Nika in Seattle

[Dugway]

So his contention is that in the WNBA the league is very strict on the total team salary cap. That the types of creative payroll shenanigans that are prevalent in other professional sports is not tolerated in the W. Any truth to that?

I didn’t write down the salary figures but apparently Nika would be slated to make about $3000 more than Jade Melbourne if they were both to make the team. That somehow the addition of Jade however, being paid just slightly less, keeps the total salary under the limit, and Nika would just barely break the budget given the inclusion of a third player that the team would surely want. In essence it is the slight difference in salary that makes all of the world of difference.

Wouldn’t Nika be making the league minimum? And if it were a ‘minimum’ how is it possible that Jade would not be compensated the exact same amount?

 

[azfan]

Regarding the Storm keeping two backup guards — Skyler is a scorer and can play shooting guard. She might pout about it, but she can do it. I dunno about Melbourne, but Nika has demonstrated that she can play with another point guard on the floor, and very well at that.

She will.... and she has more than pouting in her repertoire.

 

[WBBTakeover]

So his contention is that in the WNBA the league is very strict on the total team salary cap. That the types of creative payroll shenanigans that are prevalent in other professional sports is not tolerated in the W. Any truth to that?

I didn’t write down the salary figures but apparently Nika would be slated to make about $3000 more than Jade Melbourne if they were both to make the team. That somehow the addition of Jade however, being paid just slightly less, keeps the total salary under the limit, and Nika would just barely break the budget given the inclusion of a third player that the team would surely want. In essence it is the slight difference in salary that makes all of the world of difference.

Wouldn’t Nika be making the league minimum? And if it were a ‘minimum’ how is it possible that Jade would not be compensated the exact same amount?

The WNBA has a hard cap, so that's true. Most notable professional leagues have soft salary caps, so those teams can go above the salary cap if need be (can pay a tax penalty). The WNBA isn't there yet.

The league minimum for a player with 0-2 years of service is $64,154. Nika's slated to make almost $3,000 more than that as a drafted player.

Richard Cohen of HerHoopsStats does a good job of bringing to light the complications that Seattle faces:

2024 WNBA Training Camp Previews and Roster Breakdowns

 

[Cuango]

She will.... and she has more than pouting in her repertoire.

Yeah, not to mention she’s from Notre Dame!

 

[FormerCTrez]

I have been a Lynx fan since Maya entered the league. Admittedly my enthusiasm waned with Maya’s departure. Love Pheesa and was thrilled when Crystal and later Dorka were drafted, so I have continued to follow them.

But have been all in on moving on to the Storm with Nika being drafted, to be clear they were always my second favorite, with Sue, Stewie snd honorary Huskie- Jewel ( not to mention stints by Kia and Gabby) on the roster it was a no brainer.

If Nka gets cut for purely monetary reasons, rather than being among the 11 best players (as Quinn has said will be the criteria) I’m pretty sure wbb will have to wait until next fall for me when our Huskies take rhe court.

This season is a critical time for the W, the explosion of interest in wcbb can be a catalyst for the same for the WNBA but its critical that they capitalize on that.

If the Storm can’t /won’t sign their primary draft choice for purely financial reasons, irregardless of her potential value to the team - that does it for me.

IMO It would be both unfair to Nika, in bringing her in to compete for a spot that wasn’t realistically an option and detrimental to the league’s real opportunity to explode.

I’m still hopeful that Nika gets a real chance to make the roster basd on her body of work. ( as stared by Quinn in quote beliw) If so I think she will be a Storm player this season We’ll know within a couple weeks

Quinn confirmed that Nika Mühl will miss tonight's game due to Visa issues. But stated that one game does not erase her body of work throughout her college career and from the practices in camp. And that she'll be back with the team when they return to Seattle

I share your sentiments!