SEATTLE — Storm fans can now take a deep, cleansing breath and finally relax.
For now, anyway.
By all accounts, the Storm's "Big Three" of Breanna Stewart, Sue Bird and Jewell Loyd — a triumvirate that makes them instant WNBA title contenders any season they're on the court together — will be back in 2022.
It will be a new home court (the Storm will be playing at renovated Climate Pledge Arena, beginning May 6), but the same realistic goal. These three helped the Storm win titles in 2018 and 2020, and they seemed headed toward another championship run until Stewart's foot injury derailed them last season.
After the season, the Storm faced an uncertain future as Stewart, Bird and Loyd all became free agents. But Loyd was offered the "core" designation that gave the Storm exclusive negotiating rights; on Tuesday the club announced a new deal for Loyd, reported to be for two years.
Bird, meanwhile, contemplated retirement but recently tweeted the news that at age 41, she'd be coming back for her 19th season (over 21 years) with the Storm. And then on Monday night, news leaked that Stewart had agreed to a one-year contract with the Storm at the supermax salary of $228,094.
Call it a crisis averted for Seattle. If any of the three had departed, the Storm would have had a major hole to fill.
Call it vindication of a risky strategy by management that turned out to be shrewd — but not without a few tense moments. By giving the core tag to Loyd and not Stewart, it meant Stewie, arguably the best and most impactful player in the league and still ascending at age 27, was in play for the 11 other teams in the WNBA.
When Stewart was reported by Yahoo Sports two weeks ago to have been wined and dined in Los Angeles by a contingent from the New York Liberty, it seemed like the Storm's strategy had the potential to backfire. Yahoo reporter Chris Haynes, in a tweet breaking the news of the Liberty meeting, called it a "move that could end (her) Seattle Storm tenure."
If that had happened, Storm management would have been rightly roasted for letting Stewie get away, when it had the power to keep her with the core tag. It would have been the biggest miscalculation by a Seattle front office since the Seahawks greased future Hall of Famer Steve Hutchinson's departure to the Minnesota Vikings by not giving him the franchise tag.
But the Storm reasoned that Loyd was likelier to leave as a free agent than Stewart, who had said at the end of the season that she planned to return to Seattle unless "something crazy" happened.
The Liberty's involvement was feared to be just that crazy occurrence. They appeared to have made a full-court press in plying Stewart with business opportunities, the chance to be nearer to her Syracuse, N.Y., roots and a chance to play with a rising team.
But in the end the Storm's calculation was correct, and now they have Stewart AND Loyd, as well as the eternal Bird.
At least they do for one more season. That's the other noteworthy aspect to this. By signing just a one-year contract, Stewart seems to be saying to the Storm, "Show me." Even though Stewart had the torn Achilles that wiped out her 2019 season, and a less-serious issue with her Achilles last season, the Storm would have been crazy not to lock her up to a longer-term deal if Stewart was amenable. Few, if any, players in the league offer more than Stewart, who was WNBA Most Valuable Player in 2018 and Finals MVP both years the Storm won the title with her.
But just as teams sometimes sign players to one-year "prove-it" deals, Stewart may well be looking for the Storm to show her they have a viable long-term vision for maintaining their success.
Such as: What is their plan for life after Bird, who really, truly can't go on forever? In fact, most people will be looking at this year as Bird's farewell season, though of course that has never been acknowledged by Bird herself and probably won't be. The partnership of Stewart and Bird has been so exquisite, and so mutually beneficial, that it would be natural for Stewart to ponder what it would be like in Seattle without her.
Also, the Storm will have a coach, Noelle Quinn, beginning her first full season at the helm of a WNBA team in 2022. That would figure to be another point of evaluation for Stewart.
In other words, there's vast potential for the Storm this season, restored to full strength by their resourcefulness in keeping the band together.
But there's also great pressure. And keep in mind that by signing Loyd to a two-year deal, it keeps in place her core tag for 2023 as well. Meaning it won't be there to use on Stewart, who stands to be an unrestricted free agent — again — in 2023.
So take that deep breath — and be prepared to hold it when the season ends.
