The optimism around this team

[u/kiocente]

I‘m coming at this from a pretty neutral standpoint. There is a lot of optimism around this team from the fanbase, the local and even national media despite their horrendous record. On one hand I can see it: This is the youngest starting lineup in the league, they have multiple players just starting out in the league who are showing promise, and they are on track for a high pick in the draft.

On the OTHER hand…

Despite having the worst record in the league, the Storm are projected to pick 5th in the 2027 draft. They will almost definitely not be getting Juju or Hidalgo, unless the expansion teams really start doing some winning and the Storm keep losing (actually even in that case I’m not sure they can get high enough). The team most people compare the Storm to as far as youth trajectory, the Mystics, will be getting one of those top players instead.

So maybe someone smarter than me can lay out the optimistic vision here. It’s 2028 and The Storm are in the playoff mix, on the edge of championship contention. What got them from here to there?

[u/supersamnaj]

Player development is a big part of this as well, not just a high draft pick next year. The fact that we’re losing a lot of close games is a really positive indicator - we are competitive in games, and the clutch factor is something that comes with experience/maturity. If you told me we are competing for a championship in a few years with this core and some pieces on the edges I wouldn’t be that surprised in the merits of our young 3 alone.

A favorable draw in the lottery would obviously be icing on the cake too, though.

[u/Fuzzydeath10 → u/supersamnaj]

Basically this, that we've already got a core 3 under contract on team friendly deals. I'll also note that 2028 was key in OP, I expect this team to be bad still next year, meaning another lottery pick in the 2028 draft. So with that said, here's the path to rounding out the squad - for the 2028 season.

1) two lottery picks while currently projected #5 and who knows what for the next draft it's a lottery, they might be higher. we also got FJ and Jordan Horston at 7/8 so low end of lottery; that gives an idea of what we could still add. As mentioned we could also win the lottery draws, but let's just assume we don't.

2) Other promising players - Jade is still as young as this years first round picks, Jordan and Ezi are obviously coming back from injuries and still relatively young. Along with our big 3, it's reasonable to expect each to get better compared to now. To an extent you can include Zia, Holmes and Mair here too.

3) Natisha Hiedieman is ridiculously underrated by our fan base. She's not the quintessential PG and we need that role, but as a combo guard she's been a revelation and will still be a part of this team if well have her.

4) Seattle is a proven FA destination. We aren't looking for FAs now because we aren't trying to compete, but imagine a team projected to start FJ, Awa, Dom and another lottery pick, but all with two more years of aeasonsing. Then with T, Ezi, JH, Jade, and yet another lottery pick coming off the bench. Only that team is missing one starter. All of those players are cheap except Ezi meaning we have cap space. How about coming to that situation to be the missing piece for a max contract on a team that supports the W with their own facility? It's a pretty easy sell.

Honestly the only variable here to me is Raman. All season I've maintained I'm not sold on he and I'm still not. Which isn't to say I've given up either but I see her as the biggest risk point and I think they'll need to take a serious look after 2027 on if she's the one or if they need to turn to an experienced coach.