Storm Off-Season Primer
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The WNBA's off-season is long, but there will be plenty of action between now and the start of training camp next spring to keep the Seattle Storm busy off the court. Sometime this fall, the WNBA will hold an expansion draft to build the roster of the incoming Chicago franchise that will begin play next season. Free agency starts on January 15, when teams can begin negotiating with players, and on Feb. 1 players can begin signing with teams. With more players than ever enjoying free agency, look for more movement. In April, the WNBA off-season wraps up with the WNBA Amateur Draft, one that could be one of the best ever with players like Seimone Augustus, Monique Currie, Cappie Pondexter and Sophia Young in the mix.
Here's storm.wnba.com's overview of how this affects the team.
Contract Status of the 2005 Storm Roster
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Reserved/Exclusive rights players - Forwards Iziane Castro Marques and Natalia Vodopyanova are reserved because they have three years and one year of WNBA experience, respectively. This means only the Storm can negotiate with these players.
Restricted free agents - Lauren Jackson is the Storm's only restricted free agent, giving the Storm the opportunity to match any offer made to her by another WNBA team. In other words, Jackson isn't going anywhere.
Unrestricted free agents - By virtue of having six years of experience, Simone Edwards, Betty Lennox and Alicia Thompson are all unrestricted free agents. The Storm has no rights to these players that other WNBA teams do not have, but all three have indicated a desire to return to Seattle.
The Expansion Draft
With Chicago joining the WNBA as the 14th franchise for 2006, the WNBA will be holding an expansion draft this fall. The league has yet to officially announce draft rules, but multiple sources, including 
ConnecticutSun.com, have reported that teams will be able to protect six players. What isn't clear yet is how unrestricted free agents will be treated. That particularly affects the Storm in the case of Lennox, who may or may not need to be amongst the six protected players.
The WNBA Draft
Assuming that Chicago gets a pick in the lottery - a safe assumption to make - the Storm would pick 11th in the first round, 25th in the second round and 39th in the third round next April.
"I think we will get the same kind of talent level that we got from T (Wright)," says Donovan. "Somebody that's not going to step in and be a superstar, but can develop into a pretty good contributor for us, which Tanisha did this year. I think that's the kind of draft we're looking at next year. Hopefully, you identify the right player who can come along and contribute for us before season's end."
Storm Players' Off-Seasons
Plans: Batkovic, a Euroleague veteran, will play in Russia for the first time, joining UMMC Ekaterinburg . "It's nothing but snow, which is kind of a little scary coming from Australia, but it's a challenge and a new experience and a new journey, I suppose," she says. She'll play with Yolanda Griffith and Lindsay Whalen, amongst others. | |
Plans: Bird will split time between Seattle and the East Coast before returning to Russia in January to again play for Moscow Dynamo. | |
Plans: Burse will join her family in Houston as they continue to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. She plans to check on her own home in Slidell before playing in Prague. | |
Plans: After going from playing in Russia to the Storm, Castro Marques plans to take this off-season off. After vacationing, she'll return to her native Brazil. "She can rest and then she can really work in the areas we identified," says Donovan. | |
Plans: Edwards will vacation briefly and return to her native Jamaica, bringing supplies for a primary school in her village she's adopted. Later, she plans to play overseas, but hasn't decided where. | |
Plans: After being forced to miss the 2004-05 WNBL season because of ankle surgery, Jackson will be back with the Canberra Capitals. Before the season starts, she says the beach is calling her. "It's going to be fun," she says. | |
Plans: Lennox plans to head home to Missouri to rest her injured wrists. She'll head to China in November to play in the Chinese league. | |
Plans: Thompson will head home to Dallas to see her family for the next few months and is excited about becoming an aunt. "I'm a big family person," she says. She plans to head somewhere to play in January. | |
Plans: Vodopyanova is heading back to Russia, where she'll have a week off before beginning playing for Dynamo. | |
Plans: Wright is heading back to Penn State to complete her degree in elementary education. "I've talked with her about the off-season and how I'd like to see her expand more confidence into the point guard role," says Donovan. | |
Plans: Zara will be returning to her Italian League team, Phard Napoli. |
