The Seattle Storm made a change to their starting lineup when they faced off with the New York Liberty. Ezi Magbegor started in the frontcourt over rookie Awa Fam.
“It just really is about kind of getting Ezi back in there, bringing in a veteran presence, and we know all the things that Ezi’s capable of doing,” head coach Sonia Raman said when asked about the lineup change in the postgame media availability. “So, just kind of the next progression in her return to play.”
Magbegor missed most of the season with an injury, allowing the Storm to go all-in on their young frontcourt duo of Fam and Dominique Malonga. The two youngsters delivered, looking like true stars in their first and second seasons, respectively.
However, the Storm signed Magbegor to a $1,250,000 contract this offseason. Continuing to bring her off the bench would make her the highest-paid backup in the W. While Fam is still a rookie and continuing to find her footing in the WNBA, starting Magbegor over her is justifiable—but it won’t be for much longer, and the Storm will have to figure out a frontcourt logjam.
Seattle has a lot of talent in the frontcourt
Ezi Magbegor is a great defensive anchor and a very efficient scorer on the inside. She is also still relatively young at 26. She is a starting-level center and a player many teams in the league would love to have. However, her ceiling doesn’t seem quite as high as Malonga’s and Fam’s.
Fam and Malonga are just 20 years old. This is the worst they’ll ever be, to borrow Paige Bueckers’s assessment of Malonga’s potential when they teamed up in Unrivaled this winter. They are the future of the Storm franchise, and, as good as Magebgor is, their development should be a focal point. Fam can develop off the bench, but the Storm didn’t draft her third overall to be a reserve for most of her career. She’s supposed to be one of their future stars, so it’s important to put her in positions to prepare for being one of the best players on a more competitive team as often as possible.
The easiest solution to the Storm’s frontcourt logjam would be to trade Magbegor eventually. She should have great value to a contender or playoff hopeful trying to improve its paint defense and interior presence, and trading her would allow the Storm to focus on Malonga and Fam, round out the frontcourt rotation with role players, and bring in some more assets or a player who fits better next to the duo.
A trade could be in Magbegor’s best interest as well. With two 20-year-olds and another lottery pick coming in, Seattle is still a few steps away from being a winning team. A trade would most likely send Magbegor to a more competitive team.
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