The Mystics’ critical offseason starts with Elena Delle Donne’s free agency

It is no secret that if the Washington Mystics were a dark horse contender for this year’s WNBA championship. If most things went right (and perhaps injuries to other teams happen), they may be in this year’s Finals. But instead, the Mystics were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the New York Liberty.

This offseason, Washington will have to decide whether to stay the course with their core, the last several years or rebuild around a younger set of players.

This biggest free agent on the Mystics’ roster this year is none other than franchise player Elena Delle Donne. She made a supermax salary of over $234,000 last season and is an unrestricted free agent.

If Delle Donne comes back, it will be interesting to see how much her salary will be. But if she doesn’t, Washington could use this to attract other players, perhaps younger ones who can help them longer term. Natasha Cloud is also an unrestricted free agent and she earned $190,000 last year.

Jenn Hatfield of The NEXT wrote a column yesterday detailing the main points of the Mystics’ uncertainty. I agree with all of them and encourage you to read her column by clicking on the link below.

Do you feel the Mystics should let Delle Donne and/or Cloud walk in free agency? Or should they re-sign at lower salaries? Let us know in the comments below.