Mystics forward Elena Delle Donne gave two interviews to CSN Mid Atlantic's Chris Miller in regard to the trade that sent her to D.C. In the video above, there are the two main takeaways from it:
- Delle Donne said that she "always had her eyes on D.C." since she began her professional career. In addition, Delle Donne felt like it was Christmas morning when she knew that she'd be in Monumental Red this summer.
- She was humbled by John Wall's and Bradley Beal's excitement over her arrival. In fact, she said this multiple times in this video. Let's show that Monumental-ly powerful photo once again!
Delle Donne was in attendance for the Wizards vs. Pacers game last night with Tayler Hill, who signed a contract extension as well.
During the game, Miller had a chance to speak with Delle Donne again during the second quarter. Once again, Delle Donne talked about being "humbled" by Wall's and Beal's welcome. But that's not the biggest takeaway from it.
At the 1:10 mark, Miller asked Delle Donne what she would do if she were commissioner for a day. Her response was that the WNBA should consider lowering the rims to about 9 feet so there could be more above-the-rim play in the league.
For those of you who aren't the biggest WNBA fans out there, Delle Donne mentioned that she got some slack over the suggestion. It stemmed from a mailbag Q&A she gave on The Players' Tribune in February 2016. Delle Donne believes that the best way to see if lower rims work is by getting some players together, play competitively, and see how it is. And other sports, like volleyball, for example, have different net heights in the women's vs. the men's game. UConn and USA Basketball women's national team head coach Geno Auriemma also agreed.
Some other players disagree, most notably, Phoenix Mercury point guard Diana Taurasi, who said,"Might as well put us in skirts and back in the kitchen." ESPN's Kate Fagan, who spoke to Taurasi on that topic, also agreed that lowering the rims would not be the best thing to do in basketball. First, there's the challenge of finding different hoops for women and girls to play on. And second, dunking isn't the be-all, end-all of basketball skills. Fagan mentioned Warriors point guard Stephen Curry who is lauded for his perimeter playmaking skills as opposed to his dunking ability.
I'll finish this with a question. Do you think that women's basketball should have lower hoops? To me, I don't think it makes sense, mostly because of the logistics and the fact that women who play right now have to adjust the way they shoot. But there are notable women's basketball figures like Delle Donne and Auriemma who think the idea has merit. Let us know in the comments below.