Richard Cohen

My random comments about WNBA games will largely be appearing over at the blue place with the sky this season, for anyone who might care. Same username, without the 1. #WNBA

I was asleep last night when Reese hit seven technicals - England Lionesses soccer is currently taking priority - but other people re-found the message below. Reminder the Taurasi Line limit is now 8, so 1-game supensions come with techs 8, 10, 12 etc. #WNBA

Cap sheets at @herhoopstats are fully updated, by the way. So you can see exactly how much space teams have left after the midpoint manoeuvring and before the August 7 trade deadline. #WNBA herhoopstats.com/salary-cap-she…

As I mentioned in my midpoint article, WNBA reduces waiver period to 24hrs for anyone waived on day before the midpoint (so players can be re-signed quickly). We're past the regular transaction update time, so presumably no one waived yesterday was claimed by another team. #WNBA

Talbot's deal was protected, so beating the midpoint deadline is irrelevant here. Golden State also have acres of cap space. Additional relevance is probably the expected arrival of Iliana Rupert, so they were going to need a roster spot. #WNBA

Deadline to waive players and beat the midpoint is 5pm ET today (Sunday). Lots of explanation and discussions of potential moves - two of which LA and Minnesota already made yesterday - in my article below. #WNBA

I wrote an article breaking down the WNBA's regular season midpoint, what it means, and what might happen this weekend because of it. #WNBA 🔗: herhoopstats.substack.com/p/wnba-midpoin…

The 2025 @WNBA regular season is very nearly half-done, and that changes some things. In our newsletter, @RichardCohen1 explains why it might mean we see some moves this weekend and who could be vulnerable. herhoopstats.substack.com/p/wnba-midpoin…

Cap sheets at @herhoopstats have been fully updated to include all moves up to and including Bonner's signing. As before, numbers based on the assumption Musa clears waivers, and will be updated if that changes. #WNBA Phoenix sheet at: herhoopstats.com/salary-cap-she…

Sources confirm that DeWanna Bonner signed her Rest-of-Season contract to return to the Phoenix Mercury for $63,721. That's today's pro-rated veteran minimum, with exactly 20k thrown on top. Leaves the Merc with just over 41k in cap space for any remaining moves this year. #WNBA

To clarify something that gets confused: You don't need the full $78,831 in cap space to sign a vet like Bonner. Contracts pro-rate by remaining time in season, so minimum gets cheaper by the day. Vet minimum as of tomorrow would be $43,721. #WNBA

They've actually been awarded Vanloo off waivers, not signed her. Acts as if she'd been traded to LA from Golden State for nothing. LA assume the contract she was on with GSV (base minimum of $66,079), now hits GSV cap sheet for $0. #WNBA

Yesterday, the @DallasWings traded NaLyssa Smith to the @LVAces for a 2027 First Round pick. Today, @TylerDeLuca and @RichardCohen1 are here to discuss all of the ramifications. Full Episode: 🍎 bit.ly/44ohagT 📺 youtu.be/HuA0jjM2z2c

Additional bit of #WNBA rule minutiae I didn't get to yesterday: Same rule applies to Kaila Charles in Dallas that we talked about a lot with Aari McDonald in Indiana. If they want to re-sign her to main roster (they have an open spot after trading NSmith), have to wait 10 days.

The WNBA team salary cap for this season (which is much, much closer to a hard cap than the NBA's version), is just very slightly less than 1% of the figure just announced as the new NBA team cap. #WNBA

ICYMI, @kpelton and I picked our all-star rosters and debated over reasons and the various candidates a few days ago. The reserves are where it's going to get interesting and controversial. Some big names should be getting a few days of vacation (not in Indianapolis). #WNBA

For those who remember the rule about needing to have a first-round pick in the three year window, that only applies going forward. So Vegas not having a first in 2025/26/27 is irrelevant. Window where rule applies is now 2026/27/28, where they still have one. #WNBA

Central to how this NaLyssa Smith trade ends up legal is a rule tweak where pregnancy/childbirth exception players don't count in calculations to decide if a team is under the cap after trades. Plus Vegas waiving Mitchell and Kitley, obviously. It's still pretty tight. #WNBA

🎥 Paige Buecker's Next Stop: All-Star Game? Full Episode: 🍎 bit.ly/4er9RK8 📺 youtu.be/SnM2dA4HI8w Clip from The @herhoopstats Podcast Hosts: @RichardCohen1 and @kpelton

Picking the All-Stars! @RichardCohen1 and @kpelton dive into the field and do their best job at picking the 2025 WNBA All-Star rosters. Full Episode: 🍎 bit.ly/4er9RK8 📺 youtu.be/SnM2dA4HI8w