Seattle Storm trade away Kia Nurse, 4th overall pick to Los Angeles Sparks for 2026 1st round pick
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – The morning of January 31st saw the Seattle Storm ship off forward Kia Nurse and the fourth overall pick in this year's draft to the Los Angeles Sparks in exchange for their 2026 first round pick. The move takes the contract of Kia Nurse off Seattle’s books, but at the cost of the fourth overall selection in this year's draft, which was largely viewed as a pick that could have been a piece that was part of the Storm future for years to come. Instead, Seattle sends both away for a pick they won’t be able to use for two years and are left with another roster spot to fill. On the surface, this looks like the Sparks punked the Storm in a major way. What exactly is Seattle doing?
Now former Seattle Storm forward Kia Nurse throughout the 2023 season. (Photos by Liz Wolter)
What is Storm general manager Talisa Rhea cooking?
A lot of the reaction to this trade was, “Why in the hell would Seattle do that?” The Storm ship off a veteran forward who seemed as though would be a strong candidate for a bounce back this upcoming season and the fourth overall selection, which could have net them a top talent in what could be a loaded 2024 WNBA Draft depending on who declares from college. Considering where the Storm sit in this rebuild of sorts, the thought of getting rid of one of the few veterans that you currently have and a pick that could be part of your future for the long term was very confusing. And if this trade were to happen, the thought was that Seattle would be acquiring something substantial, and it’s just Los Angeles’ first round pick in a draft two years from now. Why the hell would Seattle do this?
After today’s trade, the Storm sit with $566,424 of cap space for four out of five starting five spots. Taking that number and looking at what it means, that cap space is equal to basically two max deals and two minimum deals, if the Storm are to go with an 11-player roster (The maximum WNBA roster size is 12 players). So, Charles, you ask, why do I care about the potential of two max deals? Because, dear friend, the writing is on the wall for Seattle to make two major signings and immediately make themselves a contending team. We’ve seen that Nneka Ogwumike has made her visit to Seattle and Climate Pledge Arena, and she would likely be one of those two max deals. The other max deal, at least being rumored, is Skylar Diggins-Smith. Some of the goals outlined by general manager Talisa Rhea and head coach Noelle Quinn when last season ended included adding a star next to Jewell Loyd and adding a point guard and signing Ogwumike and Diggins-Smith hits both. That’s why the team dumped Kia Nurse’s contract to Los Angeles, having to trade that fourth overall pick to the Sparks to get rid of that cap hit.
What’s next?
The free-agent negotiations period started on January 21st, but contracts cannot be made official until tomorrow, Thursday, February 1st. It wouldn’t be a major shocker if Seattle had made this trade with the Sparks to clear up the necessary cap space so that they can make two big name deals official tomorrow. While the Storm will need to round out the rest of their roster/bench if they are to make those two big name deals, or perhaps other big names that aren’t Ogwumike/Diggins-Smith, it would be a massive start to free agency and would shove Seattle back into relevancy after last season’s struggle year. The WNBA draft isn’t until April 15th, so the Storm will likely have a few new faces before they make the picks that they have left after today’s trade that saw them lose the fourth overall selection.
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Cover photo by Liz Wolter.
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