Yesterday we talked about a theme that stood out with the Washington Wizards, specifically roster turnover. Today we’ll do the same thing with the Washington Mystics.
The Mystics, like the Wizards, ultimately have the same superboss, Monumental Basketball president Michael Winger. The winger was recruited in May 2023 to lead the organization, but he mainly took care of rebuilding the Wizards with his right-hand man Will Dawkins after Tommy Sheppard, then general manager, was fired.
Advertisement
But Mystics general manager Mike Thibault and head coach Eric were still with the Mystics where they were looking to rebuild the team in their own way. At the time, Winger seemed fine with letting them control the WNBA team. Ultimately, after the 2024 WNBA season, The winger and the Thibaults separates. This allowed Winger to take an active role in running the Mystics and its philosophy. He eventually brought in former NBA executive Jamila Wideman as his next general manager and former Chicago Sky assistant coach Sydney Johnson as head coach.
I have consistently stated that the Mystics’, or any other WNBA team’s, priorities for the 2025 season should focus on making the team a destination for potential free agents in 2026, when a new collective bargaining agreement is expected to take effect. Players will almost certainly benefit from revenue sharing and salaries many times what they received in 2025.
To Winger and Wideman’s credit, the Mystics have a good young foundation to start with. They traded Ariel Atkins to the Chicago Sky and received the No. 3 pick which they used to select Sonia Citron. They had the No. 4 pick and selected Kiki Iriafen. Both became WNBA All-Star reserves as recruits. But they weren’t the best players in the Mystics’ 2025 season when it started. It was Brittney Sykes, who was also an All-Star as a replacement for an injury. The Mystics had three All-Stars and a good chance of making the playoffs.
But that’s when the Mystics started behaving like the Wizards. Sykes was traded to the Seattle Storm for Alysha Clark, Zia Cooke and a 2026 first-round pick. Ultimately, the Mystics felt it was better to get an additional 2026 first-round pick rather than try to get an additional star in the 2026 free agency season. Washington then lost 10 straight games and missed the playoffs. And Wideman after the season noted that the Mystics don’t necessarily prioritize a winning team now for next year. Rather, they are looking to build much like the Wizards.
Advertisement
In short, I asked you all if you think the Mystics are ahead or behind the Wizards in their team building situations under Winger’s leadership – even though Winger didn’t actively manage the Mystics until this year. The consensus seems to be that the Mystics are ahead right now because Citron and Iriafen are clear pieces to build around as well as center Shakira Austin.
At the same time, I don’t think it will be enough to bring an additional high-profile star to Washington in 2026. While building through the draft is a good strategy generally speaking, WNBA realignment and expansion must be balanced carefully. The Mystics can’t afford to sit idly by while other teams – even expansion teams – will now be in a decent position to compete thanks to this new CBA. And what’s more, some players on each team MUST be paid.
In previous WNBA seasons, it wasn’t entirely fair to claim that a player was overpaid for her role, even if she was often injured or underperformed. But in this new WNBA CBA? There will be overpaid players.
I just don’t want to see the Mystics with more of them than necessary.
