The uncertainty around the CBA negotiations is difficult for everyone invested in the WNBA, whether that’s players, owners, or fans. But two teams have it worse than others. The Tempo and Fire don’t even have any players on their rosters yet, no one to use for promotions or marketing, no names to print on jerseys for fans to buy. The expansion draft and free agency will solve those problems, but no one knows when either will happen.
That doesn’t mean that the Tempo and Fire don’t have lists of players they would like to sign, though. For the Tempo, that list undoubtedly contains some local talent. As the first WNBA franchise in Canada, it would be a missed opportunity not to try to sign players like Bridget Carleton and Kia Nurse.
Nurse, conveniently, just offered the Tempo the perfect recruiting pitch. The veteran guard appeared on Yahoo! Sports’ Hoops 360 and spoke about what it means to her to be able to play in Canada.
“I am just really excited about the fact that no matter what happens, whether I’m playing for the Toronto Tempo or I’m playing against the Toronto Tempo, I will be able to play a basketball game on home soil,” Nurse said.
She also added how great it is to see her family and friends in the stands anytime she plays in Canada and spoke about past experiences.
“I was blown away by the emotion that I genuinely felt when I was in LA and got to play in that one game in Edmonton,” Nurse added. “I looked into the stands and there was different jerseys. There was my Canadian jersey, my original New York jersey, Phoenix was in there, there were some LA shirts that were being sold, and so, to me in that moment, it was like that’s my entire journey just sitting there. I ugly cried all the way back to the locker room.”
That honesty makes the Tempo’s recruiting pitch to Nurse incredibly simple: If just one game felt that special, imagine an entire season with a dedicated, local fan base.
The Tempo could land Kia Nurse in free agency
Like most veterans in the league, Kia Nurse is an unrestricted free agent. Chicago is unlikely to protect her in the expansion draft—Angel Reese, Kamila Cardoso, Ariel Atkins, Ajsa Sivka, and Maddy Westbeld or Hailey Van Lith will very likely take up the five protected spots—but, unless the new CBA brings some significant changes, the Tempo would have to core Nurse if they picked her in the expansion draft. Nurse isn’t a typical core player or someone the Tempo should want to spend a max contract on.
The Tempo can still pursue Nurse in free agency for a more reasonable price, though. She was solid for the Sky, averaging 7.2 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists over 44 games, but Chicago desperately needs upgrades at every position to avoid more conflict with Angel Reese, who wants to play for a competitive team.
For Nurse, being one of the faces of the first Canadian WNBA team should beat playing for a Sky team that was voted the worst-run franchise by players in last season’s player survey by The Athletic, and now has to deal with a lawsuit accusing principal owner Michael Alter of shortchanging minority owners.
Nurse should also draw interest from other teams that the Tempo will have to compete with. Veteran 3-and-D wings are always in demand.