Familiar Faces in Different Places

Whirlwind of Offseason Activity Has Many Veteran Players Wearing New Uniforms

The Seattle Storm already had MVP Lauren Jackson and all-star Sue Bird coming into 2008. They were already formidable, already considered one of the teams to beat in the Western Conference.

But that wasn't enough.

In one of the WNBA's most active offseasons ever, the Storm added a trio of players who would make most all-star teams envious.

Newly appointed coach Brian Agler, who doubles as Seattle's director of player personnel, traded with Detroit for star forward Swin Cash, signed four-time champion and three-time MVP forward Sheryl Swoopes and topped off the whirlwind of deals by bringing free agent and former MVP center Yolanda Griffith to the Storm from rival Sacramento.

It wasn't a "go for broke" move, Agler said, but rather an attempt to surround Seattle's stars with the best players he could find. "I didn't imagine it would play out that way at all," Agler said in a phone interview. "But it fell into place very well."

Seattle, however, was far from the only team to make significant additions. Several all-star veterans will be in different uniforms when the WNBA kicks off its 12th season tomorrow.

· Connecticut traded guard Katie Douglas, a veritable "franchise" player, to her hometown Indiana Fever for forward Tamika Whitmore.

· Minnesota signed seventh-year guard Anna DeForge, who left Indiana as a free agent.

· Houston brought in guards Shannon Johnson and Mwadi Mabika from Detroit and Los Angeles, respectively, to help guide its young team.

· Former Seattle guard and free agent Betty Lennox was snatched up by Atlanta in its expansion draft.

· Guard Marie Ferdinand-Harris joined Los Angeles after four years in San Antonio.

· And the Mystics obliged forward DeLisha Milton-Jones with a trade that sent her back to the Sparks and brought Taj McWilliams-Franklin to Washington as she enters her 10th season.

The WNBA's old collective bargaining agreement expired at the conclusion of the 2007 season, and many players chose to end their contracts then so that they could become free agents and have their pick of cities in which to play.

Restrictions that existed in the league's early years, which allowed only dollar-to-dollar matching or player-for-player (not draft picks) trading, have changed, also contributing to a greater amount of player movement.

All of the acquisitions this year "will probably change the thought process in the league," Agler said. "In women's basketball, fans really get attached to players -- more so than the men's side -- and it's hard on them for players to leave and go somewhere else. I think that will be a maturing process for the fan base and for management. People will have to understand that the core group and dynamics of the team they support may change from year to year now."

Most general managers acknowledge that blockbuster trades and big-name signings can be risky, especially when they involve older players near the end of their careers. For example, Seattle's Swoopes, 37, is entering her 11th season after missing all but three games last year because of back surgery; and Griffith, 38, heads into her 10th year having been hampered by arthritic knees. Washington's McWilliams-Franklin will play in her 10th season and isn't sure how many more seasons she'll play.

"We have players at the end of their career who are willing to move around whereas five years ago we didn't," Mystics General Manager Linda Hargrove said. "You'll start seeing older players move more, like you do in the NBA. A team may need that one piece that they need to move toward a championship, where another team may need to get some younger players and start rebuilding again. It shows that our league has finally matured."