Tag: Kristi Toliver

How did the job under Kidd with the …

How did the job under Kidd with the Mavericks come about? Kristi Tollver: So, after the first year with the Wizards, the next offseason I was rehabbing my knee in Phoenix. I knew I wanted to get back into it. I didn’t like a season away [in the 2020 WNBA bubble] and that was also when COVID was at its peak. I wanted to go into coaching basketball, so I started to do some interviews with a handful of teams. And then, when I got on the phone with Jason, [Mavericks assistant general manager] Michael Finley and [Mavericks president] Nico [Harrison], everything happened really, really fast.

Have you had any instances where …

Have you had any instances where somebody sent you a message that was really meaningful to you about you coaching in the NBA? Kristi Tollver: No doubt about it. I get that a lot. But one I would say that I remember very clearly was my first year with the Wizards when [then-]Sacramento head coach Dave Joerger came up to me. He said that he has a young daughter. And he came up to me and was like, ‘My daughter has seen me coaching forever. But I just wanted you to know that it is really, really cool that there is someone special that my daughter can see that looks like you on the sidelines.’ When I hear chirps like that, it keeps me mindful of what I am doing. I just love what I’m doing and what it represents. So, it’s not just about me and my experience, but it’s about the bigger picture.

How are you taking the Griner …

How are you taking the Griner situation? Kristi Tollver: Heavy heart. That’s my buddy. We played together on that team in Russia for four years. So, I’m very familiar with the area. Scary, scary situation. I feel hopeful that she will be released soon as we all are. But I just hope that she’s OK, just mentally, physically, spiritually, whatever. She’s one of the greatest people I’ve ever been around. She’s a big kid. She has a great heart. It’s very unfortunate that she’s in that situation. Very scary situation. When she comes back, she’s going to be ready to be around the team and be ready to play. She’s going to need that. Whatever support she is going to need, we’re going to do it. That’s the homey right there.

Kristi Toliver was asked by a fan for …

Recapping the WNBA’s wild free agency period

The WNBA’s new collective bargaining agreement has sparked major movement in its free agency period.

WNBA free agency has only been upon us for a day and a half and things are already getting insane.

In just a couple days, here’s where we are:

  • Angel McCoughtry left the Atlanta Dream and signed with the Las Vegas Aces
  • Kristi Toliver left the WORLD CHAMPION Mystics and signed with the Los Angeles Sparks
  • The Phoenix Mercury signed and traded DeWanna Bonner to the Connecticut Sun

Those are three big moves that all impact last year’s semi-finalists. The Mystics got worse after having a historic offensive year while the Sun, Aces and Sparks all got a lot better.

This is NBA-level chaos for the WNBA in February when the offseason is supposed to be dead. You absolutely love to see it.

It’s all thanks to the WNBA’s new CBA

The league’s new collective bargaining agreement was the secret sauce the league needed to get its offseason popping.

Teams really just ain’t broke anymore, to put it bluntly. They have more money to play with. The league’s max salaries have jumped up to $215,000 from $117,500 last year, and the league’s salary cap spiked by more than 30%.

The league will be a lot better for it

The league might literally have more super teams than it can handle right now. Three teams in the W have at least three 2019 All-Stars their team — that’s a FOURTH of the league.

That’s not even counting the Mystics, who have Finals MVP Emma Meesseman, or the Storm, who were without Brianna Stewart and Sue Bird for most of last season. Or what about the Sun with Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner? The list goes on.

To put things simply, the WNBA is going to be wild next year.

This is absolutely great for the WNBA as it continues to grow its brand. People love watching super teams despite how much they claim to hate them. All we have to do is look to the NBA’s ratings for proof.

The NBA is as competitive as its ever been right now during the Warriors’  lost year and the league’s ratings are down. When people were firing off their snake emojis at Kevin Durant? Ratings weren’t a problem.

That theory withstands the test of time. Whether it’s Magic’s Lakers, Jordan’s Bulls or LeBron’s Heat, people watched. As much as folks cry about parity, it hasn’t gotten people to watch.

Super teams sell. The WNBA has plenty of them. You can do the math from there.

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