Sue Bird Speaks On Upcoming Season, Carolyn Swords Trade


After an exciting season in which they made the playoffs for the first time since 2013, Sue Bird believes the Seattle Storm can take the momentum even further this year.

The Storm started slow last season, but went 7-3 after the Olympic break thanks in large part to the play of star rookie Breanna Stewart. They had the lead in their playoff opener until Angel McCoughtry caught fire during a historic individual performance. With a core of Stewart, Bird and fellow All-WNBA selection Jewell Loyd, Seattle could be primed to make another leap in 2017.

“I think we showed at the end of last season what we’re capable of as a team,” Bird said at NBA All-Star Weekend in New Orleans. “So I think the expectations for us to make the playoffs – and maybe make a little more noise than we did last year – have been earned. That doesn’t mean it’s a guarantee. There’s still much work to be done. I think last year we showed some stuff, but there’s a big difference between doing it once and being consistent season after season. That’s where we need to get. We need to get more consistent.”

For Stewart, Bird said, it will come down to fine-tuning as many aspects of her game as possible. The UConn product is already one of the league’s top all-around players – she finished sixth in the MVP voting as a rookie – but Stewart still has plenty of unlocked potential.

What could help her unlock it is spending more time at power forward, which the Storm addressed this offseason by trading for center Carolyn Swords.

Stewart has shown she is capable of playing center in the WNBA, but last year she was almost always Seattle’s tallest player on the court. That was a lot to ask of a lanky rookie. Seattle started 6-foot-2 Crystal Langhorne at the other frontcourt spot, and centers Krystal Thomas and Markeisha Gatling only saw limited minutes.

In that sense, Bird says the 6-foot-6 Swords could make a drastic difference.

“The game of basketball has definitely started to change, where you need more versatile players,” Bird said. “Stewie is a great example…she can literally play every position. But that doesn’t mean that big, true post players don’t have value. I get it, we don’t have players like Lisa Leslie, who are just low-block players. But they’re still needed. And I think we were really missing that size, someone who could come in and guard a big player, get rebounds, that type of thing. And from watching Carolyn play over the years, I know she can fit perfectly.”

Rebounding is, statistically, the area where Seattle could use the most help. The Storm had the lowest overall rebounding percentage (47.1) and offensive rebounding percentage (22.1) in the league last year.

With Swords coming to town and plenty of optimism stemming from last year, the fans in Seattle can expect another fun season at KeyArena. Adding to that excitement is the announcement of the 2017 WNBA All-Star Game, which will be held in the Emerald City for the very first time.

“I know the city’s really excited, and the organization’s really excited,” Bird said. “Obviously everyone’s a little biased, but I think we have the best fan base in the WNBA, and I know they’re going to show up and show out. Hopefully, as Seattleites, we’ll all put on a good show.”

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