WNBA superstars Brittney Griner (left) and Breanna Stewart.Michael Hickey/Getty Images; Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images
WNBA free agency is underway, with teams receiving the green light to recruit stars as of this weekend.
Top free agent Breanna Stewart has reportedly made charter flights a key issue for teams wooing her.
Private flights are not covered by the league's CBA, but Brittney Griner's return may force policy changes.
Charter flights — or, rather, the lack thereof — have been at the center of several recent conflicts between the WNBA and its players.
Teams have long traveled from game to game on commercial flights, a reality that's resulted in countless nightmarish trips and endless hours crammed into coach for the world's best basketball players each season. But now, after several years at an impasse, the league may finally be making headway on the issue thanks to an unlikely catalyst: Brittney Griner.
"BG's return makes the conversation about charters more acute," Erin Kane, an Excel Sports Management agent who represents several WNBA All-Stars, told Insider. "It's always been a player health-and-safety issue. BG's situation brings it to another level.
"The truth is that this has been a literal pain point for a long time," she added.
Griner.AP Photo/Rick Scuteri
The 6-foot-9 Phoenix Mercury superstar famously spent the better part of 2022 wrongfully detained in Russia after carrying vape pens containing cannabis oil into the country. She returned home in December after President Joe Biden agreed to a prisoner exchange to secure her release, and shortly thereafter, Griner confirmed her intention to return to the WNBA for the 2023 season.
Facilitating Griner's comeback may involve contradicting the league's policy on charter flightsGriner's return to the league may not be as simple as lacing up her size-17 sneakers and stepping onto the hardwood: According to reporting from ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, Griner's heightened security concerns have many around the league speculating that she — and, potentially, her Mercury teammates — will need to fly private to and from games.
Though she's technically a free agent, Griner has publicly expressed her desire to re-sign with Phoenix. Both sides need to wait until February to make her Mercury return official, but in the interim, Phoenix's top brass is taking all possible measures to ensure Griner won't have to put herself in harm's way to play.
"Her celebrity has certainly changed, and the reasons for it have changed, and we are all acutely aware of some of the things that have been said about her," Mercury President Vince Kozar told Insider. "We are acutely aware of the way that her return has been used to try and further polarize people... and we understand that people have done that through the lens of BG's identity, which is as a woman, it's as a Black woman, and it's as a gay Black woman.
Griner faces a double team during the 2021 playoffs.AP Photo/Rick Scuteri
"None of that is lost on us, and we understand that words oftentimes can be a precursor to violence," he continued. "We take all of that incredibly seriously. We understand and all of the people around her understand that it is our joint responsibility to ensure that we are approaching this from the perspective and with the due gravity that it requires.
"It's safe to say that as we consider all of those things, her safety as we travel is a top priority," Kozar added.
But if the most secure course of action involves Griner flying private to games, the WNBA faces a considerable dilemma. While the league is committed to ensuring the star's safety as she reintegrates with have to relent on its strict travel policies.
The 2020 WNBA Collective Bargaining Agreement requires that "all air travel provided by [teams]" include "premium economy (or similar enhanced coach fare)" seats for players, but does not account for accommodations beyond commercial flights. As such, the WNBA has forbidden individual franchises from chartering flights in the past for fear of disrupting parity in the league, and has even gone as far as punishing teams that do not comply.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert.AP Photo/Patrick Semansky
Just last year, the league slapped the New York Liberty with a historic $500,000 fine after billionaire franchise owner Joe Tsai flew his team private during the second half of the season. And as recently as last summer, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the estimated $20+ million price tag of charter flights could "jeopardize the financial health of the league."
"Charter for the WNBA has been debated and essentially banned as a 'competitive advantage,' yet most other free agency considerations are not regulated by that measure," Wasserman Executive Vice President Lindsay Kagawa Colas, who represents Griner as well as countless other WNBA superstars, told Insider. "Even in the NBA, there is a wide range of travel quality between team-owned planes vs. charter program subscribers.
"So when you zoom out, it's logic that is hard to follow," she added.
But Griner's situation, and the resulting concerns regarding fairness across the league, may provide the impetus the league needs to reconsider what Colas calls "a regressive approach to the WNBA as a business."
Breanna Stewart is using her free agency frenzy to spotlight the WNBA's travel woesStewart is one of the league's most sought-after free agents.Stephen Brashear-USA TODAY Sports
One of the league's top free agents — whom Colas also represents — has taken the issue into her own hands. Breanna Stewart, the four-time All-WNBA first teamer widely considered one of the greatest talents the league has ever seen, is publicly factoring flights into her looming and closely watched free agency decision.
In addition to her previous franchise — the Seattle Storm — the two-time WNBA champion and two-time finals MVP is reportedly considering the Liberty, Minnesota Lynx, and Washington Mystics as potential landing spots. Each of those teams is owned by a billionaire who can undoubtedly afford the lofty price tag required to hire a private jet for the season.
The Liberty and Lynx governors have both even publicly come out in support of charter flights for the league — a stance surely not lost on Stewart. Several additional franchise owners around the WNBA have reached similar conclusions, though some have voiced their support louder than others.
Stewart goes up to the basket during a 2022 matchup against the New York Liberty.Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images
"Most owners and players are in sync and want to be empowered to do what is right for them," Colas said, adding that "owners who are not willing to invest should not be holding back a league with owners, prospective owners, and players who are."
But enabling each team to travel as it sees fit would require a vote from the WNBA's Board of Governors, and as recently as September 2021, such a measure did not receive majority support. Players were outraged after Howard Megdal's bombshell report revealed that owners had turned down a plan Tsai proposed that would cover charter flights across the league for a full three years out of fear that the athletes would "get used to" the treatment.
The WNBA denies that such a vote ever took place:
"At no point was there a New York Liberty proposal for the WNBA Board of Governors to consider offering three-years-worth of charter flights for WNBA teams," a league statement read. "It was agreed that the Liberty would explore opportunities regarding charter flights and present it to the Board. To date, that has not happened."
Sports Illustrated, the outlet that originally released the report, insists they've "confirmed this took place from a source who heard the exchange directly."
Only a year and a half later, there's reason to believe the tides are turning in the players' favorBetween the court of public opinion, Griner's increased security needs, Stewart's free agency sweepstakes, and players' overwhelming demands for change, team owners are facing more pressure than ever to back the charter flight cause.
Team owner Joe Tsai high fives New York Liberty players.AP Photo/Mary Altaffer
And Stewart's even willing to back the campaign herself. The 2018 MVP took to Twitter to announce that she's prepared to help "subsidize charter travel for the entire WNBA" by offering her "NIL, posts + production hours."
"Who's with me?" she added.
—Breanna Stewart (@breannastewart) January 22, 2023Plenty of high-profile stars jumped to get on board. Several current WNBA players, including Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike, Elena Delle Donne, Napheesa Collier, Alysha Clark, Erica Wheeler, Kahleah Copper, and Natalie Achonwa, offered their support in the comments.
NBA All-Star Ja Morant, UConn Huskies superstar Paige Bueckers, and retired WNBA great Sue Bird all chimed in with messages of encouragement, too.
The exercise left little doubt that other players are ready to follow Stewart's lead, posing a significant threat to team owners; if you don't build it, they won't come.
Stewart.Julio Aguilar/Getty Images
Regardless of whether the WNBA reaches an agreement on charters in the immediate future, the league's stars — including Stewart, who is eligible to sign with a team starting February 1 — have every incentive to sign with franchises investing in the betterment of their individual teams and the league as a whole.
"Every player wants to play for an organization that treats them well; it's that simple," Kane said. "And let's be clear that most of what the players are asking for, including charter travel, are things that improve quality of play and the product the league is able to put on the court every night.
"These women are the best in the world," she added. "They should be treated that way. It needs to change."
Read the original article on Business Insider
[email protected] (Meredith Cash)
https://www.businessinsider.com/wnba-charter-flights-breanna-stewart-free-agency-brittney-griner-return-2023-1
By: [email protected] (Meredith Cash)
Title: Brittney Griner's return could be the unlikely catalyst that forces the WNBA to relent on its most contentious policy
Sourced From: www.businessinsider.com/wnba-charter-flights-breanna-stewart-free-agency-brittney-griner-return-2023-1
Published Date: 01-30-2023
Frequently Asked Questions
What team is the most successful NBA team ever?
The answer to that question is subjective. Fans will continue to debate it for years. Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics hold the most NBA championships with 17 titles. Chicago Bulls enjoyed their peak in the 1990s when six titles were won under Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson. The San Antonio Spurs have won five titles since 1999. In the same decade, the Golden State Warriors has won four. Other notable NBA teams include the Philadelphia 76ers from the early 1980s, Kobe Shaq Lakers of 2000s, and LeBron's Miami Heat team which won back to back championships in 2012/2013.
When did Bill Russell pass away?
"The great ones are the ones who play when it matters most." -Bill Russell
A legend lives forever. Legends die when they stop playing.
But, for those few minutes, the greatest player in basketball gave us a glimpse to his greatness.
Russell was born February 1934, and he died July 31, 2022. He won 11 championships at the Boston Celtics over a span of only 13 seasons.
Bill Russell has five MVP awards and 12 All-Star selections and was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame. He was a brilliant leader and defender who revolutionized basketball with his passion for winning.
He transformed the Celtics from a mediocre team to one of the greatest dynasties in sports history. He was an unselfish friend and competitor who instilled confidence in his teammates to realize their potential.
Russell has inspired many players, coaches, fans, and others. His legacy will never fade.
Bill Russell, Rest in Peace. You will be remembered forever as one of the best basketball players.
What is a trade exception in NBA?
The NBA offers a trade exception, which allows teams to trade away a player. This exception allows teams the opportunity to acquire players whose salaries exceed those of the players they have traded away, without having to make corresponding salary moves. A team can use this exception over multiple seasons, and it does not count against their salary cap or luxury tax threshold. Trade exceptions offer teams a useful way to adjust their rosters without needing to reduce salaries or modify their roster composition. This allows for teams to compete and avoid situations in which some teams may have an unfair advantage because of their financial situation.
It also keeps the league financially stable, and ensures teams have the ability to make moves without worrying if they can afford them. Trade exceptions are an important part of the NBA's roster construction and can be used by teams to compete for championships.
What is a restricted free player in the NBA?
An NBA restricted free agent is a player who has fulfilled their rookie contract but becomes an unrestricted-free agent. Their rights remain with their former team. The team may match an offer sheet from another team for the player. The player can choose to match any offer made by another team. However, they must stay with the previous team and honor their contract. This allows teams retain players who are proven valuable, but cannot afford them because of their salary caps. This type of restricted free agent can give teams valuable flexibility in building their rosters.
Statistics
- Meanwhile, the opening night rosters include a record-setting 234 players with some G League experience, according to the NBA ( Twitter link ). (hoopsrumors.com)
- Between 2012 and 2019, the league lost 40 to 45 percent of its viewership. (en.wikipedia.org)
- Williams would 'likely' accept a deal worth $14-15M/year; Celtics are 'unlikely' to offer such a deal (HoopsHype) (bleacherreport.com)
- The 2013–14 season opened with 92 international players on the opening night rosters, representing 39 countries and over 20 percent of the league. (en.wikipedia.org)
- An estimated 800 million viewers watched the [105]2017–18 season. (en.wikipedia.org)
External Links
basketball-reference.com
- Thomas Bryant Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more | Basketball-Reference.com
- Dennis Schroder Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more | Basketball-Reference.com
si.com
bleacherreport.com
- Which NBA teams will join the Victor Wembanyama tankathon?
- News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
sbnation.com
How To
How do you get into the NBA?
You can become a NBA player by going to college or high school.
NCAA schools offer college players the opportunity to attend Duke University, North Carolina State University or the University of Kentucky. These schools offer four years' education and training. Players develop ball handling, shooting, and rebounding skills during this period. They learn how defense and offense can be run. They learn mental skills that are essential for professional athletes.
Prep schools are located outside the states where high school players live. These schools focus on developing talent by providing athletes with individualized attention. These schools focus on teaching academics and character development as well as sportsmanship.
Both types players must pass the identical physical tests to be eligible for the draft. The test requires that you run 40 miles, jump over a 5’6” box, stand on one side, and throw a football through an open tire.
Players who pass these tests are then invited to participate in workouts at different NBA teams. They are evaluated based on their height and weight as well as their speed.
Teams also look at their previous experience. AAU basketball player will most likely get preferential treatment.
Players considered too small to play professionally are sometimes called "one-and-done" prospects. These players are often chosen in the second round.
Some players decide to skip college to play in the NBA. These players are known to be "prospects". Prospects don’t need to wait till the end to declare that they are eligible for draft.
Prospects can request an exemption to be allowed to draft earlier. If a prospect does so, he will be able to compete against other prospects during the pre-draft process.
Participation in summer leagues can increase prospects' chances of being selected. Summer league games are held in July and August.
These events enable scouts see players in action without worrying too much about injury risks.
June marks the start of the NBA Draft. It is when all the top NBA prospects are evaluated. Each team has a specific number of picks for each round.
For example, the first pick in the first round is the 15th overall selection. The 60th pick in the third round is the 20th selection.
After the draft, teams make trades in order to fill their rosters. Mini-camps are sometimes held by some teams to allow potential draftees to come train with them.
Draft day is exciting! What happens?
There is no waiting around for your name to come up once the draft has begun. Each NBA team picks a player from the pool.
When a team has selected a player, it sends him his contract, which details his salary and playing time as well as benefits. He is now a member.
He also receives a jersey with his name on the back and a uniform with his new nickname.
Finally, he signs his contract. That is when he officially joins NBA.
