Atlanta Dream Offseason Notebook: Free agency, draft, overseas

The Atlanta Dream are in for a very interesting offseason, as they must make some crucial decisions regarding their roster.

Free agents

The Dream are set to have several free agents this offseason, including Erica Wheeler, AD Durr, Tiffany Hayes, Monique Billings and Nia Coffey. It will be interesting to see who the Dream choose to keep and who they choose to let go.

Hayes in particular will be an intriguing case as she was tied with Rhyne Howard for leading the team in scoring with 16.2 points per game.

Draft

The last two drafts for the Dream have been massive successes. Not only did they draft Rhyne Howard No. 1 overall in 2022, who later went on to win Rookie of the Year, but they also drafted Aari McDonald No. 3 overall in 2021, who has become a key player on the team.

Of course, the best case scenario for this year’s draft would be for them to get the No. 1 pick again and be able to draft South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston. As I have stated before, they could also draft some of the other great centers such as Elizabeth Kitley, Tamari Key and others.

Players overseas

As is the case with all WNBA teams, they will have players playing overseas and there is no telling when they will be back. Of course, Hayes missed a good portion of last season from not only playing overseas, but also recovering from an injury.

There will be two players to really watch in international play. The first is of course Howard as she will be playing for Team USA in the FIBA World Cup that will begin shortly after the WNBA Finals conclude. Also, there is Kristy Wallace, who will be participating in the Australian Open.

Players to watch

There are several players that I personally covered during this season that I look forward to seeing going forward. They include Howard, Wallace, Maya Caldwell and Cheyenne Parker. The latter two in particular I really want to see more from in the future.

Even though she wasn’t with the team long, Caldwell really did prove to be an essential spark for the team with her ability to hit big shots in home wins against the Wings and Sparks. Parker on the other hand was always a more than reliable option in the post and even shooting the ball. I hope that both these ladies will be here for a long time.

An announcement to make

The story that I will be working on after this one will be the last story that I write for Swish Appeal. At this point in my career, it is time for me to go in a different direction. I want to continue to advance further and further in my career and gain better and better opportunities. I want to thank you all for reading my articles and giving more much-needed attention to women’s basketball.

I really did enjoy my time here being able to cover women’s college basketball and the WNBA. I was able to refine the writing skills that I already had and even pick up new skills along the way. I’m also thankful for the connections that I made while here. I look forward to continuing to write about the sports that I am passionate about. Continue to look out for my articles.