumper). And Kayla McBride is a movement shooter similar to Klay. (Kayla has said that she emulates Klay's game) The rest are supporting role-players who can make open 3s when the defense is scrambling from the help action. Bridget Carleton, Natasha Hiedman, Karlie Samuelson, Alanna Smith are good 3pt shooters that they can kick out to.
The Valks' shooters (Kayla Thornton, Ceci, Talbot, Kate Martin, Veronica Burton) are not movement shooters. They're similar to the Lynx role players. They will make 3s when open, but they need someone or some action that will attract double-teams and cause the defense to scramble so they get open 3s. I don't think the Valks currently have that talent that will cause defenses to help and generate open shots for others at a good-enough level. Maybe Carla Leite can develop into this kind of player. But she's young and still needs time to develop.
They do play good defense, so they can get good shots if they get stops and run before the defense gets set. The good news is that the WNBA is very top-heavy. So a .400 record might be good enough to make the playoffs.
BTW if you watch Linskens, she’s a very good outside shooter. She’s not a hopper and jumper, but can make her shots. I wonder why they’re not using her more? Ideas?
Maybe she's not good on defense? No idea... but looks like Nakase is playing "small ball" like Steve Kerr. Her centers seem to be Temi and Mo Billings.
With this Valks roster, they seem to score better in transition. They play hard of defense, get stops, then try to run and take advantage before the opponents can set up their defense. I think half of Kate Martin's points came from transition. So Nakase prioritizes tough defense.
If it's a slow, half court game where the Valks have to execute against a set defense, open shots are harder to come by.
Eric = if you have a chance at a presser, can you ask if Leite is dealing with an injury? Odd to see her not play in the 2nd half when Tip went down and Van Loo was a bit gassed.
In case you were wondering, from Ingemi:
[[
The Golden State Valkyries have not shown interest in trading for Seattle center Li Yueru after she requested a trade, league sources told the Chronicle on Wednesday….
Yueru, a 6-foot-7 center in her first season with the Storm, is averaging 2.9 points and 1.6 rebounds in 9.1 minutes. Yueru’s representatives requested a trade after her playing time didn’t increase following the first seven games.
]]
https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/article/valkyries-need-bolster-roster-won-t-pursue-20361794.php
I hope the Valkyries figure out a way to get Li Yueru. She's a very mobile 6 ft 7 who can run plays from the high post. Good passer and screener.
Above I mentioned that waiving players is an option that I did not think GSV would take. While that remains to be seen, other WNBA teams have waived players going to Eurobasket as detailed at SB Nation.
[[
Players who have bigger roles on championship-contending teams, like Gabby Williams of Seattle and Marine Johannes of New York, who both represent France, or Satou Sabally in Phoenix, who represents Germany, have already opted out of Eurobasket. …
Sevgi Uzun was waived the other day from the Phoenix Mercury for this purpose, and now, on Wednesday, the Minnesota Lynx have done the same. Marieme Badiane, who plays for the French National team, has been waived. Badiane had only played 11 minutes total over three games this season in the WNBA, not scoring any points.
]]
https://www.sbnation.com/wnba/2025/6/4/24443059/minnesota-lynx-waive-badiane-eurobasket-europe-france
Presumably, they knew several Europeans would leave for Eurobasket when they made the picks, so they knowingly chose to have a very difficult June due to absence of full season players. Good news: It may not repeat in two years, as the roster may change substantially during free agency. But then, of course, there are the Olympics, which will again involve a number of foreign players.
Simply put, it seems to be a clear risk to have too many foreign players on your team.
Yes… luckily everyone expected GSV to have a bad record so if the Valks can have a lot of spirited losses and inspiring wins AND a good draft pick, that might be the best combination.
And yup two years is an eternity away and the new CBA is may reshape the entire league
It's really unfortunate that this tournament is going to create a competitive disadvantage for the V's. I think they might have the most players playing overseas?
I didn’t do a comprehensive survey, but I believe GSV will have by far the most players lost to Eurobasket because (1) GSV has a lot of Europeans and (2) a number of the other ones are NOT going to Eurobasket, like Malonga and Johannes and others.
On the hardship players, local bias but I was surprised Haley Jones hasn't done better in the W, might be worth a flyer.
But, I'd really like to see Amihere back, I thought she was one of their better players in pre season.
Could be a tough stretch if Tip is out for a while, that only leaves 9 available even with the hardship, I think? Or is there an injury exception so they can backfill for her as well? Might need to re read the article more closely
Yes to Amihere!
Same - I'd like to see Amihere back.
I'm also surprised Haley Jones hasn't done better in the W. She was the heart of that championship squad for Stanford just a few years ago. Just goes to show how the W is "bigger, faster, stronger". Haley Jones' main advantage in college was her size and versatility - she was a tweener point forward, like a Draymond Green on offense. But that role is easily countered in the W-level with bigger, tougher defenders. Haley doesn't have a deep bag on offense. She isn't feared as a shooter, and doesn't really create offense that efficiently.
Similar to Jonathan Kuminga, if Haley wants to make a major impact in the W, she has to work on her 3pt shooting.
WNBA should give enough emergency hardship exceptions to get to 10 active players.
The article perhaps was not clear: Haley Jones was listed as already signed to a 2025 hardship contract by PHX today, so she’s probably not going to join GSV.
Oh, that was clear about Haley, my fault for trying to read an article and listen to a meeting at the same time
hmmm, all is forgiven if the meeting was about the Valkyries or Warriors
I posted an overview piece about Eurobasket at https://open.substack.com/pub/valkyrienation/p/all-about-june-eurobasket-and-the?r=3lm3s&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false but all comments on it should stay in this thread.
This was a great explanation, thanks! I have some questions regarding today's signing of Aerial Powers that you may know the answer you.
1. Is this a hardship signing to a "replacement contract"? The WNBA transaction log is calling it a rest of season contract.
2. Wouldn't her signing put us at 11 active players? Or are we counting Tiffany Hayes as injured?
I’ll reply in detail in the Game 8 wrap thread…
Thanks!
I am happy that WNBA players represent their countries in international competitions. The Valkyries ,as I understand, purposefully chose to have international players on the roster so they are aware of the consequences for their inaugural season. Not a problem for me.
You wrote:
What is Eurobasket?
It’s basically the Olympics for women’s basketball, taking place Jun 18 - 29, 2025.
There are Olympics for women's basketball !
Eurobasket might more accurately be called one of the top international competitions for women's basketball. Although I believe there have been some pretty good national teams outside of Europe ( Brazil, Japan, USA etc).
Yes I’ll change it to Olympics for European women’s basketball… and the next Olympics will be another huge headache for the WNBA…
Do these games have anything to do with upcoming FIBA world cups?
Yes, they are the qualifying tournament.
1. I saw them try to a few plays, particularly handoffs under the basket, that reminded me of the Warriors’s plays. Anyone else identify particular plays in the game?
2. As Arnold said at the very beginning, the team does not have any star quality go to players and this will like make it hard for them to win games. This was especially true against the Lynx who have some very good shooters and all-WNBA type players. I’m wondering if shooting is something that can improve during the season, or if this is just how it is and what we should expect going forward. Presumably some plays will enhance a player’s ability to make shots. So are the Valkyries working on plays to put players in the best situation?
1. There have been a handful of Warriors plays I noticed (not necessarily directly from GSW thought). They have
- a wing pick and roll and have a hand signal similar to GSW,
- HORNS 1 which I called HORNS Flex with GSW (ball goes to set a screen for a corner)
- HORNS Flare which I actually made a video comparing to GSW
- a play called 55 which has the same name at GSW, so that probably was borrowed directly, unless both came from the same source
I want to make a video about 55 next if I have time.
2. The GSV offense is often getting pretty good looks from 3 and compared to the WNBA, GSV is shooting a lot of threes. Unfortunately, there aren’t any elite 3 point shooters except maybe Zandalasini. Salaun has the high 3 volume, but that line drive shot is a worry. In comparison, it feels like the entire MIN team is better than everyone on GSV at shooting 3s.
The other problem is that when teams overplay the three point line, GSV doesn’t have great talent to punish with drives. They are doing quite well considering none of the expansion players were considered a Top 6 player on any team.
3. Finally, I don’t know if people are feeling discouraged by the last 3 games, but they were literally against both WNBA Finalists. Our team is a ragtag bunch of rejects that have been together for 1 month and have had starters injured for every game. And they are not backing down from the absolute best in women’s basketball and playing even or better through large stretches.
GSV have been better than I expected!
Things will continue to be rough, as the next game is against the #3 team in the WNBA and we’ll lose a bunch of players for Eurobasket for June. But I expect to see ferocious fight and heart, and if we ever get a Full Squad, then they should be able to beat all but the top WNBA teams.
The spontaneous, huge burst of joyous applause at the end of the game for the team would suggest that people are not discouraged. Martin and Burton both mentioned that the team appreciated that the crowd stuck with him through the harder part of the game and supported them to the very end. It may be hard to sustain in June, but I expect that the team will be supported wholeheartedly through the rest of the season.
Great point… I loved that ovation at the end!
1.> Would love to see a video about "55" as I've seen Kerr signal that play for the Warriors.
2.> Agree that Zandalasini might be their best shooter. Kate Martin, Steph Talbot, Thornton, Tip, Veronica Burton are good shooters, but they need a split-second more time to get their feet set. Janelle Salaun is a volume-shooter. Reminds me of Celtics' Antoine Walker. Not efficient, but someone's still gotta shoot the ball and be a scoring threat.
3.> This is an excellent point. Can't be discouraged playing against Liberty and Lynx as these 2 teams are definitely a tier above the rest of the league. The fact that they played the Liberty tough last Thursday and played a great first half against the Lynx is an encouraging sign. There's no superstar talent, but the chemistry is great. Coach Nat has them all playing tough D with physicality. It's fun to watch and - like Eric said - they've been better than I expected.
4.> If they keep playing with this much energy and effort all season, I can see them battling for a playoff spot in September. I think an 18-26 record will be sufficient to get into the playoffs.
I think this is how it is going forward. If you look at the Lynx, they have players with skillsets that stand out. Napheesa Collier is an MVP candidate and is capable of scoring from the pick and roll if teams don't send help. One play that Cheryl Reeve used a lot in their playoff run last season was a high pick and roll between Phee and one of their guards. If there was a switch, Phee would immediately roll hard and post up the smaller player switched to her. When this happens, the defense has to send help or Phee would get a good-quality shot. And when the help comes, they swing the ball around and usually end up with an open 3. Phee is an elite short-roll player.
Courtney Williams has the skillset to create her own shot (elevate for the mid-range jumper). And Kayla McBride is a movement shooter similar to Klay. (Kayla has said that she emulates Klay's game) The rest are supporting role-players who can make open 3s when the defense is scrambling from the help action. Bridget Carleton, Natasha Hiedman, Karlie Samuelson, Alanna Smith are good 3pt shooters that they can kick out to.
The Valks' shooters (Kayla Thornton, Ceci, Talbot, Kate Martin, Veronica Burton) are not movement shooters. They're similar to the Lynx role players. They will make 3s when open, but they need someone or some action that will attract double-teams and cause the defense to scramble so they get open 3s. I don't think the Valks currently have that talent that will cause defenses to help and generate open shots for others at a good-enough level. Maybe Carla Leite can develop into this kind of player. But she's young and still needs time to develop.
They do play good defense, so they can get good shots if they get stops and run before the defense gets set. The good news is that the WNBA is very top-heavy. So a .400 record might be good enough to make the playoffs.
BTW if you watch Linskens, she’s a very good outside shooter. She’s not a hopper and jumper, but can make her shots. I wonder why they’re not using her more? Ideas?
Maybe she's not good on defense? No idea... but looks like Nakase is playing "small ball" like Steve Kerr. Her centers seem to be Temi and Mo Billings.
With this Valks roster, they seem to score better in transition. They play hard of defense, get stops, then try to run and take advantage before the opponents can set up their defense. I think half of Kate Martin's points came from transition. So Nakase prioritizes tough defense.
If it's a slow, half court game where the Valks have to execute against a set defense, open shots are harder to come by.
Hopefully, we will see more of what Linskens can do during June when there are so many players missing from the team.
And how many replacement players?
Any idea when the Valks' Euro players have to head out to Europe for their tournament? From what I remember, it's Salaun, Temi, JVL and Ceci?
Eric = if you have a chance at a presser, can you ask if Leite is dealing with an injury? Odd to see her not play in the 2nd half when Tip went down and Van Loo was a bit gassed.
Hey @EA - when you ask a question at a presser, do you start with, “Well, hello, everybody”? ‘Cause that’s what I picture.
And if you currently don't, you certainly ought to :)