The first part of our WNBA Anonymous survey of general managers focused on issues related to players and coaches in and around the league. But general managers are also required to understand much more than just the makeup of their own team. The second part of our investigation addresses a number of league-wide topics, including expansion, rule changes and a potential new collective bargaining agreement.
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Athleticism surveyed the league’s general managers, who are most often the top basketball executives on their teams, for their opinions on various issues. The 12 directors-general were invited to participate in the exercise while benefiting from anonymity in order to be able to express themselves freely, and nine participated. Of those, some declined to answer specific questions, but it’s still a comprehensive look at how the league’s top decision-makers view the league’s present and future. WNBA.
The question of when exactly the WNBA will expand to more than 12 markets remains to be determined, but there has been some consensus that the league should expand to another West Coast market. (Athleticism (I asked this question before reporting that the Golden State Warriors are close to bringing a WNBA franchise to the Bay Area.)
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It should be noted that general managers were asked about one city, but some mentioned up to three in their response. One of the general managers who mentioned multiple cities noted that it would be important for the league to add another East Coast and West Coast team “to keep our conferences balanced.”
Bay Area
“It would be an automatic fan base from day one.”
“They’re all in.”
Portland
“This city supports women’s basketball and the natural rivalry between Portland and Seattle it would be fantastic.
“The infrastructure is there and the fan base is there – they begged, give us a team.”
Toronto
“I’m very intrigued by Toronto, to see all of Canada supporting this team.”
Philadelphia
“Large media market. Long-time basketball town. I think it would be a great place for our people.
This was one of the questions from our general manager survey that we also asked players throughout the season. Although the answers are not mutually exclusive (there is no reason why league expansion cannot be accompanied by an increase in rosters), a majority of general managers, just like the majority of players, hoped to see the numbers increase.
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Add places to the list
“I think our time would be better spent expanding the roster size as quickly as possible, simply because financially it doesn’t have as big of an impact league-wide. … Just have that talent pool that we already have in the system that we can draw from, even if someone gets the flu and you know it’s not going to be very long term, but you just have them at your fingertips . I think that would be the most fruitful.
“Maybe these last two – if the squad goes from 12 to 14 players – are unique in the sense that we only travel 12. They are developing players. Some are inside, others are outside. But we have reinforcements there so we don’t have to go looking for someone when someone is injured.
“I think having 11 players is difficult sometimes. … The hardest part is you have the team for four, five months, so you’re trying to establish a culture and all of a sudden you lose two or three players and you have to recruit someone for that. And these players are only there for training purposes, most of them are not there to play. So it affects the culture. …I think the quality is decreasing.
Expansion
“I think to continue to grow our league and have a national presence, we need to be in more markets and be more relevant to more people locally.”
“I just think we need to be able to bring attention to this league in order to get all these things that we all want for the players.”
Both
“The WNBA needs at least two more teams. The world and country of women’s basketball is ready for more. This would enhance the excitement that the W is currently creating. More roster spots, even if it allows two (to) three players as practice/reserve players, would be welcome. This way, when injuries occur, you have players who know the system and can step in seamlessly.
“Both have value, apples and oranges. A portion of the expansion fee should be distributed to teams to expand rosters, (and the) cap to resolve difficulties (and) IR issues and also allow for young talent and investment in player development.
What should be the priorities of the next CBA negotiations
As the people whose work is most directly affected by the collective agreement, it made sense to ask the general managers what they would like to see updated in the next document. The current collective bargaining agreement runs until 2027, but there is the potential for an early exit in 2025, so negotiations could be on the horizon over the next couple of years. By WNBPA Senior Vice President Kelsey Plumthe players’ association is already questioning its constituents to find out their priorities in the next agreement.
Journey
The general managers had a wide range of ideas on what should be addressed in the next round of negotiations, but the only topic that was raised by four people was travel and the issue of charter flights. The league currently prohibits teams from flying on private charter flights, but with a 40-game season scheduled in 2024 in an Olympic year, a bigger push will be given to travel requirements. As one general manager said: “It’s going to hurt us in the face next year with the Olympic Games and having a condensed schedule, but prioritizing player health and travel. Another general manager expressed a similar sentiment regarding player safety as it relates to travel and other issues, saying the goal of the next CBA should be to “strengthen player health and safety as well as THE primary lens through which all policies and guidelines are filtered.
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Soft cap
Another interesting point of the upcoming CBA mentioned by two executives was the move to a soft cap instead of the current hard cap, giving teams greater financial flexibility and spending freedom. This would facilitate trades during the regular season. Since most teams were at or above the cap at the trade deadline, one general manager proposed an adjustment to the trade rules so that teams could trade players whose contracts were between 10 and 20 percent of the cap. from each other rather than an exact match.
Maternity exceptions, visibility, list extensions
Expanding the size of the lists as well as refining the nuances of the hardship and maternity exceptions were also mentioned. Finally, two general managers prioritized the visibility of the WNBA on national platforms. “At the top of my list is visibility, TV visibility,” one said. “There has to be one or two WNBA games every night, just like in college.” Another highlighted the importance of visibility as a first step toward greater gains. “Get the exposure our players deserve on a national scale, with more televised games,” the general manager said. “I think that’s the most important thing and everything else will follow.”
Which rule should be changed or re-evaluated before next season?
Challenge Rule/Notice
Five general managers interviewed as part of this survey hope to see changes either with the league challenge rule or official examination protocols. One, who had difficulty separating the two, noted that the overall hope was to help foster accuracy in officials’ decisions late in the game. Many general managers want more challenges. “Why don’t you take one half?” » asked a general manager. Another suggested that a team should maintain a timeout if it wins a challenge, and a third GM raised the idea of implementing a time limit for official reviews. A number of coaches, for what it’s worth, also have strong opinions on such situations and are hoping for changes to the challenge rule.
Charter Rules/Roster Augmentation
One chief executive hoped to see charter rules changed, with team owners, in particular, given the option to fly their team on charter if they wanted to pay for it. Another suggested expanding roster sizes, echoing some of the reasons mentioned above.
Editor’s Note: The WNBA Confidential Series is part of a partnership with Michelob ULTRA. Athleticism maintains complete editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review articles before publication.
(Illustration: John Bradford / Athleticism; Photos of Horizons and Cathy Engelbert: Sarah Stier / Getty Images; iStock)
