Kitley paid the biggest price coming back 24th pick. Last
by Domerduck (2024-04-15 22:12:48)
Post Reply Return to McGraw's Bench

year she would have been coming off Final 4, ACC POY, healthy, and easily 1st round. Hopefully she can recover from her injury and get her shot next year.

Reminds me of what happened to Ace in the 2014 Draft and
by bohratom  (2024-04-15 22:42:19)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

look how that worked out. I'm a huge fan of Kitley and she will be back for the 2025 WNBA season with the state of the art Physical center in Vegas and look for that short outside jumper to do wonders in the League as few Bigs have it.
I agree that her stock dropped, but I think it worked out
by irish_dan  (2024-04-15 22:24:56)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

for the best.

Kitley was never a player that was going to be a dominant 5 in the W because she can’t handle physicality. With her style of play, though, she could be an excellent complement to A’ja on the offensive end. It would seem to be a nice transition if Candace Parker actually retires after this season.

Plus, the good news is that Vegas has the resources to help with her rehab.

I hope it all works out for her!

Somewhat Similar Take by Seattle on Taking M. Holmes
by dillon77  (2024-04-16 08:28:53)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

Via Talia Goodman:

Seattle Storm GM Talisa Rhea on drafting Mackenzie Holmes:

“Yeah, I think for us, we see it as a developmental piece and someone you know who we can bring in next year, who's going to have an offseason to go through the rehab process but also to have some skill development time and to come into camp next year ready to go but I think she's a really fundamentally sound player, versatile, big plays, who plays how we like to play, can guard, can stretch and is continuing to work on her three point shot. And so we're excited also that she was she was there at 26 and she's someone we can look to in the future.”

Take a post player who needs to transition to the pro's, had an injury (serious for Kitley, nagging for Holmes), "draft 'em and stash 'em" in the hope they can recover and improve some of the holes in their game.

Megan Gustaffson, now -- interestingly, also on the Aces -- went through doing this for an endless amount of 10-day contracts and stints in Euro leagues.

You may be right, She was the 3rd Aces pick, Fair & Martin
by Domerduck  (2024-04-15 22:52:08)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

were the other two taken earlier in the 2nd round (16 & 18). For Kitley hopefully it works out.

The interesting Ace's pick is Martin. They already have moved the Aces home game against the Fever to the biggest Arena in Vegas and now they have the 2 4=four year teammates on Iowa against each other to add to the hype. That should be fun. I can see a bunch of Iowans wanting to go Vegas for that matchup as even Des Moines has non stop flights to Sin City but no non-stop flights to Indianapolis.
Iowa Alum Gustafsson Is Also an Ace....
by dillon77  (2024-04-16 08:29:46)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

Hawkeye fans loved Megan G. and she went from the Mercury to the Aces this year (lucky her).