The 2010 WNBA champion Seattle Storm have re-signed starting small forward Swin Cash to a multi-year deal.
Forbes Magazine - which named Seattle as the nation's most miserable professional sports city (again) - still probably won't care, but it significantly helps the Storm in their hopes to bring another title to a city that hasn't had much opportunity for championship parades.
Cash, an unrestricted free agent, was generally considered the best free agent on the market, having averaged 13.8 points, six rebounds and two assists per game last season. Seattle Times reporter Jayda Evans has the full story, including a small Twitter controversy caused by Cash.
Women's Hoops Blog | All-Star Swin Cash re-signs with Storm | Seattle Times Newspaper
But the process wasn't without drama. Free agency opened Feb. 1 and Cash (pictured right by the Seattle Times) wasn't "cored," meaning she was free to negotiate with any WNBA team. Agler remained confident he'd keep his star, yet Cash repeatedly stated she was weighing her options. When she lost a family member and agreed to plan her mother's wedding, her return became more cloudy because the player considered moving closer to her Pennsylvania home base.Twitter made a mess of the situation before the deal was announced on Tuesday. Cash made two cryptic tweets that followers interpreted as her departure.
Ok, so it wasn't quite the Twitter drama of Andray Blatche, who took on his haters via the micro-blogging platform, and it certainly won't cause Storm coach Brian Agler to say any silly things about it either.
Ultimately, whatever drama there may have been for Cash, a Pennsylvania native, was about being closer to family after losing a family member and wanting to support her charity in her hometown of Pittsburgh.
STORM: Cash Commits to Storm's Vision On and Off Court
Staying on the West Coast in Seattle means Cash will have to sacrifice in terms of being closer to her family, but they encouraged her to make the best decision for herself in terms of the other factors."My family's support is amazing," said Cash. "When it came down to it, talking to my mom and everyone involved, they saw that Seattle's benefits outweighed being closer to home."
But why would the Storm allow any free agency drama for a starter on a dominant championship team, particularly if they could have "cored" her?
The WNBA collective bargaining agreement - separate from the NBA's - allows each team one "core" player that gives them exclusive negotiating rights. However, once they put that core tag on one player, they can't shift it to another player. And theoretically, there could eventually be another player that the Storm want to use that thing on, like Sue Bird or Lauren Jackson.
In any event, with that deal done, the Storm should be considered the favorite to win the WNBA championship once again for the nation's most miserable sports city.