A player can still exercise free agency even if she's protected. It
I had forgot that the Hull had replaced Samuelson in the starting lineup when I made my comment.
Who are the six that you want protected for the Mercury (assuming Taurasi retires)?
that's easy. Griner, Copper, Cloud, Cunningham, and Taylor. I know the stats don't show it, but I think Taylor can be a very good player. Next season we should bring Cunningham off the bench. Taurasi will no longer be there to be her bodyguard on the court protecting her from everyone else. It's really only 5 imo that aren't expendable with Taurasi leaving. We need to go into free agency and draft well. We really need a defensive pg that can hit the open 3. She doesn't have to shoot like Ionescu or Clark, but at least be able to hit an open 3 and defend. And that pg has to make Griner's job easy since she's aging and moving slower than ever. Copper is aging too. I just think we're gong to be bad for a while, but I hope we don't win a single game in the 2026 season.
