Skip to main content

Mystics sign three reserves from 2020 to training camp contracts

By Tyler Byrum

Mystics sign three reserves to training camp contracts originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

 

The Mystics have signed three players from last year’s team to training camp contracts for the 2021 season. Winsidr’s Rachel Galligan was first with the news.

Second-year players Stella Johnson and Sug Sutton join Jacki Gemelos as the three reserves who are coming back.

Johnson had the biggest impact for Washington during last year’s ‘bubble’ season. The rookie out of Rider was signed midway through the season after being cut by the Chicago Sky. Immediately, she had an impact for the Mystics, and in her third game was the leading scorer with 25 points, making six 3-pointers.

An ankle injury ended her 2020 season after only five games in Washington. She averaged 9.2 points and shot 64.3% from deep, albeit a small sample size. At the end of the season, head coach and general manager Mike Thibault joked that she will act as the team’s 2021 draft pick since the team does not have any for this year.

Sutton was actually drafted by the Mystics in the third round of the 2020 draft. After being waived, the team re-signed her during the season to help fill out the roster due to injuries.

Gemelos, 32, just came off her second season in the WNBA ever after her career has been plagued with injuries.

Whether or not any of these players make the roster remains to be seen. Last year, they only made the squad due to the mass amount of opt-outs (four) and player injuries. With a full roster that includes two-time MVP Elena Delle Donne presumably returning for 2021, there is still going to be limited room for them to be one of the final 11 or 12 players on the squad.

Washington has five more players hitting free agency this offseason. One, Tina Charles, has verbally committed to Thibault that she will return. If all players re-sign in D.C., the team would be out of roster spots.

With that being said, Thibault does always leave the door open for training camp players to earn their way onto the roster if they outperform someone else.

The three players’ contracts will not count towards the Mystics’ salary cap unless one of them remain on the roster for the first day of the regular season, according to the CBA.

Elena Delle Donne expecting to play more games as season winds down

By Tyler Byrum
Delle Donne expecting to play more games as season winds down originally appeared on NBC Sports WashingtonWASHINGTON -- Needing rest days throughout the season might be fewer and far between for Elena Delle Donne as the Washington Mystics season winds down.After Sunday's win over the Minnesota Lynx, the Mystics franchise player gave encouraging news on how her progression has come this season. "[My schedule is] pretty set. But sometimes we take it week by week and alter things kind of just depending on how things are going," Delle Donne said. "It's something we'll kind of figure out as we go but I should be more games than at the beginning of the year for sure."No other benchmarks to hit for her. Based on how she feels leading up to each game, the team believes there are only one, maybe two games where she'll have to rest this regular season.The sole preparation, physically, is to make sure her body is ready for the playoffs. Related: Cloud's focused on shooting and playing her best ballThat's a huge relief for a team that is drastically different in the games in which she does play as opposed to the games that she doesn't. When the two-time MVP suits up, Washington is 13-5. At a .722 win percentage, that pace would situate the Mystics as the No. 2 team in the WNBA, behind only the defending champion Chicago Sky.However, she has not played in nine games, resulting in a 3-6 record.Combine those and the reality is the Mystics are 16-11 and fifth in the league standings. They're four games back of Chicago for the top spot and also five games to the good of the first team out of the playoffs, Phoenix. Under the new playoff format, they're in a precarious situation of fighting to ensure they are the host team (top four) for a best-of-three first-round series. Get seeded fifth through eighth and there's a chance they're eliminated before even playing a home playoff game.But as opposed to the first half of the season, there is little practice time reserved for situations where she isn't dressed. The game plan mostly assumes Delle Donne will play."It's now many more things that have her in mind most of the time as far as offensive sets, things like that," head coach Mike Thibault told NBC Sports Washington. "She feels like she can test her body a little bit more too."It's been building as the season has gone on. She sat four of the first 12 games of the season for strictly rest purposes. Over the last eight - with an All-Star break in-between, she's only missed one contest.Now with her solidly in the fray, it's time for the Delle Donne-centered Mystics to show whether they're gearing up for a championship run. Because there's no question about their ceiling when she doesn't play (i.e. the 3-6 record and the past two seasons), the question is how high can they go with her."As the season's gone on, I've just gotten more and more comfortable, playing physical and playing more games, obviously," Delle Donne said. "So it's been so much fun, being able to be in more games and not having to take them off and watch the team from the sidelines. So I'm feeling great and getting stronger each day and happy to just be able to contribute."
Read Next Story

Related News

Elena Delle Donne expecting to play more games as season winds down

Mystics coach Mike Thibault has no sympathy for the Minnesota Lynx’s travel woes

Shakira Austin is ‘ahead of the game’ compared to other WNBA rookies