This previous week within the WNBA was outlined by some standout performances by a few of the league’s brightest stars. Angel Reese picked up her first-ever triple-double within the Sky’s 78-66 win over the Solar on Sunday, and final week featured a multitudinous quantity of 30-pieces put up by eight completely different gamers. Paige Bueckers, Caitlin Clark, Napheesa Collier, Allisha Grey, Rhyne Howard, Sabrina Ionescu, and Jackie Younger all scored 30 or extra factors for his or her respective groups.
However earlier than I dive into the video games to concentrate to, which embrace video games of consequence for the Commissioner’s Cup Ultimate, I wish to present a proof of various contracts which embrace hardship and rest-of-season (ROS) contracts. These are forms of contracts which have popped up often within the league for the reason that month of June started as many extra accidents and abroad commitments (specifically the EuroBasket qualifiers) have impacted rosters all through the league.
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It’s important to know what these contracts are particularly when managing fantasy groups, and when gamers who didn’t start the common season on rosters start taking part in video games. From Could 20 via June 17, WNBA groups have signed a complete of 12 completely different assorted contracts.
Particularly with three completely different assorted contracts signed on Tuesday together with Grace Berger signing with the Sparks, and Haley Jones and Kaila Charles signing with the Wings, a few of these gamers will see significant minutes.
What are hardship contracts?
Hardship contracts are the trail that almost all groups take when gamers on roster are injured or in any other case unable to play for an prolonged time period. Within the WNBA there at the moment isn’t a mechanism like an injured reserve or injured checklist like within the NFL or MLB which permits for groups to open up extra roster spots.
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However what if a group doesn’t have sufficient wage cap or roster house to have the ability to signal a participant to fill the hole?
As an alternative, the WNBA requires that groups have 10 wholesome gamers in a position to play, and if a group doesn’t, then a normal supervisor or government is ready to signal a free agent participant who can swimsuit up so the group has not less than 10 out there gamers to play in a sport. That is known as an emergency hardship.
That was what occurred in Indiana when Aari McDonald joined the Fever roster on an emergency hardship when each Sophie Cunningham and Caitlin Clark weren’t out there to play for round two weeks. Due to the quantity of excessive paid veteran contracts that the Fever signed in the course of the offseason, Indiana solely started the season with 11 gamers on their roster. That made the Fever eligible for an emergency hardship since they solely had 9 out there gamers and so they went over the wage cap with the league’s help.
As soon as Cunningham and Clark had been deemed out there to play on Saturday, McDonald was required to be launched from her emergency hardship contract, and she or he grew to become a free agent. The Fever might re-sign her down the road, however they’d have to attend 10 days and waive one in all their 11 gamers in response to the league’s Collective Bargaining Settlement (CBA). Additionally, they must hope that McDonald doesn’t determine to go elsewhere.
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Commonplace hardships are used when groups have two gamers out due to damage, sickness or different private causes for not less than three weeks, and the group doesn’t have sufficient wage cap house to have the ability to signal a hardship. A group can signal a typical hardship even after they have 10 gamers out there.
Each the emergency and customary hardships primarily give attention to groups that want wage cap reduction to be allowed to signal these gamers. In instances the place the group has the required wage cap however not the roster house, there’s a roster hardship rule outlined outdoors of the CBA.
A latest instance of this was Haley Jones’ quick stint for the Phoenix Mercury when Natasha Mack and Kahleah Copper had been each unable to play for an prolonged time period. This was along with an damage that Alyssa Thomas was working via. The Mercury had the house within the wage cap to signal a participant, however they’d the utmost of 12 gamers. Jones needed to be waived proper earlier than Mack returned to play, regardless that Copper was nonetheless rehabbing.
The cash that’s paid for any hardship contract comes out of the group’s wage cap, and the wage the participant receives is a prorated quantity of their base wage depending on when the contract is signed and the kind of hardship signed.
What are remainder of season (ROS) contracts?
A group that can also be coping with a whole lot of roster turnover is the Golden State Valkyries.
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They’ve signed a whole lot of new gamers since Cecilia Zandalasini, Temi Fagbenle, Janelle Salaün and Julie Vanloo all left for the EuroBasket continental championship match. These gamers aren’t on hardship contracts however as an alternative are on ROS contracts.
The explanation for it’s because all of those gamers going to EuroBasket had been briefly suspended, which suggests they now don’t depend towards Golden State’s 12-player roster. None of those gamers had been injured to be clear, and consequently a whole lot of roster room opens up for a group the place the wage cap is a distant concern. The Valkyries can simply select to signal gamers till Zandalasini, Fagbenle, Salaün and Vanloo return.
That’s precisely the explanation for recently-signed WNBA veteran Aerial Powers, and former Golden State coaching camp gamers Kaitlyn Chen and Chloe Bibby.
What future lies forward for a few of these gamers?
For gamers signed not too long ago by Golden State, there in all probability received’t be many alternatives to stay on the Valkyries as Golden State appeared fairly content material with that foursome of gamers earlier than all of them jetted off to Europe.
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However for a participant like McDonald, who made an impression in the course of the Fever’s time of want, there’s appreciable enchantment for groups who’ve a whole lot of injured gamers and will use a steady level guard. With sufficient cap house, a group might wait 10 days to signal her to a typical contract.
Now for Jones, who simply signed an emergency hardship following the announcement of Maddy Siegrist being out indefinitely for the Wings, there’s way more of a chance to contribute.
After the mid-season cut-down date on July 13, groups can signal gamers to seven-day contracts as an alternative of remainder of the season contracts, that are a “extra versatile” different to groups that don’t have a ton of cap house. A participant can signal at most three seven-day contracts with anyone group every season earlier than both that participant is waived or that participant joins on a ROS contract.
The Week Forward
Now again to the current. Commissioner’s Cup video games formally finish on Tuesday evening. I’ll deal with the a number of eventualities that permit groups to clinch a spot within the finals beneath. As soon as the cup video games are over, we return to recurrently scheduled programming with a bunch of different fascinating common season matchups to look at.
Atlanta Dream @ New York Liberty
(Tuesday June 17 at 7 p.m. et on League Go)
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The Dream and the Liberty face off for the primary time of the 2025 season with lots on the road. If Atlanta defeats the defending champs, the Dream clinch their first Commissioner’s Cup Ultimate berth in franchise historical past. If the Liberty get again on monitor after their 102-88 loss on the highway to the Fever, it’s as much as Indiana to determine who advances to the Cup Ultimate. If the Fever defeat the Connecticut Solar at house on Tuesday evening— and some other final result could be surprising— Indiana earns their first look within the Commissioner’s Cup Ultimate. However again to the Dream and the Liberty: whatever the Commissioner’s Cup implications, it is a battle between the primary (New York) and the third (Atlanta) finest offenses within the league. Whereas many followers have been clamoring for the extremely anticipated first WNBA Finals rematch between the Liberty and the Lynx on July 30, Dream vs. Liberty might ship the same competitiveness and excessive octane play.
Las Vegas Aces @ Minnesota Lynx
(Tuesday June 17 at 8 p.m. ET on League Go)
To clinch their spot within the Commissioner’s Cup Ultimate, all of the Lynx should do is defeat the Aces on their house courtroom. Minnesota also can clinch with a Storm loss to the Sparks. On paper this won’t seem like a sport to keep watch over particularly when A’ja Wilson shall be lacking her third sport in a row whereas she is in concussion protocol following a success to the pinnacle in the course of the Aces’ June 11 sport towards the Sparks. This sport is solely price watching to see how the Aces proceed to place their offense and protection collectively with out Wilson on the ground. Aces newcomer Jewell Loyd has had her two finest offensive and most effective performances throughout Wilson’s absence. Can she hold this going? Or will the Lynx and Napheesa Collier go off as they did towards the Sparks on Saturday? The Lynx have proven complacency in spurts in the course of the 2025 season to date, and the Aces are extremely well-versed at taking part in spoiler (see Recreation 4 of the 2023 WNBA Finals).
Phoenix Mercury @ New York Liberty
(Thursday June 19 at 7:00 p.m. ET on Prime Video)
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Kahleah Copper made her return to the courtroom on Sunday afternoon towards the Aces after being sidelined for a month following a left knee arthroscopy on Could 18. She scored 11 factors on 4-of-9 taking pictures in her 18-minute common season debut and elevated the Mercury to their eighth win of the season. However how does the Mercury’s massive three of Copper, Satou Sabally, and Alyssa Thomas face off towards the defending champions within the Liberty? Thomas has beforehand struggled to defeat the Liberty’s massive three in Sabrina Ionescu, Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones throughout Thomas’ ultimate two seasons taking part in in Connecticut ending with a 2-11 file towards the Liberty trio in two seasons. However how does Thomas do towards New York with a really completely different trying supporting forged?
Indiana Fever @ Golden State Valkyries
(Thursday June 19 at 10 p.m. ET on Prime video)
Opposite to common perception, it’s the Golden State Valkyries who lead the WNBA in common attendance relatively than the Indiana Fever. Whereas the Fever’s 2025 advertising and marketing marketing campaign was created round this concept that the Fever’s “highway video games sound like house video games,” the loyal fanbase within the Bay Space may problem that notion. In 5 house video games at Chase Heart, the Valkyries have eclipsed 18,000 individuals every time. Anticipate Golden State head coach Natalie Nakase’s effectively coached and defensively pesky squad to be prepared to harass the Fever’s offense and switch them over. The Fever shall be flying cross nation and altering time zones after they play the Solar, a group with the worst internet score, defensive and offensive scores within the league.
Washington Mystics @ Atlanta Dream
(Friday June 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET on ION)
The Dream crushed the Mystics by over 30 factors on June 15 on a monster efficiency from Allisha Grey the place she shot 10-for-14 from the sector together with six made threes. It merely seemed like she simply couldn’t miss. The Mystics, whereas one of many youngest groups within the league, are a fairly prideful bunch, and that begins with veteran and free throw drawing machine Brittney Sykes who solely scored 9 factors on 2-for-10 taking pictures and simply 5 free throws made. Much like how the Mystics performed the Liberty a second time on June 5 after being blown out by additionally over 30 factors the primary time on Could 30, I anticipate the second common season matchup to be way more aggressive.
