LOS ANGELES — Playoffs. That’s the first and foremost goal for the Sparks next season, according to Karen Bryant, the team’s general manager and chief administrative officer.
The Sparks finished 17-23 overall in 2023, ninth in the standings, and missed the playoffs for the third consecutive season, a franchise record over its 27-year history.
However, the injury- and illness-plagued team never played one game this season with 11 or 12 active players, constantly forcing the team to play shorthanded and sometimes down to eight or nine players, according to Sparks coach Curt Miller.
The Sparks will have two first-round picks in 2024. They will have the third-best odds of landing the No. 1 pick in the draft lottery and another first-round pick from the Las Vegas Aces via compensation as part of the Dearica Hamby trade in January.
Meanwhile, as Bryant heads into her second offseason with the Sparks, she said improvement will be a four-pronged approach.
“I think at the end of the day, there’s three paths to improve, add more talent and build your rosters. It’s through trades, free agency and the draft,” said Bryant in a virtual exit interview Thursday. “In addition, I’ll name a fourth, which is to continue to develop the talent you have, and we’re going to be relentless in leveraging every single one of those paths to improve our team.”
Recent multi-year contract extensions for potential free agents like Seattle’s Jewell Loyd, Chicago’s Kahleah Copper, and New York’s Betnijah Laney took those three All-Stars off the free agency board for the Sparks.
When constructing next season’s 12-person roster, Bryant said the team will likely feature several familiar faces. Key players like Hamby, Azurá Stevens, Stephanie Talbot, Lexie Brown and Zia Cooke are under contract for next season.
“At this stage, it’s going to look more similar than it looks different,” Bryant said. “We need to add some really important pieces, obviously…
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