AFTER MUCH DISAPPOINTMENT AND BECAUSE OF UNFINISHED INJURY, SEATTLE STORM HEAD COACH DECIDED TO FIRE HER.

The announcement on Wednesday that forward Gabby Williams would miss the next four to six weeks due to a stress fracture in her left foot dealt some hard news to the Seattle Storm (8-21). Williams landed on a Connecticut Sun player’s foot in the second quarter of the Storm’s most recent game against them, sustaining the injury.

Re-signing with the Storm in early July, Williams has played in eleven games this season and is averaging 8.4 points, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 steals in 28.5 minutes per game. Williams has performed primarily the same position for the now-rebuilding Storm, serving as a playmaking forward on offense and being one of the most disruptive off-ball defenders in the WNBA, even if Seattle’s team looks very different from it did last season.

When Williams arrived, Seattle changed its strategy
The Storm’s roster change that accompanied Williams’ entrance was more noteworthy than her own accomplishments, though.

Seattle is obviously going through a transitional season after losing point guard Sue Bird to retirement and starlet Breanna Stewart to free agency. The team’s rotations through late June showed the typical rebuild: rookies like guard Ivana Dojkić and wing Jordan Horston taking big steps and taking their lumps along the way, with a few seasoned placeholders like Kia Nurse and Sami Whitcomb playing smaller, supporting roles alongside seasoned All-Stars Jewell Loyd and Ezi Magbegor.

Chicago Sky at Seattle Storm
Williams (center) has allowed the Storm to give some of their other seasoned players more playing time. Randy Belice/NBAE photo sourced from Getty Images.
Things, though, changed when Williams joined the team. After earning a place in the starting lineup, rookie big Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu was suddenly up against seasoned center Mercedes Russell fora few minutes. Dojkić went from starting and playing 24.5 minutes a game to hardly coming off the bench behind Whitcomb. (Dojkić was just released by the Storm from her contract so she could get ready for the upcoming European season.) Even Horston, whose future with the Storm is bright and who the Storm selected with the ninth overall pick, has been playing less lately.

To be very clear, rebuilding cannot be done one way. Young players should be allowed to develop, but on-court leadership can also help to create culture and develop positive behaviors. Head coach Noelle Quinn and the rest of the Storm management are well aware that the Storm is unlikely to make the playoffs (especially with Williams now out for what may be the remainder of the regular season) and that a chance to participate in the 2024 WNBA Draft lottery would probably be more beneficial for the franchise long term.

Will Williams’ absence lead to yet another tactical change?
How Seattle manages matters from here on out will be the question.

Will the Storm unleash 20-year-old guard Jade Melbourne, or will 35-year-old Whitcomb continue to play? Which of Nurse or Horston will start in Williams’ place? And will Seattle decide to cut things back a bit to protect Loyd’s body, or will she play 35.3 minutes a game the remainder of the way, her contract expiring after the 2023 season?