The 2017 WNBA start of season conference call included ESPN basketball analysts Rebecca Lobo and LaChina Robinson who answered questions about teams and players leading into the 2017 WNBA season. Read their takes on specific players, young rosters and storylines for the upcoming season.

Maya Moore for the first time took the off-season off, she said she needed to recharge and she spent a lot of time working on individual skills. We all know what she’s done, she’s been MVP, she’s won three titles. Do you guys think that at age 27 there’s another level for her to get to and if so what might that be? If she does that, how impressive would that be?

Lobo: “What might that be, I frankly don’t know. Maya’s one of those players you say ‘Well, where could she improve?’ I don’t know. But, to see her this year presumably refreshed, her game refined in whichever ways that she was trying to refine it and work on it because the way she played, the way she’s been playing, I don’t know how much she can add. At this point I think she’ll probably just be refining what she can already do pretty well, and to continue to be surrounded by players who know her. There hasn’t been a lot of change in Minnesota, clearly not with their starting lineup so, I don’t know what those things could be, but it’s going to be pretty fun for all of us to watch and see what they are.”

Robinson: “Rebecca’s pretty much said it all, but I just think it’s scary. It’s scary to think of Maya rested, more focused than ever, coming off of what could be described as a heartbreaking loss in the finals. So, if there is another level to Maya Moore’s game then watch out WNBA because she’s already an elite player and it seems like that is some of the verbiage we’ve heard from Minnesota to start this season is that from the coaching staff down, they feel like there is another level of Minnesota Lynx that they have not yet reached. That is scary in itself, but definitely if Maya can find another gear, she could really start to establish herself, if not already, as one of the great to have ever played in this league.”

The Dallas Wings cut Tiffany Bias and Jordan Hooper this week indicating that they’re really committing to this youth group. There could be five draft picks on the team, as well as Kayla Thornton who has limited WNBA experience, what do you think the pros and cons are for going with this young group for the Wings?

Lobo: “I was surprised a little bit to see, because I think still they still have all five of their draft picks from this year. It seems like coach Williams is just ready to kind of start new, which you can do when you struggled the way they did a year ago, and a team that didn’t make the playoffs. Chemistry is vitally important for any team, and especially a young team. There’s a lot of benefits in terms of salary cap if you have a really young team because all of those players will be on the lower rookie contract for four years so you can build, whether you’re looking ahead to free agency next year or whatever. That’s a team that’s a bit intriguing just because of how young they are and how many rookies that you have. This is still in many ways a veterans league, championship teams have a lot of veterans that have been through the playoff wars before. It’s going to be interesting to see the last couple of cuts, I think he still has one or two to make and who knows who those will be but it’ll be pretty remarkable if all five of their draft picks are on the roster on opening day.”

Robinson: “To add on to what Rebecca has said, I think, if anything the youth movement signals that there is maybe a longer-term plan for the Dallas Wings and that they’re investing more now in hopes of making this a team that will be a championship contender in the future. And not to say that they don’t have that possibility this year, but I think it’s going to be incredibly hard lacking the experience, that Rebecca talked about, that some of the better teams in the league have. On the positive side, there’s a tremendous upside, you look at some of the younger players like the Kaela Davis or Allisha Gray and how this team can play. They can be small and fast, they can be big and fast, they’re very versatile, but just great upside as some of those younger players, Aerial Powers, begin to get more WNBA experience because they are already very, very talented players coming out of college. Every year we’re seeing more and more talent, but you add to that the experience that they will gain over the next few years and this seems like a Dallas team that’s in it for the long haul.”

Keeping with that theme of a youth movement:

• With all these new pieces that Chicago Sky have, who do you see as their starting five and who might be a key player from that?
• If you look at some of the preseason rankings the Sky rank near the bottom in some lists, do you think that’s a fair assessment and what are some of your expectations for the Sky this season?

Robinson: “I honestly don’t know what the starting lineup would look like for the Chicago Sky right now. I definitely think obviously Cappie Pondexter, you know, with her experience, with everything she brings, having been a WNBA champion, I would imagine she would be there. I know they’ve had some talk about their point guards’ spot, but I would imagine Courtney Vandersloot would be a part of that starting lineup. Imani Boyette I expect to be a part of that starting lineup and now as far as some of the new additions that’s where I have more questions just as far as where Amber [Stocks] sees them fitting in or fitting all together. I think some of the key players though for this team are obviously Stefanie Dolson and Kahleah Copper, what can they bring. I also really have my eyes on Jessica Breland because it seems like Amber’s very high on her, she’s been playing a lot of the three position and I think how well she plays her role will kind of help everyone else to fit in. Even though she’s versatile, I think if they can find her a position that going to be best for her.”

Robinson: “There was a lot of retooling, and I think one of the things you’ve heard over and over again on this call from both Rebecca and myself is that it takes time for teams when they have new pieces, when they have young pieces, to get themselves in the conversation of the playoffs, and definitely to get yourself in the conversation when we’re talking about the LA Sparks and the Minnesota Lynx of the world. It’s just a very talented WNBA, you lost Elena Delle Donne and I guess the question would be who is going to be that MVP-level player on this team. Those that have that player often times put themselves, or also if they have an established style of play, kind of put themselves in that conversation and Amber is a new coach and I just think it’s going to take some time for them to find their way.”

Lobo: “I don’t know who will start. What’s more intriguing to me is kind of how the whole post rotation is going to come together for them. With Stefanie and with Imani and Cheyenne just kind of how, and Breland, how that mix is going to work. How much Breland will play out at the three spot, but because I was a post player, post players interest me and they intrigue me. There’s so many on this roster I am looking forward to seeing how they’re going to work together. Will Stefanie ever play with Imani, and if so how does that work? That’s something that I’m going to be looking for early in the season.

To your point do you throw Alaina Coates in there when she’s healthy?

Lobo: “That’s a question of whether that’s going to be this season or next. Yes, absolutely.”

Robinson: “I do think that Jamierra Faulkner is a major loss. I don’t know why I’m talking about the guards when I was a post player too, but Jamierra Faulkner was a big loss. I think she had some brilliant moments last year. You look at the supporting cast for this team, I think she and Tamera Young are two players that you can’t really keep off the floor, and then she gets injured. What happens when Courtney Vandersloot has to possibly leave for overseas obligations? Cappie obviously can play the point but then what happens to your backcourt rotation, so that was a major loss for Chicago.”

Lobo: “This is just a general comment, I think it’s going to be one of the big story lines in early June, which teams lose players for the European qualifiers and how that impacts their teams and when they come back, reacclimating to their teams, dealing with fatigue, injuries, that sort of thing. We have this every couple of years, but this year would be another year where, you mentioned Washington before and how many games Emma Meesseman missed, and I think most teams in the league are dealing with this to some degree and it’s going to be one of the big early story lines.”

Share with us any unobvious story lines that you’re looking at and will the WNBA have a ‘Christmas Day type’ of televised experience?

Lobo: “In terms of storylines that might not be so obvious, you know, one of them would be the players leaving for however many games, those who have commitments to European teams. I think another one right as the season starts is you don’t want to dig yourself a hole, that’s kind of what Phoenix did last year losing their first four, I think they lost six of their first eight. Especially with the way the playoff format is now where it’s not as much about your conference as it is about your record on the whole. You don’t want to have those stretches where you struggle or you dig yourself into a hole. In terms of something like Christmas Day, I assume you mean where the WNBA has four game on in one day and that’s kind of the kick off. That happens a month into the NBA season. I think we’re fortunate that ESPN, we’re the one who covers most of the games along with NBA TV, and we have the opening game this weekend. We might not have double, triple, quadruple-headers, whatever they have, but I feel pretty good about the coverage our network is providing.”

When you go back through league history, typically players have improved significantly, especially the elite players, from first to second year. With Breanna Stewart in that spot I’m wondering in what way and how you see her potentially improving when you look at her rookie season already top five on the offensive and defensive end?

Robinson: “I think the biggest thing for players just in general going from first to second year is they have the opportunity to play overseas and playing internationally from what I understand it’s a bit different in terms of your role. The American players are often expected to carry a little bit heavier of the load. Some players that we would typically see as a role player are the star players, so it allows them to build more versatility to their game, maybe thriving under more pressure for those players that did not have that role in the WNBA. The development creates a lot of opportunities overseas and then as far as Stewie, she fortunately, but unfortunately, avoided a tough stretch where we watched her go from national championship to the WNBA to the Olympics to back to the WNBA, overseas and then she had the injury which afforded her some rest, some well-deserved rest and much-needed. To think of the level she can play at when rested, when her body and mind are rested, it is intriguing to see. Think about the number of systems she’d had to play, from UConn, and I know that the national team plays maybe some similar ways with Geno as the head coach, but all the different systems. So mentally and physically she had a taxing stretch. Rested, I expect to see even bigger and better things from Breanna Stewart, though, she looks pretty impressive already.”

Lobo: “LaChina nailed it. I think it was soon after the Olympics where Stewie had a dip and we did one of their games at Minnesota, and I talked to her and she was clearly tired and she was willing to say that she feeling a little bit of that fatigue. I think because of the schedule that LaChina talked about, I think this year she will be rested, even though she hasn’t come back because of knee issues, I think she’ll be rested and she’ll be able to maintain the highest level of her game, even if it’s the level we saw last year, I think you’ll see her be able to maintain it throughout the course of the season.”

Tiffany Mitchell and Indiana going into year number two, how much do you think her role will improve this year with the Fever?

Lobo: “You heard Howard mention in the previous question how players make such a significant jump, tend to, between their rookie and second year, and I kind of expect that from Tiffany as well. Especially there’ll be a new coach, different opportunities, you’d imagine different systems, different focus without Tamika Catchings there. She is a player who has so much ability, started off so strong last year and then fell off a little bit, but I would expect her of have one of those breakout seasons that second-year players can have.”