The WNBA season is well on its way to wrapping up and the 18-8 Minnesota Lynx have the best record in the Western Conference. With 14 game remaining, Cheryl Reeve’s 2024 squad is in prime position to make the WNBA playoffs for the second-straight season.
This isn’t the dominant Lynx squad of yesteryear, though. We’ll see how the post-Olympic part of the season unfolds. But as of today, Minnesota has the third-best odds ( FanDuel ) to win the WNBA Championship, at +800. Those are longshot odds, compared to heavy favorites, the Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty (both +155).
If only the Minnesota Lynx could have found a more impactful player in the first round of the most recent WNBA Draft , where they held the No. 8 overall pi…
Remember that time the Minnesota Lynx passed on Angel Reese?
Ope, hold that thought. I’m being told the Lynx actually started the 2024 Draft with the No. 7 overall pick. That they actually traded down one spot, to No. 8, where they drafted Alissa Pili, out of USC.
Who did the Lynx swap picks with? The Chicago Sky. Who did the Sky draft? Oh, just one of two far and away frontrunners for WNBA Rookie of the Year. You may have heard of her? Angel Reese, out of LSU… ring a bell?
After the draft, Lynx head coach and president of basketball operations Cheryl Reeve sidestepped questions about why she passed on Reese, but alluded to the idea that the 2023 National Champion may not have been a good fit on the Minnesota roster.
Angel Reese (6’3″) plays down low. It’s not like the Lynx are stacked with talent in the paint. Napheesa Collier (6’1″) is their best player (19.9 PTS, 10.3 REB), but she is a tweener SF, PF. In their last game vs the Mystics , Alanna Smith started at center. She’s averaging 11.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. That’s pretty good… but not as good as Reese.
Related: Paige Bueckers Chose UConn Over Being MN’s Caitlin Clark… But Don’t Tell That to the Internet
Even if Reese had to come off the bench in Minnesota, or fight for minutes, it’s impossible to argue the impact she would have made. Angel would have provided them more headlines, airtime and attention. That’s both nationally and locally. But more importantly, she would have given them more talent, both now and in the future.
Lynx passed on Reese because Cheryl Reeve didn’t want to coach her
Reese is averaging 13.2 points and 12 rebounds ( WNBA leader ) with the Chicago Sky, quickly becoming one of the most powerful post players in the league. So… why in the world would the Lynx pass on this girl?
Well, longtime local columnist, media personality and insider Patrick Reusse (Star Tribune) reported in Saturday’s paper that it’s because Cheryl Reeve didn’t want to coach her.
Which begs the question: could Reeve, also the team president, really afford to not draft talent because she didn’t want to coach someone? That is what occurred in the mid-April draft, when she traded down to avoid taking Angel Reese with the seventh pick, leaving the Lynx to take a flier on Pili at No. 8.
Patrick Reusse – Star Tribune
This wouldn’t be the first time that Reeve proved she has something against young, talented rookies, who could possibly outshine the stars she has on her current team. Not only does Cheryl run the Minnesota Lynx, but she is head coach and top decision maker for Team USA, too.
Nothing new for Cheryl…
Reeve, Collier and the rest of the veteran USA team took home the Gold Medal from the Paris Olympics this week, but it was much harder than it should have been. Part of that was due to an obvious decline in play from veterans like Diana Taurasi, who averaged one point per game in France… lol.
Related: Team USA Has to Fire Cheryl Reeve, Right?
Those same veterans were picked over Angel Reese and the most popular women’s basketball player of all time, phenom rookie, Caitlin Clark. At the time, Cheryl Reeve scoffed at the idea of picking two rookies over all the talent assembled for Team USA. In retrospect, that’s even funnier than it was back then.
If Cheryl Reeve can’t make objective decisions that make the Minnesota Lynx (and Team USA) better, then why does she have her job? I thought this was about winning?
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