What the Mystics need to accomplish in free agency originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The WNBA's 2021 free agency period has officially begun and the Washington Mystics have some of the most work to do in the league. Only five players are under contract, with six to seven roster spots available for the new season.
Many of those spots are expected to be filled by free agents who were on the Mystics' squad over the past two seasons. The main priority will be re-signing the same assets. How the team negotiates these several contracts, however, will dictate the long-term viability of the team.
First, of the seven players that are not under contract, two are all but guaranteed to be back in the District. Natasha Cloud (activism) and LaToya Sanders (health) both opted out of the 2020 season. Their service time for their contracts did not count and basically have to return to Washington, although it could be through a contract that has different terms.
Either way, given how much head coach/general manager Mike Thibault has stressed their importance to the team, they will be back.
The remaining five players are unrestricted free agents, meaning they can sign anywhere. That includes former MVP Tina Charles, Emma Meesseman, Aerial Powers, Tianna Hawkins and Alaina Coates.
There will be a lot of room for Thibault to negotiate and get all five back on the roster. The team, entering the free agency period, has the most cap room of all WNBA teams, according to Spotrac.
The $795,000 figure does not include the costs of Cloud's and Sanders' contracts. Based on the amount owed to both last season, that figure goes down to approximately $561,000 for the remaining four-to-five free agents they intend to sign.
As Myisha Hines-Allen had a breakout performance in the WNBA's bubble this year, it does give the team more options during this free agency class. Her contract is up at the end of this season and so is starter Ariel Atkins'. Both being homegrown players that have tremendous upside, they will not only will be looking for a pay raise but have a significant impact on the future of the team.
Future contracts of Hines-Allen and Atkins have to be considered in this year's deals and leave enough space to bring them back. It may prevent the ideal situation of the Mystics just re-signing everyone eligible.
Tina Charles
Charles, who the Mystics acquired in a massive trade from the New York Liberty last offseason, already verbally committed to Thibault that she will sign with the team. The 2012 MVP did not play last year through a medical opt-out. Going through proper WNBA channels, she still received her salary. The amount was for the previous maximum contract in the old CBA, $117,500, and Charles will likely command something similar in her new deal.
Emma Meesseman
Meesseman is the biggest question mark. Over the past several seasons, the Mystics have remained committed to one of Thibault's first draft picks with the organization. That paid off in a big way as Meesseman won the 2019 WNBA Finals MVP award during their championship season. However, Meesseman is heavily invested in her international team which could create a wrinkle heading in 2021.
With the Olympics getting pushed back, for now, to 2021, that is a huge priority for her and Belgium. In 2018, when the Mystics lost in the WNBA Finals, Meesseman took off that WNBA season to get away and reaffirmed her commitment to the Belgian Cats. As the coronavirus pandemic has not improved, if Meesseman were to play for Belgium, that would cause her to miss a significant portion of the season.
Thibault hinted at his end-of-year press conference that they would like to bring her back and would consider designating her as the team's core player. It would have granted the team exclusive negotiating rights, but they did not give her that designation before the deadline.
Of course, the Mystics want to bring her back, even if she takes off the season given the coronavirus and the pandemic. She would command a high figure that would eat deeply into the cap, as last year she signed a max dal worth $215,000.
Aerial Powers
Last season would have been a great year for Powers to showcase her talents had it not been for injury. Still, the soon-to-be 27-year-old put up career numbers in her six games that she played.
Powers is precisely the type of player the Mystics want on their roster -- a versatile guard/forward who can score at all three levels of the game. She is likely another player the team would like to bring back. However, with her career-best season in a contract year and being the first season she contributed as a regular starter, Powers could likely command a higher salary in the market than Washington could offer.
Thibault said that bringing Powers back is a priority, but whether she wants more elsewhere could be the deciding factor.
Tianna Hawkins
Hawkins has called Washington home for the past six seasons. In that time, she has been an ideal bench player who knows the ins and out of the team's system. During the team's championship run she boasted career numbers.
The emergence of Hines-Allen on the team this year could put Hawkins further down the depth chart. That is even despite the rapport she has with the coaching staff. If Hawkins is seeking more minutes down the road, she might want to look elsewhere, but she has taken team-friendly contracts to stay with Washington in the past.
Alaina Coates
The three-year player signed with Washington entering the bubble on a minimum contract to help fill out the roster after opt-outs. As a traditional center, her role with the Mystics was extremely limited. Coates had the second-fewest minutes on the roster, averaging 2.5 points and 2.8 rebounds.
It's hard to see her fitting on the roster with every player opting into this season, given Thibault's style. Charles and Sanders would be above her in the rotation. Even still, Meesseman or Hines-Allen played as the five last season ahead of Coates in the depth chart.
The more likely scenario than re-signing Coates is giving one of their young reserve players, who signed training camp contracts, a shot at making the team.
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Players cannot sign a new contract until Feb. 1. And outside of the Mystics there are several notable players available that could fit well in D.C.
