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?
]]
1. You can see down this thread for a discussion about the contract types.
2. Hayes is injured and still counts on the roster of 12. But the departing players Zandalasini and Vanloo have had their contracts temporarily suspended which does free up roster spots and makes GSV eligible to sign the replacement contracts. I would expect Fagbenle and Salaun to also have their contracts suspended.
Vs get a bit of a schedule break, they have 4 days to ramp up the new players with no game until Sat. I'm a bit surprised we didn't see everyone leave already, but if Temi and Janelle can wait until Sunday to leave, I'm not going to complain. Or, maybe they just want to trickle out the departure notices.
Amihere said on Monday that she had been told she might be back with the Valkyries during EuroBasket and spent the past few weeks preparing for the possibility in her hometown of Toronto. She joined the team in Los Angeles on Sunday evening after signing a rest-of-season contract.
She didn’t see any minutes in Monday’s win in Los Angeles, but with three frontcourt players departing the team in the coming days, Amihere should be in the mix for playing time.
“I’m not going to lie and say this process was easy,” Amihere said. “I’m on the team, so I’m kind of letting the past be the past and working on the future now. … The easiest thing for me to do is come in and bring a defensive intensity, rebound the ball, not mess up what they have going on.”
The Golden State Valkyries announced today the signing of guard Aerial Powers, who is set to join the team immediately and will wear No. 23 for the Valkyries.
The fifth overall pick in the 2016 WNBA Draft, Powers averages 10.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and a 39.7 field goal percentage across her nine-year WNBA playing career. The 5’11” guard was named to the WNBA All-Rookie team in 2016 with Dallas, and guided Washington to the 2019 WNBA Championship title. Powers spent the 2024 season with Atlanta where she averaged 8.6 points per game.
Powers played three seasons at Michigan State, earning All-Big Ten honors all three years and is still the Spartans’ all-time leader in defensive rebounds (692) and points per game (18.9).
I understand this signing. Janelle Salaun takes tough shots. She's the volume shooter who won't shy away from last-second "grenades". (will happily receive the ball and take a contested step-back to beat the shot clock)
With Salaun being out for 5 or more games, someone has to fill in that role. Aerial Powers is capable of being that tough-shot taker. She's tough on defense, plays with physicality, and has an ok mid-range jumper off the bounce. She can make 3s, get to the rim off the bounce, and has a float game. Not at an elite level, but she will get that shot up and convert some. She will fit right in!
It is widely assumed this is an emergency hardship contract.
To be honest, the difference is mostly irrelevant. In theory, a rest-of-season contract is harder to waive, but since GSV has so much cap space, they are equally easy to waive cap-wise.
However, I believe the practical difference is that a temp hardship contract is capped at 75% of prorated minimum and a Rest-of-Season contract can pay anything. Also the Temp ends after 7 days, renewable three times I think.
Therefore since GSV has the cap to do it, they could in theory offer rest-of-season contracts to win bidding wars with other teams that can't afford to do that cap-wise.
A *replacement* contract (so not a temp hardship nor a rest-of-season) is basically a minimum contract which ends when the replaced player returns.
Not exactly the same, but I view a hardship contract like the NBA "10-day" where the player is only there on some kind of "try-out". Whereas a real "rest of season" is like "you're officially part of the team for the season". (like Quinten Post getting added to the regular roster) I'm curious who is taking Linsken's 12th spot - Powers, or Amihere? I guess we'll find out in the coming days.
9 games in, and the Valks seem to be playing .500 ball. Remarkable given that the team doesn't have "stars" and Nakase is a rookie head coach. Fun team to cheer for.
^^ I think Eric is right, it's "rest of season", but when the players come back from Eurobasket, it's not like teams will suddenly waive them unless the pick ups drastically outshines the international players that left for a few weeks. There just seems to be a lot of talent and not enough spots right now in the league. The resurgence of interest in the game has brought some more overseas pros to come play in the W, but the rosters are still capped at 12.
Based on that assessment, I think the pitch the Valkyries give their players is "this is your chance to be the foundation and play meaningful minutes, meaningful basketball and soon making meaningful money".
The 5 out, fast pace, fast scoring game is great for viewing experience and shooting a lot of 3s can equalize against better teams. 9 games in, I really believe they can beat most teams not in the top tier of the league.
Just saw an announcement on Threads that Valkyries are signing Ariel Powers. She's a tough vet who defends and scores. I think an NBA comparison would be Knicks' Josh Hart. Great fit for Nakase's positionless / scrappy style.
The official announcement on Vanloo’s departure from GSV PR. The most important nugget is that games will be live (and I assume free) on https://www.youtube.com/fiba.
[[
The Golden State Valkyries announced today that Julie Vanloo will be temporarily away from the Valkyries while she competes with the Belgium National Team in the upcoming FIBA EuroBasket 2025, with the winner of the tournament qualifying for the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup. All EuroBasket games will be live-streamed on the FIBA’s official YouTube channel.
EuroBasket 2025 group play games will be held across four countries: Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, and Greece, from June 18-22, with teams advancing to the knockout stage from June 24-29. The tournament features Europe's top 16 women's basketball teams competing for the continental title, with the top finisher earning an automatic qualification for the 2026 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup. The teams who finish second through fifth will advance to additional 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup qualifying tournaments.
Vanloo and Belgium will compete in Group C, and begin the tournament against Portugal on Thursday, June 19 at 11:15 a.m. PT in Brno, Czechia. Vanloo led Belgium to a FIBA EuroBasket title in 2023, averaging 16.2 points per game en route to being named a Tissot All-Star Five honoree. Vanloo appeared in all nine games for Golden State this season with two starts, averaging 4.6 points, 4.1 assists and 1.9 rebounds in 20.0 minutes per game. Vanloo is expected to re-join the Valkyries at the conclusion of Belgium’s participation in the tournament.
I signed up at courtside1891 a while ago to watch FIBA qualifiers, and I'm pretty sure they will stream the games. I think it was like $40 or something for a year, not sure if they have a monthly subscription
This is supposedly Linskens’s message. This is well beyond the usual “we made a mutual decision” announcement. I hope everything is okay with Linskens and she continues to thrive in her career.
[[
Grateful to have been a part of the Golden State Valkyries and for the opportunity that they gave me. It was an honor to wear the jersey and experience the WNBA up close. After much reflection, I've made the personal decision to step away. This wasn't easy, especially after putting the national team on hold. Thank you Valkyries for the chance - stepping away was entirely my own decision, made with a lot of thought and heart. I'm excited to give everything to the Belgian Cats.
Also, not just bad for team chemistry, but for attracting players in the future. You don't want to be known as the cold hearted FO if you can help it.
On the broadcast, they said she decided she would play for Belgium after all. I haven't seen that confirmed, and not sure if they'll add her but since other players are still showing up it doesn't seem to be too late. The message wasn't worded this way, but I wonder if she thought, hey, I'm getting 2 minutes a game and I'm skipping EuroB for this? and decided to jump.
I don’t think I agree. From everything I’m seeing about WNBA, it’s a cold league because of the small rosters/no G league. Players get cut. I believe Mo Billings was cut a couple times in her career. This is a brand new team, seems understandable that coaches can’t know what pieces fit together until they’ve seen a few games. I’m guessing that cutting a couple players in this situation is expected. The Valks are exceeding expectations and gelling incredibly well considering everyone just met each other like 3 mins ago, figuratively.
I think it's important for players to be treated respectfully, meaning be honest about team plans and intentions and when possible help players get to their desired destinations.
However, as you say, it's a business that requires hard choices. Linskens was on track to be cut anyway. Stephanie Talbot is headed that way unless she can impress in June. GSV began the season by cutting their 2nd and 3rd round picks. Hard choices.
My point was that, just because a WNBA team cuts a player, it’s not automatic that it was done disrespectfully. We don’t know what was/n’t said. And it seems the Valkyries should get some slack if they decide to cut players, being that they’re starting from scratch.
From everything I’m seeing, GSV has been up front with the players (Exhibit A: Amihere). Other teams are cutting players *because* they went to EuroB. Valks are celebrating JVL’s participation in it and showing us how to watch!
"Everyone who signed a Rest-of-Season contract recently (Amihere, Kliundikova, McConnell, JBrown) signed for their applicable pro-rated minimum, in case anyone was wondering."
Dang, how embarrassing. I did read that, but my memory totally did not hold the info. The flashy light thingy over the years worked too well 😁
Guess we're looking pretty decent? 2-2 wins and losses with 2 more to go for the cup. I can see us splitting the last 2, too. We won't win the conference, but not bad for a fresh team!
New E1P video and thread up!
Any chance of an E1P for one of the recent wins? Pleeeease! ✨
I just finished recording a video. It looks terrifyingly long, I'll have to see if I can edit it down
E1P! E1P! E1P!
Instant gratification for you!
Well, for us weirdo bball junkies, more video to watch is not a bad thing! But I understand. Looking forward!
In a previous thread, Jake Henry asked:
[[
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?
]]
1. You can see down this thread for a discussion about the contract types.
2. Hayes is injured and still counts on the roster of 12. But the departing players Zandalasini and Vanloo have had their contracts temporarily suspended which does free up roster spots and makes GSV eligible to sign the replacement contracts. I would expect Fagbenle and Salaun to also have their contracts suspended.
Vs get a bit of a schedule break, they have 4 days to ramp up the new players with no game until Sat. I'm a bit surprised we didn't see everyone leave already, but if Temi and Janelle can wait until Sunday to leave, I'm not going to complain. Or, maybe they just want to trickle out the departure notices.
From Marisa in SF Chron:
Amihere said on Monday that she had been told she might be back with the Valkyries during EuroBasket and spent the past few weeks preparing for the possibility in her hometown of Toronto. She joined the team in Los Angeles on Sunday evening after signing a rest-of-season contract.
She didn’t see any minutes in Monday’s win in Los Angeles, but with three frontcourt players departing the team in the coming days, Amihere should be in the mix for playing time.
“I’m not going to lie and say this process was easy,” Amihere said. “I’m on the team, so I’m kind of letting the past be the past and working on the future now. … The easiest thing for me to do is come in and bring a defensive intensity, rebound the ball, not mess up what they have going on.”
https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/article/valkyries-sign-aerial-powers-eurobasket-20370159.php
What a pro response. She's here to win and be a part of this team.
GSV announces:
[[
The Golden State Valkyries announced today the signing of guard Aerial Powers, who is set to join the team immediately and will wear No. 23 for the Valkyries.
The fifth overall pick in the 2016 WNBA Draft, Powers averages 10.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and a 39.7 field goal percentage across her nine-year WNBA playing career. The 5’11” guard was named to the WNBA All-Rookie team in 2016 with Dallas, and guided Washington to the 2019 WNBA Championship title. Powers spent the 2024 season with Atlanta where she averaged 8.6 points per game.
Powers played three seasons at Michigan State, earning All-Big Ten honors all three years and is still the Spartans’ all-time leader in defensive rebounds (692) and points per game (18.9).
]]
Note Arnold's micro-scout below.
I understand this signing. Janelle Salaun takes tough shots. She's the volume shooter who won't shy away from last-second "grenades". (will happily receive the ball and take a contested step-back to beat the shot clock)
With Salaun being out for 5 or more games, someone has to fill in that role. Aerial Powers is capable of being that tough-shot taker. She's tough on defense, plays with physicality, and has an ok mid-range jumper off the bounce. She can make 3s, get to the rim off the bounce, and has a float game. Not at an elite level, but she will get that shot up and convert some. She will fit right in!
Draymond’s Spartan sister. Good origins. Hmm, they don’t mention the type of contract that was signed…
It is widely assumed this is an emergency hardship contract.
To be honest, the difference is mostly irrelevant. In theory, a rest-of-season contract is harder to waive, but since GSV has so much cap space, they are equally easy to waive cap-wise.
The WNBA reports it's a Rest-of-Season Contract. Arnold has noted that this page has been wrong before. https://www.wnba.com/players/transactions?transaction=&team=all&month=0
However, I believe the practical difference is that a temp hardship contract is capped at 75% of prorated minimum and a Rest-of-Season contract can pay anything. Also the Temp ends after 7 days, renewable three times I think.
Therefore since GSV has the cap to do it, they could in theory offer rest-of-season contracts to win bidding wars with other teams that can't afford to do that cap-wise.
A *replacement* contract (so not a temp hardship nor a rest-of-season) is basically a minimum contract which ends when the replaced player returns.
Not exactly the same, but I view a hardship contract like the NBA "10-day" where the player is only there on some kind of "try-out". Whereas a real "rest of season" is like "you're officially part of the team for the season". (like Quinten Post getting added to the regular roster) I'm curious who is taking Linsken's 12th spot - Powers, or Amihere? I guess we'll find out in the coming days.
9 games in, and the Valks seem to be playing .500 ball. Remarkable given that the team doesn't have "stars" and Nakase is a rookie head coach. Fun team to cheer for.
^^ I think Eric is right, it's "rest of season", but when the players come back from Eurobasket, it's not like teams will suddenly waive them unless the pick ups drastically outshines the international players that left for a few weeks. There just seems to be a lot of talent and not enough spots right now in the league. The resurgence of interest in the game has brought some more overseas pros to come play in the W, but the rosters are still capped at 12.
Based on that assessment, I think the pitch the Valkyries give their players is "this is your chance to be the foundation and play meaningful minutes, meaningful basketball and soon making meaningful money".
The 5 out, fast pace, fast scoring game is great for viewing experience and shooting a lot of 3s can equalize against better teams. 9 games in, I really believe they can beat most teams not in the top tier of the league.
WNBA ASG voting begins June 12th.
https://www.wnba.com/news/all-star-25-voting-june-12
Just saw an announcement on Threads that Valkyries are signing Ariel Powers. She's a tough vet who defends and scores. I think an NBA comparison would be Knicks' Josh Hart. Great fit for Nakase's positionless / scrappy style.
The official announcement on Vanloo’s departure from GSV PR. The most important nugget is that games will be live (and I assume free) on https://www.youtube.com/fiba.
[[
The Golden State Valkyries announced today that Julie Vanloo will be temporarily away from the Valkyries while she competes with the Belgium National Team in the upcoming FIBA EuroBasket 2025, with the winner of the tournament qualifying for the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup. All EuroBasket games will be live-streamed on the FIBA’s official YouTube channel.
EuroBasket 2025 group play games will be held across four countries: Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, and Greece, from June 18-22, with teams advancing to the knockout stage from June 24-29. The tournament features Europe's top 16 women's basketball teams competing for the continental title, with the top finisher earning an automatic qualification for the 2026 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup. The teams who finish second through fifth will advance to additional 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup qualifying tournaments.
Vanloo and Belgium will compete in Group C, and begin the tournament against Portugal on Thursday, June 19 at 11:15 a.m. PT in Brno, Czechia. Vanloo led Belgium to a FIBA EuroBasket title in 2023, averaging 16.2 points per game en route to being named a Tissot All-Star Five honoree. Vanloo appeared in all nine games for Golden State this season with two starts, averaging 4.6 points, 4.1 assists and 1.9 rebounds in 20.0 minutes per game. Vanloo is expected to re-join the Valkyries at the conclusion of Belgium’s participation in the tournament.
]]
Julie Vanloo is heading to EuroBasket, will miss next game vs Seattle and up to seven others depending how Belgium does
https://bsky.app/profile/mingemi.bsky.social/post/3lrbemrzejk23
Farewell for now, goddess of chaos!
I'll definitely be watching Belgium, France, GB, and Italy games.
Hey
Add me back
Let’s chat
Will the EuroBasket be televised in the US anywhere? Or on any apps services like Youtube?
I *believe* they will be televised free on a FIBA YouTube channel linked at the women’s Eurobasket site.
I signed up at courtside1891 a while ago to watch FIBA qualifiers, and I'm pretty sure they will stream the games. I think it was like $40 or something for a year, not sure if they have a monthly subscription
First in-person Valkyries game, 1-0. Fun as hell.
This is supposedly Linskens’s message. This is well beyond the usual “we made a mutual decision” announcement. I hope everything is okay with Linskens and she continues to thrive in her career.
[[
Grateful to have been a part of the Golden State Valkyries and for the opportunity that they gave me. It was an honor to wear the jersey and experience the WNBA up close. After much reflection, I've made the personal decision to step away. This wasn't easy, especially after putting the national team on hold. Thank you Valkyries for the chance - stepping away was entirely my own decision, made with a lot of thought and heart. I'm excited to give everything to the Belgian Cats.
]]
https://www.reddit.com/r/valkyries/comments/1l7hhkl/kyara_linskens_personal_decision_to_be_waived/
Glad that the Valks weren't the ones who decided to let her go. That would have been bad for team chemistry and stressful for the players.
Any news on the type of contract Amihere signed? Is it just a hardship contract? Or is she in for the rest of the season in Linsken's spot?
Hopefully all is OK with Kyara.
Also, not just bad for team chemistry, but for attracting players in the future. You don't want to be known as the cold hearted FO if you can help it.
On the broadcast, they said she decided she would play for Belgium after all. I haven't seen that confirmed, and not sure if they'll add her but since other players are still showing up it doesn't seem to be too late. The message wasn't worded this way, but I wonder if she thought, hey, I'm getting 2 minutes a game and I'm skipping EuroB for this? and decided to jump.
I don’t think I agree. From everything I’m seeing about WNBA, it’s a cold league because of the small rosters/no G league. Players get cut. I believe Mo Billings was cut a couple times in her career. This is a brand new team, seems understandable that coaches can’t know what pieces fit together until they’ve seen a few games. I’m guessing that cutting a couple players in this situation is expected. The Valks are exceeding expectations and gelling incredibly well considering everyone just met each other like 3 mins ago, figuratively.
I think it's important for players to be treated respectfully, meaning be honest about team plans and intentions and when possible help players get to their desired destinations.
However, as you say, it's a business that requires hard choices. Linskens was on track to be cut anyway. Stephanie Talbot is headed that way unless she can impress in June. GSV began the season by cutting their 2nd and 3rd round picks. Hard choices.
My point was that, just because a WNBA team cuts a player, it’s not automatic that it was done disrespectfully. We don’t know what was/n’t said. And it seems the Valkyries should get some slack if they decide to cut players, being that they’re starting from scratch.
From everything I’m seeing, GSV has been up front with the players (Exhibit A: Amihere). Other teams are cutting players *because* they went to EuroB. Valks are celebrating JVL’s participation in it and showing us how to watch!
I agree with both of your posts in this thread!
I agree with this take. She probably decided it's better to play for Belgium than play garbage time minutes for the Valks. Understandable.
"Everyone who signed a Rest-of-Season contract recently (Amihere, Kliundikova, McConnell, JBrown) signed for their applicable pro-rated minimum, in case anyone was wondering."
https://bsky.app/profile/richardcohen.bsky.social/post/3lr7oegqeps2a
Great win!! Full credit to coach Nat. She has the team playing hard and scrappy every game.
A good time to get a good win.
Can someone explain how the Commissioner's Cup works? I know nothing haha
Check the game thread write up. There’s a whole section about the Commissioner’s Cup…
Dang, how embarrassing. I did read that, but my memory totally did not hold the info. The flashy light thingy over the years worked too well 😁
Guess we're looking pretty decent? 2-2 wins and losses with 2 more to go for the cup. I can see us splitting the last 2, too. We won't win the conference, but not bad for a fresh team!
Grit Squad