Courtney Williams is reportedly heading back to the Connecticut Sun, according to sources speaking to Khristina Williams of Girls Talk Sports TV.
WNBA All-Star Courtney Williams is expected to finalize a deal to return to the @ConnecticutSun, sources tell @GrlsTlkSportsTV.
In 2019, Williams played an instrumental role in leading the team to the WNBA finals.
— Khristina Williams (@Khristina) January 23, 2022
Williams made $190,550 with the Dream last year and was an unrestricted free agent. If she were to make the same amount in 2022 in Connecticut, the Sun would not be able to afford the required 11 players. Remember, Jonquel Jones is going to make the supermax because she has been cored and DeWanna Bonner, Alyssa Thomas and Jasmine Thomas are all expensive players on guaranteed contracts. At least Brionna Jones is still on a cheaper contract (that is less than she deserves at this point) at $120,000.
For SB Nation’s 2021 preseason WNBA roundtable, Williams was my pick to be the player who became a household name. That is if you didn’t consider her one already. This was my explanation:
Williams made a bit of a name for herself during the 2019 WNBA Finals when she was a member of the Connecticut Sun, but look for her to become even more well-known this season. She doesn’t often get talked about as one of the best players in the WNBA, but numbers suggest she had a case to be in Swish Appeal’s Top 30 players. With career-best averages of 14.6 points (2020), 7.2 rebounds (2020), 3.8 assists (2019) and 1.4 steals (2019), she deserves more respect and should put up even bigger numbers at age 27 for a Dream team that is looking for other members of its deep roster besides Tiffany Hayes and rising star Chennedy Carter to step up and give them a legit big three.
Williams made her first All-Star Game appearance in 2021 and averaged career bests in points (16.5) and assists (four). She also contributed 6.8 rebounds per game, the second-best average of her career. Here’s a brief recap from me about what she did in the All-Star Game:
Courtney Williams posted the third-most points for Team WNBA with 15 and blocked Team USA’s last real hope at coming back (an A’ja Wilson layup that would have cut it to four with 1:17 left). The guard’s impressive rejection against the world-class inside scorer was not the end of her heroics. She also made a floater with 36.2 seconds remaining that capped the scoring for the night.
Williams is from Georgia and could have had a longer career in Atlanta, but the Dream cut ties with her after a video was released her that showed her in a fight near a food truck last May. Williams claims she was acting in self-defense.
Other news
Myisha Hines-Allen is close to returning to the Washington Mystics, according to Rachel Galligan of Just Women’s Sports and Winsidr.
Myisha Hines-Allen is finalizing a multi-year deal to return to the Washington Mystics @Winsidr
— Rachel Galligan (@RachGall) January 28, 2022
Hines-Allen took the league by storm in the 2020 wubble, filling in for Elena Delle Donne and Tina Charles, who had opted out of the season. She will always be able to say she was on the same All-WNBA Second Team as Diana Taurasi. But she’s hoping for more honors and accolades.
Injuries got in the way of Hines-Allens’ 2021 season and she saw a dip in her numbers, including a scoring average that went from 17 to 12.9. But she is a versatile scorer with a high ceiling.
Hines-Allen is a restricted free agent. We’ll see if her return impacts what the Mystics do with Tina Charles. If they keep Charles, the No. 1 pick, all their guaranteed players and four players at the minimum, they will be able to afford to pay Hines-Allen $124,275. If they keep some combination of Sydney Wiese, Erica McCall and Megan Gustafson instead of four players at the minimum, the number they can pay Hines-Allen goes down. Of course, things would be different if Charles were to not return.