So, I understand it was the Portland Fire. I understand it’s preseason. But Portland weren’t trying to lose in preseason. This is a team that their fans are going to turn on pretty quickly because they really stink. This is a team that realistically just wants to win a couple of games.
However, they got cooked. Absolutely cooked by a player that might end up at least in the conversation for Rookie of the Year. She might end up being the Rookie of the Year. Flo Jo Johnson. Flo Jo Johnson. 18 minutes, 20 points. She is out here putting up nearly a point per minute in preseason.
The worst trade ever. This might be the worst trade ever. They traded out of Flo Jo Johnson. I hear people saying, “Oh, it was organized before the draft.” It wasn’t organized that Flo Jo was going to be there. I’m pretty sure it was basically, if Hakwez is not there at eight, they just didn’t want the pick.
They had a bunch of actions on the contracts. If Hakwez isn’t there at eight, go ahead, you can use our pick. That’s fine. And now we’re in a situation where the Seattle Storm’s best player right now — Malonga was alright, I guess — but their best guard looks to be Flo Jo.
If you look at who’s not there, Horston is still injured. Katie Lou, I don’t know what Katie Lou does right now. Awak Kuier forward, and Azura Stevens is out for a while. Flo Jo is not only a guaranteed starter, she is a guaranteed key first-option guard.
Lexie Brown’s not great. Zia Cooke’s not great. Jade Melbourne’s okay, and when you consider how young Jade Melbourne is — she’s younger than Azura Stevens. Jade Melbourne was born in August 2002. Even when it comes to Flo Jo, she’s born in 2003. She’s only a year younger. Jade Melbourne is still a really, really young player.
So, are Seattle going to be bad as well? They have found the face of their franchise. Malonga might be the better player. Awak Kuier is probably the better player. But everybody knows Flo Jo is a larger-than-life figure. She’s someone that has performed on a massive stage in her own right.
I’ve always said this with Flo Jo. She was my preseason prediction for number one. When it’s all said and done, there is a world where Flo Jo ends up being the best player in this draft and clearly the best pick.
She’s somebody that will have an Angel Reese-type impact on your franchise off the floor, while also potentially being an All-Star as a rookie on the floor. We saw it with Citron. The players and media didn’t vote in Citron, it was the coaches. The coaches were the ones that voted in Angel Reese as well because they knew Angel Reese as a rookie had to be an All-Star.
If it turns out that Flo Jo is averaging 14 points per game, no matter how bad the Seattle Storm is, she’s going to be an All-Star. She will be. They’ll make her an All-Star just because.
It is a very interesting situation because she was given away for nothing.
On the Portland Fire side, Sarah Ashlee Barker, you’re going to get rid of the type of reps you got at Alabama. This team’s terrible. People are saying, “When Bridget Carleton comes back and Carly Samuelson comes back and Shey Peddy…” Are we kidding? A bunch of players. The leading scorer on this team last year, I’m pretty sure, was Carlie.
Carlie is going to have to be the star of this team. If Carlie is not, they’re going to give her the greenest of green lights. And by the way, Carlie is a dog. She will go head down straight to the basket. Doesn’t matter what happens on the way. She is going right to the basket head down.
You’ve got a bunch of high-upside players. And it’s funny because Louisa Geiselsöder is like a stretch five who can kind of block shots but doesn’t rebound. She’s a really poor man’s Alana Smith.
Emily Engstler is their best rebounder. And I like Emily Engstler, but she’s going to have to be their key player. This team is so bad.
But if you’re the Storm, you’re at least going to be bad and fun. You’re at least going to be really bad and really fun because you’ve got Flo Jo Johnson.
If you’re the Sparks, I understand they were saying, “Yeah, we’re bringing Tiffany Hayes back.” But could you imagine if the Sparks had just said, “We wanted to bring Tiffany Hayes back, but Tip, you can go somewhere else. We actually just got Flo Jo.”
Instead of, will Mercedes Russell even make the roster?
I understand why they did it because of saving salary and because of contract protections and a few other things.
That being said, this is absolutely a blunder. It’s already a blunder, and the season hasn’t even started yet. It is very obvious that they blew this trade. They completely blew it.
At the same time, you’re allowed to blow trades. That’s the thing as a GM. You can make a bunch of right decisions. You’re allowed to blow a trade because if you make a bunch of right decisions, people will be okay with you for that.
But this is something where I’m like, the GM of the Sparks genuinely might lose her job over this. Actually might lose her job. That is how bad this trade was. Giving away somebody that could have been the future face of your franchise for cap space. Realistically, for cap space.
So yeah, that’s pretty much it. Let me know what you guys think in the comment section below.
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