Basketball Hall-of-Famer and ESPN analyst Nancy Lieberman answers your questions and e-mails throughout the year. Click here to submit a question of your own.

Hi Nancy, like most of the basketball fans in my neck of the woods, I was absolutely overjoyed with the announcement that there will be an expansion team in Atlanta. I'm curious how you see this affecting the league as a whole. Is the dilution of talent something to be concerned with, or will this allow the league and its talent level to grow in the long run?
-Randy, Macon, Ga.

Honestly, I think it will be great for the league. Atlanta will be a fabulous city and a fabulous presence. For them to put forth this effort to bring a team there shows their interest. And we really need a WNBA team in your neck of the woods that really loves and appreciates women's basketball. I see it as a huge positive for the league.

As far as the talent level is concerned, I think this league is ready for expansion. With a new team comes 13 new jobs or so and there are a lot of players overseas or who may have been final cuts on WNBA rosters who deserve a real shot to play in this league. Because of the numbers, they may not have had that chance yet.

It's always good to grow your sport and to do it smartly and at the right time. And I think they've accomplished all of that.

What do you think the new team in Atlanta should be called? We've heard lots of names thrown around, like the Peaches, the Glory and the Thunder. But if it were up to you, what would you name them?
-Bobbie, Tallahassee, Fla.

I like the Glory. I love that name. If I actually had something to do with it, that would be a name I'd take into serious consideration. It fits so well with the city and with the South.

But the new owners are going to come up with something that makes sense for them. And they also said they're going to get a lot of input from the fans, which I think is terrific.

It's hard for someone who doesn't live there to come up with a fitting name, but I will say that I love the Glory.

Dear Nancy, should the L.A. Sparks capture the No. 1 pick in next year's draft and (sanely) select Candace Parker if she chooses to make herself available, how much would that selection change the landscape of not only the Western Conference, but the entire WNBA? L.A. has a nice core of young, solid role players and it's frightening to think how Parker would look next to Lisa Leslie. Should Phoenix push the panic button if this scenario were to play out?
-Roderick, Woodmere Village, Ohio

To have Parker and Leslie together on the same team? That would be unbelievable. I wouldn't want to play against them because you're talking about two of the most gifted players in our sport right now. And with Taj McWilliams-Franklin? Scary. If L.A. is fortunate enough to have everything work out where they can grab Parker, they've hit a home run.

As for Phoenix… you're the champ until somebody dethrones you. But if the Sparks could add Leslie and Parker this offseason to last year's core? In my opinion, the balance of power shifts a little bit in the West.

But it's way premature to even consider this. First, L.A. will need to get lucky in Tuesday's lottery.

Nancy, who do you think is the best player on the Phoenix Mercury: Cappie Pondexter or Diana Taurasi? Also, who would you pick to take a game-winning shot between those two?
-Scooter, Joliet, Ill.

Wow, you're putting me under the gun here! You have to look at this question from different aspects… If you needed somebody to break it down and create her own shot, I'd probably put the ball in Cappie's hands.

But Diana's kind of like Magic Johnson: Not only can she shoot the lights out, but with the ball in her hands she can draw a lot of attention and distribute to her teammates. She does so much with the basketball that doesn't show up in a stat sheet. Between her shooting, her passing and her ability to get to the rim (she gets to the rim differently than Cappie, of course), Diana is a pretty complete player.

I think it's unfair to ask who's better. Diana's bigger and can hit me on D, but Cappie's quicker and can chase me down. I just love what both of them bring to the game. As we get set to enter a Presidential campaign year, is that answer political enough for you?

Hey Nancy, first off, I just want to say how much I LOVE watching you on ESPN doing WNBA games. You are such a class act! My question is this: Since Penny Taylor may not be coming back for the '08 WNBA season, can the Mercury win without her?
-Annie, Litchfield, Ct.

Your answer? A resounding… "I don't think so." It will be very difficult for the Mercury to repeat without Penny Taylor. She can play multiple positions, she's a good passer, she's a good scorer, she's big, she's strong… she just means so much to that team in so many ways.

Penny wasn't even playing her natural position, but she still managed to be named to the All-WNBA First Team. She also complements Diana and Cappie so well… she really allows them to do what they both do best. You usually think of the point guard as the glue that holds a successful team together, and Kelly Miller deserves all the credit in the world, but I think Penny was more important as far as on-the-court chemistry was concerned.

You see, with the Mercury this season, every player on that roster was a piece of a puzzle. And Penny, for all of the reasons listed above, was a very important piece of that puzzle. I don't know if they can do it again without her.

Hi, Nancy. What do you see in the Comets' immediate future? Sheryl Swoopes may be at the end of a great career and Tina Thompson has stated that she may eventually play exclusively overseas. Can this team come back to be anything close to the team that won four titles?
-Darryl, Philadelphia

Well, times have changed and the league has evolved, so to get back to that level, the Comets are going to have to be better than the team that won four titles a decade ago. The level of play around the league is so much better now. Yes, when the Comets started out, they were the first team out there with three or four superstars. Plain and simple, they initially had more skilled pieces of the puzzle than the other teams in the league.

Now, the Comets are a young team, Karleen Thompson is trying to build the franchise back up and, in time, I think they'll be very competitive in this league. They have a good coach and they have pretty good chemistry for such a young squad. Now they need time and experience, both of which will help fit and mold their talent into a more cohesive unit.

I love the heart of Ivory Latta, but something is telling me she may not be back with the Shock next year. You never know what Bill Laimbeer is going to do. I think Latta is used to being a star, so maybe not getting a lot of playing time got her down. Whatever happens, I think Latta is going to be a great player. It might take time, but don't count her out. She was the 11th pick, but her heart is No. 1. What do you think about Latta and her future in the league?
-Elaina, Minneapolis

First, let me say that I think Ivory Latta will be back in Detroit. I think she'll eventually be a big contributor for Bill Laimbeer and that team because she's tough, she's a competitor and she's won everywhere she's played. Ivory has really overachieved at every level -- she's in Israel right now averaging about 25 points a game so far -- and there's no reason to think that will stop now. She'll get more minutes and experience playing overseas, and I think she'll come back to Detroit next year and really force Bill to take notice. I think she's going to be just fine at this level.

As for Bill and the supposed turmoil there, you can say what you want about the guy, but he wins. He knows talent. Now he may not run his team the way you or most other people would do it, but at the end of the day, his players want to play hard and win for him. They've won two titles and they came within a hair of a third this fall. I think that team has it down to a science: Bill knows what his team can and cannot do. They'll always be competitive… they'll always be in the mix.