Which WNBA crew will Nneka Ogwumike be part of after leaving L.A.?

Nneka Ogwumike can be sporting a unique uniform this season. The previous WNBA MVP knowledgeable the Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday she intends to go away in free company, as reported by ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.

The WNBA free company negotiation interval formally started on Sunday, however Wednesday was the primary day of reports that rocked the league. Ogwumike was the 2016 MVP and received the league championship with the Sparks that season. She was the No. 1 draft decide in 2012 out of Stanford and was WNBA Rookie of the 12 months.

Ogwumike has been via six coaches in her 12 seasons in Los Angeles. After making the playoffs her first 9 years — together with two journeys to the WNBA Finals — Ogwumike and the Sparks have missed the playoffs three years in a row. Ogwumike, who will flip 34 in July, has been the pillar of the franchise however now could be prepared for an additional expertise.

ESPN’s Alexa Philippou, Kevin Pelton and Michael Voepel take a look at what Ogwumike’s resolution means for her this coming season, in addition to for the Sparks and the league.

The place would possibly Ogwumike land? What’s a very good match given cap house and present rosters?

Voepel: In accordance with Shelburne, Ogwumike has already met or will meet with 5 groups: Atlanta Dream, Phoenix Mercury, Chicago Sky, Seattle Storm and New York Liberty.

The Storm and Mercury missed the playoffs final 12 months, however each appear poised to make some massive strikes for the 2024 season. New York completed runner-up within the WNBA Finals, however it additionally appears fairly strong already within the put up. That mentioned, Ogwumike may assist any crew; final 12 months, she had her finest season statistically since her MVP marketing campaign.

Relying on different potential strikes Phoenix may make, it looks like the Mercury may be a extremely good match for each Ogwumike and the crew. However I may see Ogwumike in Seattle or Atlanta too.

Pelton: I feel the slot in Seattle makes a variety of sense. Ogwumike may play a task just like the one Breanna Stewart performed for the Storm, whereas the event of Ezi Magbegor into an All-Star would give Seattle one of many WNBA’s higher frontcourts. The Storm would nonetheless want so as to add playmaking, ideally within the type of an skilled level guard, however Magbegor, Ogwumike and Jewell Loyd could be the core of a aggressive crew.

The place does this depart the Sparks? What’s subsequent for a franchise already amid a “refresh”?

Voepel: It is laborious to lose somebody who’s not only a Corridor of Fame-caliber participant and fan favourite but additionally has meant a lot to the league along with her management. No participant in WNBA historical past has given extra time and power to league points and participant wants than Ogwumike.

That mentioned, the Sparks seem to have good personnel in place to proceed the modifications being made to the franchise. Coach Curt Miller (who additionally was a basic supervisor in Connecticut), new basic supervisor Raegan Pebley (a former WNBA participant) and chief administrative officer Karen Bryant (who helped assemble a championship tradition in Seattle) have mentioned they perceive this can be a important time for the franchise to verify it has a strong base for future progress. However that is not going to be simple, and this can be a blow to the Sparks followers, as Los Angeles previously few offseasons has misplaced franchise stars Candace Parker, Chelsea Grey and now Ogwumike.

Pelton: The excellent news is the Sparks ought to have the ability to discover one other face of the franchise with the No. 2 decide of this 12 months’s WNBA draft. In a typical draft, each Cameron Brink and Paige Bueckers could be No. 1 picks, so if the 2 of them and Caitlin Clark declare, Los Angeles is well-positioned so as to add a cornerstone.

The distinction from when the Sparks beforehand drafted Ogwumike and Parker No. 1 is that each of these prime prospects have been becoming a member of a longtime star — Lisa Leslie, in Parker’s case. There may be extra strain on this 12 months’s No. 2 decide to take the mantle straight away with out Ogwumike within the image.

Long run, as free company turns into a extra essential device, it is incumbent on Los Angeles’ possession group to spend money on a devoted apply facility to stay aggressive. Bryant advised ESPN final 12 months that apply services “would be the differentiator” in free company down the street. If that is the case, Los Angeles is falling behind because the Storm and the Las Vegas Aces construct unique services as impartial franchises.

Philippou: We’ve got much more questions concerning the composition of the 2024 Sparks now than we did per week in the past. Most would have assumed Ogwumike would seemingly return to the crew she has performed for her complete professional profession and that Jordin Canada could be sporting gold and purple, as nicely, significantly after being cored. However Canada is probably going in search of a sign-and-trade deal, based on ESPN’s Andraya Carter, and each departures mark a blow to a Los Angeles crew that was so near returning to the postseason final 12 months regardless of coping with a number of accidents and sicknesses. With these two gone, Los Angeles would possibly go for extra of a rebuilding path ahead.

Azurá Stevens, Dearica Hamby and Stephanie Talbot are the one gamers on protected contracts with the Sparks, whereas Lexie Brown, Zia Cooke and Nia Clouden are on unprotected offers. The entrance workplace additionally may look to deliver again the likes of Layshia Clarendon and the Samuelson sisters, Karlie and Katie Lou.

Los Angeles misplaced Grey, Parker and now Ogwumike all since its 2020 second-round exit underneath Derek Fisher. Perhaps within the fashionable sports activities period, particularly with precise free company within the WNBA nowadays, that type of participant motion should not be as stunning. Nonetheless, it does really feel like the ultimate blow in a comparatively swift downturn for one of many league’s most iconic organizations, and it highlights the work wanted to get it again towards the higher echelon.

What’s Ogwumike’s legacy with the Sparks?

Voepel: She can be remembered as giving her all via a dozen years, a few of which have been chaotic behind the scenes. The Sparks drafted her hoping she could be a very good match with Parker and change into one other face of the franchise, and that occurred. I doubt any Sparks followers are offended with Ogwumike for leaving; they understand how loyal she has been and that she wants to do that for herself.

However I am certain there’s a variety of unhappiness, and it may harm the followers to see her sporting one other uniform. She can be thought-about one of many Sparks’ all-time greats, together with Leslie and Parker.

Pelton: I feel her legacy is the 2016 WNBA championship, received in an exhilarating five-game matchup towards the defending champion Minnesota Lynx, who had knocked the Sparks out of the playoffs the 12 months earlier than. Finals MVP Parker and Kristi Toliver deserve loads of credit score too, together with L.A.’s position gamers and coach Brian Agler, however that was the season Ogwumike got here into her personal because the league’s regular-season MVP and scored the profitable basket with 3.1 seconds left in Sport 5. The 2016 trophy is the one one the Sparks have received previously twenty years, and it would not have occurred with out Ogwumike.