High Post Hoops WNBA salary database: November 2019 update

NEW YORK - JULY 11: Tamika Catchings, Swin Cash, Deanna Nolan, Katie Smith, Nikki Teasley, Dawn Staley, Tamecka Dixon and Sue Bird poses with the check for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation at the 2003 WNBA All-Star Skills Competition on July 11, 2003 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/WNBAE via Getty Images)
NEW YORK - JULY 11: Tamika Catchings, Swin Cash, Deanna Nolan, Katie Smith, Nikki Teasley, Dawn Staley, Tamecka Dixon and Sue Bird poses with the check for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation at the 2003 WNBA All-Star Skills Competition on July 11, 2003 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/WNBAE via Getty Images)
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Team salaries as of November 1, 2019.
Team salaries as of November 1, 2019.

So let’s consider what Penny Toler‘s successor is going to have to face: with six full protection slots, if the rules don’t change, she’s got Chiney Ogwumike, Nneka Ogwumike, Candace Parker and, yes, Riquna Williams already occupying four of them. (That Williams deal is the gift that keeps on giving — at a moment she had no leverage whatsoever, following an arrest, Toler gave her a two-year deal north of $100k each season, fully guaranteed. So whatever comes of her trial, with the league having already punished her, is left for the Sparks to resolve. Amazing.) Then there’s Chelsea Gray, who needs to get paid this offseason. That leaves precious little salary cap room, especially if salary structure remains similar to the current one (and if topline salaries go up, potentially, even less) for a roster in need of more wings and shooters, with a logjam in the frontcourt. No easy feat, making sure Candace Parker’s remaining time in the league is maximized.