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WNBA All-Star Selections, CBA Talks, and Player Updates with Kareem Copeland

Published Jul 9, 2025, 7:00 AM

Washington Post staff writer Kareem Copeland joins Khristina to talk all things WNBA — from Mystics rookies Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron earning All-Star nods, to ongoing conversations around pay equity and CBA negotiations. They also dive into this year’s All-Star snubs, the importance of investing in young talent, and provide key updates on veterans like DeWanna Bonner and Emma Meesseman.

 

Want more women’s basketball scoop? Follow the show on Instagram @ICYMIwithKW and X @ICYMIwithKW and for more on Khristina, follow her on Instagram @khristinawilliams 

 

Let us know what you think of the show by leaving a rating and a review! 

 

CREDITS

Executive Producers:

Nikki Ettore 

Jessie Katz

Tyler Klang

Jonathan Strickland

Producer:

Buffy Gorrilla

Producer & Editor:

Tari Harrison

Host:

Khristina Williams

In Case You Missed It with Christina Williams is an iHeart Women's Sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment.

Welcome to another episode of In Case You Missed It with Christina Williams here on iHeart Women's Sports Network and with China Robinson. A couple of weeks ago, she coined the phrase fam to the show, and this week's guest is He's fam. I consider him fam to the show as well, and he's been getting on me because I've been getting on him about not coming all the show so far. So I'm excited to have this person on the show. Finally we could make it happen. Please welcome into the show. Staff writer at The Washington Post, my good friend Kareem Copeland. Kareem, welcome to the show.

What up though? Thank you for having me?

You know, I mean, I essentially had to beg to get on. I don't think it's supposed to work like that, but you know, we here, we're here.

Appreciate you having me. We're we're here.

I'm glad that you're finally here. Is Kareem. We like to start every episode with asking our guests to share a win of the week, and that's why it's sure a moment that was a win for them this week. So what's your win of the week?

My win of the week? Whow I got out of this traffic today in DC? Does that count?

Strout that it was a good game with My win of the week was just having a good game this morning between the Mystics and Sky that just kind of finished up another great game by Angel Reese. And it's it's always cool for me to kind of catch up with old people, old friends, people I have covered in the past, and I've covered Angels since she was a freshman year at at Maryland and let's see, Elizabeth Williams was out there form a Mystic. I haven't seen Ariel Atkins since she was out here. So that's always a cool thing to me when I'm able to catch up with people around the league that I haven't seen in a while. So I'm gonna take that as my win for the week.

Yeah, and the Mistakes they got a huge in today, right, So that's that was good. But you're an og in the game. But speaking of the Mystics, the WNBA this past week they announced the All Star reserves and two mistakes rookies headline that reserve group in Kiki Aria and Sony Citron. So what can you tell us about the Mystics rookies and end up making their first All Star appearance.

Well, you know, no one really knew how they would kind of come into the league starting off this year. You know, they were It's funny, I think they were kind of the clear cut number three number four options in this draft. Everybody can new Page was going on going number one, Dominique was most likely going number two, and so I thought that that's probably where they were going to slide out, which is where they did. But at the same time, you never know quite how they were going to fit in. Remember Sonya was the third option in Notre Dame. You know, she's not really a ball dominant guard and she's playing the three here, and so you really didn't know how all of that would fit. You knew she's a really smart player, but you know sometimes she's not the most.

Physical player in the world. You wondered how all of that stuff would be adapt would adapt and you know.

She's just got a super high IQ and that has played out throughout the year. That's been the one thing that's actually made it pretty easy for them is because you don't have to run anything for her. They don't really run a whole lot of sets to kind of get her open or get her shots. Even today, she kind of had a little bit of a slow start, and you know, she hit a couple of back cuts for a couple easy layups and booms. She's in another double digit scoring game. What she's I do believe this year she has more twenty and tens than any other rookie, I do believe. So she's been able to slot in and start really from day one, and it's made it real easy for her teammates around her because she's kind of that heady player that's always going to make the right play, always going to be in the right spot, that kind of thing. So that's really kind of helped her.

Kiki.

I think last year at Southern Cal I think there she even has talked about herself. She said she lost her confidence a little bit, and I think, you know, kind of slotting in with Juju and those expectations and all of those things. I don't know if she ever completely fit into how they were running or what the what their scheme was. I think that was all still an adjustment even through the end of the year for her, and so I don't think she ever felt quite as comfortable as she did at the end of that Stanford year. And at the end of that year, I was coming out saying, hey, if she was coming out of the draft end, she would have been a top pick at that point because she was just kind of incredible at the time that she ended that Stanford And so she seems to have gotten back to herself. And you know, all last year everybody was kind of talking about extending her game and all of that kind of stuff, and can she hit you know, can she hit shots going out to the three point line. I think this year she's just been able to be herself and her footwork has been exquisite around the rim. She's crashed the board, she has all that energy. What today I think she got her sixth double double of the year, which I do believe leave to all rookies, and so that's been the easy thing. And she got tested right off of the bat. She went against beg Tina Charles, you know some of the greatest fours and fives in this league. Brianna Jones right off of the bed and there was no ease in your way in the league, and she completely has belonged.

Begi even said that things.

She was like, you know, shoot, I've kind of talked to her off to the sides and given her a little bit of advice, but she has never back down. She's never looked scared. And so they've slotted in perfectly with this team, and quite frankly, that's a big part of why they're playing better, more than better than any of us expected. This is the youngest roster in the league, and everybody kind of essentially thought they were going to be bottom two, bottom three in the league, and right now they're still helping around the playoff spot.

And so I think the.

Way those two have come in and played and the way that they've been able to kind of ingratiate themselves to their teammates, and and there's no I keep saying it, it almost feels like a college team in a lot of ways, with the youth that they have, and they want to play fast, and they're just like, let's try to run teams out of the gym and get in transition and shoot these threes. They have a lot of energy to them, and I think that's kind of worked really well for them.

I didn't. I didn't.

I don't think any of us expected both of them to make All Star off the bat, but they've put up a pretty good argument, and apparently clearly the coaches thought so so, and.

It sounds like Sonya's gonna be in the three point contest.

They were.

They were practicing yesterday at the gym where Kiki was bent over holding basketballs on her back while Sonya was grabbing balls off and shooting. And so I think they're pretty excited, and I think all of Washington is pretty excited to have them here.

I think that that's the perfect example of both Kiki and Sonia and what it means to be drafted at a team where they need you and it's the right fit versus the number that you're drafted, because the responsibility that they both have as rookies on the Washington Mystics, the opportunity that they have in terms of the minutes played, they get to show their skill at a high level and do it in an efficient matter. And let me be the first one to say that the Washington Mystics have surprised me with the new coach and the new system and the new players, and so these rookies are handling that very very very well. So no surprise that you know they've been able to make the All Star Game. Page Becker's as well a rookie in the All Star Game this year, and she's starting, and you know, a lot of people online have been saying this is one of the most talented rookie classes that we've seen in a long long time, and I would have to agree with that. Also on the reserves list, Kayla Thornton WNBA champion with the New York Liberty now on the Golden State Valkyries. First time All Star Gabby Williams is going to be an All Star reserve as well. For the first time, Skylar Diggins was named an All Star reserve amongst some other players. Now with the roster being announced, there was also a lot of disappointment in terms of fans not seeing some of their favorite players making it and bringing up the conversation of who they think was snubbed. I personally think that there's two players that was absolutely snubbed, and you could make a case hurt of one player is Bree Jones out of atl and Washington Mystics Britney Sykes. Now I know that you were able to be on location with the Mystics this week. What was the reaction from Slim in terms of not being selected as an All Star this year.

Well, I'll give some a whole lot of credit. She's a trooper because she is the leader of this team. That's been the unquestioned role that she was given by Sidney Johnson. From the moment, it's been her and Stephanie Dolson kind of as the veteran leaders. And on the floor things haven't worked out so great for Steph, But I mean Slim is having a career and points assists. I think she's ranked number eleven in the league in points, number.

Twelve and assists.

She's the person with the ball in their hands during go two times, and she is the one like when that second unit comes in and like coming out of a timeout and they're all grouped together right before they walk on the floor, you see Slim go over there and have like the last word with them, the last kind of encouraging word of you know, hey, this is what we want to do. Like she is that vocal leader for them, and so it was really cool to see. So they announced it at practice. I guess that would have been two days ago. And so they're right at the end, they're all in the big huddle in the big circle. Sydney starts to say, hey, we've got this announcement. We've got two All Stars, and they real out a cake. They announced that it's those two and it is a genuine joy of all the joy. I'm starting to use Sydney's whereas I can. I've been around him too much. He loves to talk about the joy of the team. But the way that they all mobbed each other and we were genuinely happy for her, and Slim was part of that, jumping up and down supporting them. And she's been great about supporting them all year. And even though she I talked to her yesterday about this, you know she was she was disappointed because that was a goal that was an absolute goal for her this and to fall a little bit short, she was disappointed. But at the same time, she said by the time she got her to her phone, her phone was blown up with peers supporting her, having her back.

She said.

One of the first people that was on the list was Angel Reese, but they became really close when they were unrivaled playing on the Rose together. She said, she you know, she's not huge on social media right now, and so I was talking about it. I was like, have you heard about the response? And she's like, yeah, I heard about it. And it made her feel you know, it was very comforting. It made her feel good and that hey, at least her peers and other people kind of have seen what she's doing and it's not just kind of going out there.

You know. She said, Hey, you can control what you can control.

And you know, I'm still here and I'm not going to be down and I'm not going to let it weigh on me. But there was some disappointment, but I think it was very much helped by friends, family, and again other people out in the league who you know, went to bat for her. Deerica Hanby even put out a tweet or something on socials that was like, you get two from the mystics, but not the leading scorer.

On a team that subed five hundred. And it wasn't a shot at the rookies.

It was a support for Slim and so she really appreciate that and even they had a conversation about that.

So she took it well. I think, yeah, if you're.

Gonna, you know, start going through and saying who was kind of left out, I would say probably she Bree, maybe Deerica were kind of at the top of those lists of just on the outside looking in. You know, then you gotta gotta go to the list and say, see who you know who made it and start kind of comparing contrasting kind of like that. But I think those are the top three that, you know, if you could, you could probably extend it. If there were three more spots, I'd probably say that those three were the ones that get in.

I'm trying to look at my list. If I had anybody else now, I.

Think those would I know a shoot, I'd even put Tosh Tosh Cloud in the conversation. I know she kind of had a hotter start than she had kind of recently. And you know, when when the when your team struggles, that doesn't help. It's kind of hard to you know, say that they're struggling but not as not as hot as they started off this season. Uh, but those are the top people that kind of came in my mind, and and Slim dealt with it, dealt with it like a vet as opposed to would have been real easy to kind of pout a little bit or be disappointed or or or you know, you pat your teammates on the back. But she kind of also still feels slowered away and she's really actively.

Trying not to do so. So I give her a lot of credit in that way.

Yeah, And I would also say that, to what it's worth, the Minnesota Links are the number one team in the league and they only have two All Stars on the roster this season and a piece of Collier in Courtney Williams now Cheryl Reeve came out and made a statement about that, and I would have to agree with coach Reeve, who's a friend to this show. I think that Atlanta Smith, he can make a case for her as well to be named an All Star. And when it comes to the criteria in terms of voting, like obviously we know All Star is for the fans, but there is a kind of disreptionency when it comes to well, which teams get to get this many players? As does your winning record count or matter? Is it an incentive in terms of being named in All Star. When it comes to it, we know in terms of the reserves, the coaches are the ones who votes that in and so it's it's really difficult, but all I think a case can make can be made for every single last one of those players. Still sticking with w All Star and that topic, the issue of pay equity has come up because the players who are participating, they get two thousand, five hundred and seventy five dollars in prize money, which is way way way below the NBA rate. And we know that participants in and the three point Contest AFLAC is giving sixty thousand dollars in partnership with the WMBPA, not the league, the PA, and they're also giving another about fifty five thousand dollars for the Skills Challenge. So you have a situation where the PA is advocating for the players to get paid more money for these types of events, and the players, per the CBA that they are currently under, they get less than three thousand dollars for participating in an All Star Game. And it's not really InnoCentive to make you want to participate in that.

And so.

What do you think needs to be done in order to make it a little bit more fun and more of an incentive for the players.

Sounds like it needs to be collectively bargained. It sounds like they're going to be doing something at all Star collectively bargaining. I think that's kind of where we are right now with anything that is business related, that is financial related to all of that stuff, I think is right now. That's why it's such a big conversation. That's why you hear Stewie talking about it. That's why you see here so many different players. I said too talking about it the other day. I talked to Elizabeth Williams this morning about it. That's why this this very specific CBA is so important because it's coming right in the middle of this transformative time of the league where there's more attention than ever, there's more dollars than ever, there's more sponsors than ever, there's more teams than ever.

That they just announced the other day the highest the highest price tag.

To get into the league than ever. All of these things kind of culminating all at the same time. Everything player that's essentially almost almost every player that's not on a rookie contract being a free agent next year.

All of this.

Stuff swirling and kind of hitting hitting home all at the same time. That's why the players are quite quite frankly, trying to stand.

So firm on getting or or or equaling out the financials, equaling out compensation, and and so, because whatever you sign right now a new media deal.

I forgot about that two point two billion media deal, because whatever you sign right now, you're gonna be stuck with for the next but probably a middlem six years to ten years, well you know years sounds like a little bit long.

But whatever the length of the deal ends up being, you're stuck for it.

For a while.

And this is the time to get that bite of the apple right and and there's and and there's a lot on the line, I think for both sides in terms of nobody wants to lose this momentum that you've got right now, and so nobody wants to you know, nobody wants to work stoppage right now because you're hot. Everybody's paying attention right Lasting the league once is a work stop itch with two more teams supposed to come in next year, and one more and one more team coming in essentially every year going until twenty ten. But that also gives the players leverage. And whenever you got the leverage, especially when it only comes around.

Every so often you got to use that.

So that's why I think it's super interesting to kind of see how this is all working and balancing out. And I know there's been some complaints already about the first reply that kind of came in from the league side. Players didn't sound very happy with you know what they've been I feel like the feeling is that it's that they weren't heard and I don't know if negotiating, I don't know if we're at the at the point yet of using the phrase of negotiating and good faith that type of thing, But there were disappointment with the numbers that came back, and I think what they're seeing even more now after they announced the the what three more teams that are coming in? Is that what they announced the other day and they cost the entry fee into the league. Players are like, yo, we want to bite of that. We should get a part of that. And I'm sure they're getting a part of it, but they want a larger part of it, which is also understandable. That's the players are why the league is so popular right now. The players are why they're able to expand right now. The players have put this league in the position to have this monumental growth and to have this new CV, this new media deal that they have. So whenever it comes to that stuff, you know, whether it's All Star pay or you know, whenever we're talking dollars and cents, I'm like, hey, this is the time to you know, if we're not happy with what it is right now, this is your chance to change that right now, Like literally right now is the chance to change that. So that's why, like Liz Elizabeth Williams said this morning, said, you know it's gonna that's a big deal at All Star. They're going to be in rooms and having this same conversation. So it may be a little low and you may want the percentages to be better, but you know, this is the time to kind of figure that out.

Yeah, and I know Stewie described the forthcoming meeting as spicy. Mekka Guoma Kay had told media members that she felt like or not that she felt but like Kathy directly said to her that they don't understand how the business works. And you know, I kind of understand that both sides of the cooem like the commission of her job is to generate revenue for the week, right and with that she's thinking more long term sustainability, and then the players are like, well, as you said, we want to take advantage of the moment, and I think above all else, they learned from the twenty twenty cbas that you get what you negotiate, and there was a lot left on the table in twenty twenty. But the difference now, as you mentioned, the players have more leverage and as you mentioned, more expansion teams. The Liberty was bought by around ten to fifteen million. Now it's worth over four hundred million dollars. The Valpyries, a new expansion team, is worth almost a half a billion dollars right now. So things are growing rapidly and as you said, the players want a piece of that pie. Now, with the talks of negotiations, fans around the league and social media have phrased or opos the question of who is at the table in terms of players negotiating, and the clap back at a fan who came up with this conspiracy that herself and Branta Stewarts shouldn't be at the table because they are the founders of the unrivaled league and they see it as a conflict of interest. Now I can understand well like the path that they were trying to go. But I think that, in the words one man Kobe Bryant, it's a pakrom yoga stretch to say that. But what are your thoughts? Do you think that this is a conflict of interest? You have players like a Brianna Stewart on a physicalier at the table with these negotiations when they are the founders and owners of another league which is not even competing with the w NBA because it's a completely different structure. But this is a league that has w NBA players of the top players a part of it. So what are your thoughts.

I don't think it's a conflict of interest. I understand maybe the optics of it. And for the people who aren't kind of dug in and paying kind of really close attention to how all of this stuff works, I would say number one, from the players perspective, it might be a little bit helpful to have two people who have kind of been behind the scenes and working with the finances a league and worked with on Unrivaled and know how all of that stuff works and knows what it's like to work with these different brands and sponsors and what money is coming in and how money is directed, and what it costs to run a league and have that perspective, I would say, you know, there's actual value in having those two in the room.

And like you said, they're not exactly one to one competitive leagues. You know, if if the W, if what happens.

If the W stops, It's not like all of a sudden, the unrival is going to just blow up and all of a sudden be playing five on five with all one hundred and forty four plus I keep using one forty four that was the old number, that they are, all of a sudden, all just going to be able to play unrivaled.

You know that, you remember this is a three on three league with what that twelve teams? Ten teams? Am I even going high?

But either way, there's a lot larger group of players that FEE and the Players Association are responsible for. Then, even though there were a group of stars and Unrivaled, it's still a minuscule number compared to all the players that are in the W and that are going to be in the W in these upcoming years, especially as we're adding more teams. So I kind of understand the optics if you look at it on the surface, but to the among those things that I kind of just touched on, anyone that kind of knows Fee and Stewie knows that that's not kind of how they roll. They're not exactly like, Hey, I'm going to throw you know, half the league or all my sisters and all and all my you know, fellow players.

Under the league.

So this small group of us, smaller group of us that are unrivaled, you know, can somehow benefit even though, like I just said, it's not really a one to one comparison, and it's not like, Okay, everybody just goes over here and does their own thing. So I understand the optics, but I don't think there's a whole lot of legs to stand on there.

All Right, Huge news coming out of Phoenix on Tuesday. They announced the signing up two times WNBA champion Dewanna Bonner and Koreem This all goes down after she was waived by the Indiana Fever. Allegedly there was some issues between her and the organization due to the fit her fit on that roster, and so she cleared waivers. The Phoenix Mercury was able to clear some cap space and sign her. And you know, this is a player that asked a big history with the team. She helped them win a championship ten years ago, well eleven years now because we're in twenty twenty five, but in twenty team helped them win. I was part of that championship team. And so it's a return to essentially the place where she has won. And so Kadem I'm gonna ask you, do you love it or do you hate it?

Oh? I love it. I love it like I was.

I love any team that's able to add dB to their roster. I loved it when Indiana was able to add her in the first place. You know, sometimes things don't work out, you know, you know, the fit wasn't fitting. For lack of a better phrase, it was. I talked to her earlier in the year and she said, you know, I'm still trying to figure out where my place is, where my shots are coming from, where what my role is. And I think there was a little bit of uncomfort uncomfort there where when they were banged up, they were using her at the four for at stretches, and she just that wasn't how where she's played and how she's kind of how she plays the system scheme, even though that she's been with Stephanie for years previously. They're playing different than they played in Connecticut, you know, and so I think that part was an adjustment also, and Indianda, it's kind of been banged up and had to do things a little bit differently and figure some stuff out on the fly. And it was it was she never even when you're watching, you just never felt that she was like in the groove of what.

They were doing.

And so kudos for them, kudos for all parties for being able to figure out a solution because you could easily be in a situation where she's not happy, and because she's not happy, that's weighing on other players, and you know, you're you're trying to fit a square peg into a round hole and that stuff is not working.

Did I get that analogy right, I don't know, But either way, it's.

It's it's funny that they were able to or it works out well that they were able to kind of figure out a way for everybody kind of go there separate ways and and and keep it moving. As far as going to Phoenix, obviously that someplace you're super comfortable.

Elissa Thomas is already there, the team is winning. It seems like from.

Afar that you should be able to kind of slide her in regardless of you know, obviously it's always going to take a minute in terms of role and and and getting minutes and lineups and all of those kind of details. But again, if you've got a chance to add a player of the quality of dB, someone who's got the history, the shot making, who's just such a matchup problem on both ends of the court, you you seem to jump at that if I if, if I'm an especially if you're a contender and you're not like looking down the road to rebuild, being just able to slot her in and get her, you know, at this point of the season, and especially before the All Star, before All Star, where you've got time to learn and and they've got some cushion because they've been playing so well and so they're already high in the standings. I don't if I'm a Mercury fan, I'm pretty dwn happy today.

See I'm a little fifty to fifty on this. I'm like inserting a new player at this point where you're tied with the New York Liberty and Record for second place, stop broke. Don't try to fix it now. I understand that she's an important player to the Phoenix Mercury franchise in terms of bringing championships there and being able to win. But I feel like this team has already started to figure out their identity with Satsu Soboli, Kullia Copper and Alyssa Thomas and all of the players, the role players that have around them. Sammy Witcomb has been playing such an incredible season so far. Yeah, it's just like, do you want to mess up that chemistry right now by adding a piece like Towana Bonner. But as you said, if you have a free agent like Dwana Bonner and you don't necessarily other pair of two hundred thousand dollarscause India has to pay her at anyways, and you can get her for below the bat minimum, why not striking a chance to strengthen your roster and added player of that caliber. Now with the addition of Dewanna Bonner, I know a lot of people were talking about the possibility of an Emma Miseiman coming back over Finals MVP in twenty nineteen won a championship with the Washington Mystics and I remember over the weekend we had heard rumors about Emma being in Minnesota, which was not true. We figured out she was not in Minnesota, but you know, that was a rumor that was flying around. But I feel like with the signing of Dewanna Bontner, there's no chance that Emma is going to go to Phoenix if she decided to return to the WNBA. I feel like every season since she decided to leave and not come back, we're all like, is she going to come back? Is this going to be the season? I feel like if she were to come back to the w I would really love to see her in Minnesota alongside of the Visa Colliers. She has the history with the Tibo. Eric Tibo is on the assistant coaching staff or selfishly, I would like to see her all the New York Liberty. They're down a few starters, and she has the history with Natasha Cloud. They won a championship together. It's twenty nineteen. I would like to see on that one of those two teams. The New York Liberty also has the cap space to sign her if they cut a player, they can sign up for that one hundred and thirteen thousand dollars or whatever they have on their cap. But do you think that Emma will finally come over this season?

That's the question, especially here in Washington, that's been asked every single year.

Is Emma coming back? Is them coming back?

And it's really funny because Emma does her own thing, and Emma is content.

Not necessarily being in the league.

And now coming off this year O Basket Championship, maybe she feels a certain way and she's like shooting, you know, maybe I'll come over and give her run.

Shoot. I saw I asked this to Mike Tebow the other day when I saw him.

He was at in Minnesota literally just came back from Belgium from coaching that championship team and.

Tim right and even and he looked me and he smiled and said the same thing. He's like, you know, Emma, emm what kind of makes her own.

Decision because he's shoot, he's been trying to get her back on the Mystics for years.

So it's it's it's really.

Funny in the way that and I don't know how funny is the right word, but in the way that the w just isn't like top priority for her quite frankly, her mom was a longtime player overseas, and and you know, money is not an issue.

Her family is over there. Playing for the national team is what's most important for her and for them.

So it's always kind of felt like, hey, if a perfect scenario and thing work out, quite frankly, sure, she can always come back, but I'm not sure that she feels like she needs to and and so. And I also don't think everybody is anybody's quite into her mind and knowing exactly what she wants to do, because she kind of does her own thing and does her own thing on her own timing. But you did mention the team that's probably set up best for her in Minnesota, where you know her, the guy who just coached her to a euro Basket championship. Her son is an assistant, His son is on the is an assistant in Eric Tebow under Cheryl. Eric was working with her every day as she developed when she was in Washington, so they know each other there. The scheme is similar. The way that Minnesota and Cheryl likes to play basketball fits very.

Well with what Emma does.

You know, she's she shoots threes, she's capable on defense, She's very versatile, very smart player.

I mean, she fits in really.

Well with that group, and I know they would shoot. They would you know, the rich getting richer, They would love to slaughter right in. But the question is does Emma want to?

And I don't think anybody really knows if Emma wants to, And so we're all kind of watching every single day she was She was not in Minnesota.

Yes, some one think the picture was like, is this Emma? It's a little funny. The rumor was like, Okay, Emma meetsa men is in Minnesota right now? And a couple of us got the text and so we all just start our RICHIAKA people like is this happening? Is she in Minnesota? And then once I saw the photo of the person that they thought was Emma, I was like, come on, y'all me for real, that's Mike. But that is definitely not Emma. So she was not on good authorities. She was not in Minnesota to my knowledge as of as of this recording on Tuesday, she is not in Minnesota. But as you said, it's a question that it has come up since she decided to go back home, and you know, I feel like newer fans, they probably are not familiar with who Emma Missamon is. I saw a tweak and said, people talk about Emma Messamon as if she's Captain Marvel.

She is like that.

Okay, what those of you who don't know she's like that? I feel like if any team in the w were to snag her up, oh yeah, they're definitely contending. They're definitely gonna be able to contend with the player, especially with how the game has evolved, and the player with the olinth and athleticism like Emma. I think that any team benefit from having.

A player like her.

All right, Moving right along, Kareem, And this one is really for you because you're a Mystics insider, now, U, there are rumors about the Mystic shopping Aliyah Edwards. What is the latest on that situation?

Well, the latest is that she's still here.

Yeah, it's it's it's an interesting situation because they are loaded in the post and they've been so that's kind of been one of the things with the rapid development of Kiki Ari. Often it has directly affected the minutes of Aliyah. And now she did start the season hurt. She was banged up, and it what missed the first handful of games with a lower back injury. She wasn't She barely participated in training camp, so she was kind of behind, and once she started getting on the floor, she really wasn't effective those first shoot handful of games kind of shoot, I guess you could say month and a half. Really, I feel like she was kind of struggling to find her fit and at the same time, Shakira came back and Shakira's balling, Kiki's been doing her thing. Shoot that duo quite frankly pushed Steph Dolson out of the starting lineup because she hasn't kind of been able to find her groove either. But it's interesting the last two games since that news came out, Alia's minutes has ticked up a little bit and she's played really well the last two games. I give her a lot of credit for not letting that talk kind of get into her head, because that can that can be a thing. We were all sitting there kind of waiting after practice for them to get done with the news and and and ask everything about it, and Sidney Johnson claimed that he didn't know. I'm not sure how accurate that is, but because it's supposed to be a collaborative effort.

Over there, and if they're taking calls, it would surprise.

Me if your head coach doesn't have any idea that that's going on. But at the same time, if.

I'm another team in the league, I certainly would make a call and find out.

Because not only do we know that Aliyah is a player in this league, she's still on her rookie contract. So there's a lot of value there if you can get her, because you can get her on the cheap right now.

And the Mystics have gone out and said.

Already, Hey, the way they're playing right now is a head of where I think even they thought they would be. But at the same time, their entire game plan has been to look out several years down the road and infuse this roster with youth. Now you would think that would include Aliyah, who's only on her second year, but you know, sometimes that stuff happens where you have a log jam. So I think they're actually I think the Mystics find themselves in a kind.

Of a.

Weird position, as Okay, we're playing a little bit better, we're playing a little bit ahead of schedule. Does that speed up our timeline and if we, you know, do does being in playoff contention? Is that enough to for us to start thinking about making some different moves. Are we still, regardless of how well we're playing right now, are we still in the mode of trying to you know, get as many draft picks as we can over these next couple of years. You know, the president of the team, Michael Winger, is this president who's also over the Wizards, and he has said ever since, ever since the big change where the t bows were out and they cleared out the coaching staff and cleared out anybody who was connected with that twenty nineteen team, that the idea was to kind of mimic, not necessarily mimic, but have the same mind frame of how they were retooling the Wizards, where they were going super young and going and going to develop all the all this youth up from the ground up. Right, And so they're already Mystics are already the youngest team in the league, And so it's not a surprise and especially if you're looking at this logjam, and that's what we wondered at the beginning of the year. We're like, Okay, how are you going to play Shakira, Steph, Kiki, and Aliyah all at the same time when they all seem to be jumbled in that post spot, there were ideas about who can can one of them play the three?

Can ali if one of them can extend their game out a little bit more?

But right now, at this moment, Aliyah and Kiki haven't been Shakira haven't really shown the ability.

To kind of extend it all the way out to the arc and be a true stretch, which is fine, which none of them need to be right now.

It's just like you know, sometimes you're blessed with riches at the same spot, and that's kind of where they are right now. And so I think other teams would certainly be a would be putting a phone call in and if any GM and any president worth their assault, if somebody calls, you're gonna pick up the phone and at least hear what they got to say, because you never know what you know. We see deals all the time that surprise us. So I think that's kind of caught where they are right now. I'm not sure that it's an active We're out here looking to shop and we need to we need to move her kind of scenario. But at the same time, if people are calling and sniffing around and and and making offers, we'll listen to what you got to say, kind of a thing. And so it seems like they're in a good space and I and I give I give Sidney Johnson a lot of credit where he seems to have done a really good job of forming a relationship with these plays. You know, they even even though he's quick to call himself corny and they kind of laugh at him because he's kind of like kind of like a girl dad in a way, just kind of the way he operates and deals with them.

And you know, he's always talking about and that's.

Been part of the new thing that they've really been focusing on, is they spent most of that first press conference talking about ninety ten where ninety percent of the time these players are not in the gym, not on the floor, they're people and ten percent is basketball, and they want to make sure that they pay as much attention to that ninety percent and making it an attractive and comfortable place for people to be here in Washington. Now, I'm also one and being like, Okay, that's all great and all, but you got to play some basketball at some point, right and we got to talk about basketball and fit and scheme and lineups and all that kind of stuff. But I will say the way that they talk about that and the way that they emphasize it seems to be hitting home pretty well with the players, especially with a young group.

You know.

That's kind of what I was kind of alluding to a little earlier.

You've got a young group who, you know, sometimes you gotta, you know, kind of keep them close to make them feel good about themselves as they're still learning this league. They're not veterans who are like, hey, this is a job, I've got all this stuff figured out. Let's you know, just make sure we're taking care of ball kind of a thing. So I give them credit for two things. Having a strong relationship in the first place, and once that news came out, not letting it spiral, because that very next day, she was back at at practice, you know, smiling.

She's had two of her best games since then. So they seem to.

Regardless of whether it happens or not, it seems like they're in a good space and all pulling in the same.

Direction right now.

But again, you know, any GM worth their salary. If someone calls with the right offer.

And you feel like you've got a player that or you feel like you've got.

Depth in a position and have a chance to add whether it's draft capital or whatever else to a spot that's weaker, or be able to help and address a spot that's weaker, that's something that you've got to at least listen to.

No.

I certainly agree, and we will keep our eyes on where Alia Edwards end up, if anywhere. We know that the trade deadline goes down in August. One last thing, kareem before you get out of here. The twenty twenty four champions in New York Liberty have been struggling as of late. They are down John Paul Jones, who has been out due to an ankle injury, Benigulanna Hamilton we know is missed the entire season due to injury as well. Naoi Pheebich is finally getting back into the fold, and during the last game Isabelle Harrison went down. She's questionable this week, and Natasha Cloud also got hit checked and she's also questionable this week as well. So with all of these players on the injury report, especially players from their core, what do you think the New York Liberty have to do in order to turn things around.

Get healthy, get the people, get the people who are supposed to be on your roster, on the roster and on the floor. I understand, I understand, you know, the little bit of trepidation, especially at the Hearts after the hot start, and quite frankly in the last three years you're now used to losing a lot of games up there. But at the same time, all of those names that you just rattled off are huge pieces to this and especially we're talking about Johncko Jones, right. Not having her on the floor changes everything on both ends of the floor. So there's I wouldn't have any panic. I know that's easier said than done sometimes, but I would think this team is going to look closer to what they did at the beginning of the year than they did than they have in this last week or so. So sometimes it's just about patience and kind of waiting. And then even once you get everybody together, takes a minute to get on the same page. Remember, you know, you got a new point guard in Tosh, and even though things hit the ground running, still you know there's still a moment and some time that it takes to build chemistry and know what everybody likes and you know, well who's most comfortable in which spots, even things as simple of coming off a screen, you know where you like to.

Catch the ball.

All of these little details still, you know, sometimes still need to be worked out, even if you're a championship team, but you changed pieces a little bit and you haven't had everybody there, And again you've got an MVP literally sitting on the side line who's been out for weeks.

So that's kind of the way I kind of look at it, you know.

I know, I think Sandy talked a little bit the other day about what concerns her most of the defense.

And.

I would I would, I would echo those sentiments because I feel like, one, if you get everybody healthy and you got that's just too much offensive firepower to not be able to figure out things on that end of the floor. But still, you got to get stops. And there's other teams that are loaded in this league right now also with a whole lot of offensive firepower, and we know once you get into the playoffs and the postseason that it's you know, you got to get stops. It's not always going to be a shootout every single night. Defense wins championships, all of the all of those kind of things.

But I wouldn't panic in New York yet.

Just because it's just going to take a little bit of time, you know, to quite frankly, just get healthy and you have your people out there.

Yeah, no, I totally agree. I think about twenty twenty three when they first assimn their super team, and how even in that season, with all of the talent that they had, they had a slow start in the beginning the first half of that season. It wasn't until the second half of that season that things started to turn around for them and they got to the finals against the Aces and what happened happened. But during the first half of that season, John Paul Jones was also suffering from an injury as she had sustained the previous the previous finals against the ass when she was with Connecticut. So in similar fashion, again, your finals MVP is out four to six weeks. She's huge on both sides of the floor, as you mentioned, but also as you said, like this is a team where their defense fuels their offense and obviously their autorithm Right now, and so Leoni just got back. She's a couple of games in and she's a huge part of the New York Liberties defense as a wing. I would love to see her be a little bit more consistent on the offensive side in terms of her scoring. I know that the Liberty are leaning heavily on her in order to step up this season, like the role and which she's taken because Benijel Laney Hamilton is out for the whole season, so they're expecting players like her, as players like Nia Rissaboli, players like Kennedy Burke to have a bigger role on this team. And as he said, Natasha Cloud is a newer player, but she is the head of the Snake as the point guard, and we know what she can do defensively. Can she find her rhythm consistently every night, day and day out on the offensive end to fuel the Liberty's offense. But as you said, it's the Liberty versus health right now in terms of having all the players available. I do think that pattern that's haunting them this season are those third quarters and Ben atrocious since the season started, and Stewie early in the season has spoke up about it. But we are seeing it happen in real time, and so they have to learn how to play all forty minutes. I think in the game against Seattle, they played a really good first quarter and then that third quarter, fourth quarter, Stuiet and Sabrina went scoreless until about three minutes left in the fourth quarter. And that cannot happen with your two all stars, your two star players on the team. They could not be scoreless for damn there half the second half of the second half. So they just got to figure it out. I agree with you, there's no need to hit the panic button on the New York Liberty.

It's it's insane to me sometimes how people have forgotten who JJ is. Sometimes it almost seems like they're like, uh, they don't have JJ, but they should still be fine and they should just roll over everybody.

Do you know? Do you know who that is? What she's accomplished, and what she, like you said, brings to both ends of the floor.

It's it's wild to me that she still continues to kind of get overlooked sometimes with everything that she brings to the floor.

So yeah, that's a huge piece missing.

So yeah, you know, get her back first of all, and then's then let's talk about the rest.

Yeah.

I think outside of Necho Guoma, Kay John crul Jones might be one of the most disrespected former MVPs in WNBA history. You can't underrate a player like her size, her versatility, what she can do on both ends of the floor, her efficiency when.

She's getting the double double, the New York.

Liberty is winning cans down like she's single handedly one of the most important players on the roster. And I think her absence shows just how important she is for the New York Liberty. And so I'm just going to wish the Liberty players speedy recovery and lots of good health. Basketball gods do your thing. But there's no reason as Kareem and I just said it hit the panic button on him just yet. Kareem, you're officially bammed to the show. Thank you so much for joining us this week hoping to break down the latest in and around.

The w Appreciate you finally having me you know, anytime, Just let me know listen.

Always going to be invited back, So keep that phone on open, Okay, all right. To check out more of Kareem's work, headed over to the Washington Post, to read all of his work about the Washington mistakes and the bigger picture stories around the WNBA. All right, y'all, that's going to do it. For this edition of In Case You Missed It with Christina Williams here on the Iheartwoman's Sports Network, I want to shout out my homie Kareem Copeland again coming through. Don't forget to hit that subscribe button in to rate and review the podcast. Later this week for fanow Friday, we have film director Andrea Bussella joining us, so you don't want to miss that conversation. And next week we're coming at you live from Indianapolis for WNBA All Star, plus a bonus episode with La Sparkstarverkia Jackson and WNBA stylist Britney Hampton. So make sure you subscribe say you don't miss any of that fire content later. In Case You Missed It with Christina Williams is an iHeart Women's sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on

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