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Wendy Palmer is not yet ready to consider her future in the league. Palmer, 33 and one of just eight players left from the league's inaugural 1997 season, needs some time and distance after the Storm season came to an abrupt ending Sunday as the Phoenix Mercury swept the teams' First Round series.
"I'm still just kind of numb," Palmer said after completing her exit interviews with Storm Head Coach 
Anne Donovan and Chief Operating Officer Karen Bryant. "You have so many high hopes, so many expectations, and then to fall short it's very frustrating, so you've got to have to have time to process. I'm just taking some time to process.
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2007 was perhaps the most challenging year of Palmer's WNBA career. After undergoing surgery to repair her left Achilles tendon last July, she faced an arduous rehab process to get back on the court.
Still, Palmer was ready to go for the start of training camp and was one of just four Storm players to play in all 34 of the team's regular-season games as well as both postseason contests. Given her age and the severity of her injury, Palmer's comeback was remarkable.
"It wasn't a year after my surgery until July 26," explained Palmer. "That's half your season. I have two doctors that told me that most people are not even near being normal until 18 months. I still have time."
As frustrating as it was at times, especially early in the season, dealing with being less than 100 percent, the injury gave Palmer the perspective that nothing was guaranteed, making each game, each practice special.
"It's a blessing just to be able to run up and down the court," she said. "That's how I approach it. At the beginning of last year, no way did I think I would be injured. Then to have that taken away from you in the matter of a day, find out you won't be playing anymore, it's heartbreaking. I embraced every minute I had, whether it was two, five, 10 or 14, whatever it was. I embraced it in a game and I embraced it in practice, because you never know."
For now, Palmer's focus is on making the transition from player to coach. She will begin her first year as an assistant at the University of Kentucky this fall, having made the move to UK after two seasons spent as an assistant at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Palmer will become an unrestricted free agent after completing her contract with the Storm. After taking some time to decompress, she'll be ready to start thinking about her future.
"Physically I feel fine - I feel great," said Palmer. "No pains, no aches, but mentally I am fatigued."
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