Los Angeles Sparks trade Maria Vadeeva and multiple first-round picks for Liz Cambage
By Ben Dull
If we’re operating under the assumption that Liz Cambage has a strong desire to play alongside Candace Parker in Los Angeles, Penny Toler and the Sparks are in a pretty good position to play some hardball.
A natural starting point for the Wings would be to ask for Nneka Ogwumike or restricted free agent Chelsea Gray in return.
Cambage’s camp could cut the legs out from all 10 of the other teams with one strategic leak. This would give L.A. or any other preferred destination the upper hand to keep their best players out of a potential deal.
Gray is knocking on the door of becoming a top-10 player if she isn’t there already. Landing Ogwumike would be something the Wings can sell to their fan base as a substantial return. The Wings could certainly play up the idea that a Cambage-Parker-Ogwumike trio would be untenable offensively on a full-time basis. After all, teams can’t afford to budget much time for growing pains with a 34 game regular season and the competitive advantage that comes with a top two seed.
But then again, why would L.A. want to part ways with an All-WNBA-caliber player unless they absolutely had to?
Maria Vadeeva is a very young and intriguing prospect. Multiple first round picks on top would soften the blow.
The rest of L.A.’s top guards/wings are free agents. The Wings may really like one of them. If we reach February before a deal gets done, they could try to sign some of those players outright.
It’s difficult to know early on what kind of offers are out there. You’d certainly want Gray or Ogwumike in a perfect world. Unless Bill Laimbeer puts the No. 1 pick on the table or somebody else’s top-15 player enters the equation, I imagine Dallas will have to look hard at something like Vadeeva and multiple firsts.
The Wings are in a tough spot to be sure. But there’s only downside in letting this drag out into late April, May and beyond.