Your Day in Women’s Basketball, January 12: WNBA reserved contract signing news
By James Hyman
WNBA teams are locking up their key bench players
With the the negotiation period for reserved players underway, depth is at a premium when retaining young athletes.
Players are eligible for a reserved contract if they have played three or fewer years and are due for a new deal. This usually pertains to undrafted/cut players or those that play internationally before landing with a WNBA squad. A typical drafted player would reach four years of service by the time their contract runs up, meaning they would qualify for restricted free agency.
The difference between reserved and restricted is that teams will have exclusive rights to their reserved contracts rather than giving other teams a chance to make an offer.
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The Washington Mystics wasted no time in extending qualifying offers to their role players. Guards Jacki Gemelos, Stella Johnson, and Sug Sutton were all re-signed. Gemelos started one game after joining Washington late in the year and provided a spark off the bench while Johnson shot 48.5% from the field and 64.3% from behind the arc in limited action.
Securing these players is just phase one of an important offseason for the Mystics, with the rest of their free agency questions detailed in this preview by the Next’s Jenn Hatfield.
The Minnesota Lynx locked up two-way player Bridget Carleton. The former Iowa State Cyclone was originally drafted by the Connecticut Sun, but was soon released and picked up by Minnesota where she has blossomed during the bubble campaign into a very formidable piece. On a talented Lynx team, Carleton started 15 games and averaged the fourth most minutes per game behind strong rebounding and three point shooting skills.
Arguably the most important player to be signed thus far is Te’a Cooper of the Los Angeles Sparks. Cooper had to fight for a chance in the WNBA after the Phoenix Mercury cut her before the start of the season, but could be a vital piece of the team’s future depending on what the Sparks’ veteran free agents decide to do with their careers.
Cooper showed prowess on the offensive end, scoring 7 points a game off the bench in her rookie season.
There is plenty of time before the official start of free agency on February 1. Want to join a site that will cover all of it?