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The famous old saying goes, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ That saying can be applied to the Los Angeles Sparks who chose to stand pat at the 2025 WNBA Trade Deadline. Not that there was a move out there for the Sparks to make; the WNBA Trade Deadline is usually quiet with most major transactions coming in the offseason. But at this point in the season, the Sparks’ roster didn’t require a move to be made.
Since the All-Star break, the Sparks have been one of the hottest teams in the league with a record of 6-1 following their 102-91 win against the Connecticut Sun. Going back before the break, the Sparks have won nine of their last 11 games. The sudden surge in the standings has put the team in a virtual tie record-wise with the Golden State Valkyries for the eighth and final playoff spot.
The improvement from the team over the past month has been simple. First off, the team has found their rhythm in head coach Lynne Roberts’ system. The uptempo, high octane offense that served her well in the college ranks at Utah is now thriving in the WNBA. The Sparks recently set a WNBA record in becoming the first team to score 100+ points in five of six games.
Secondly, the Sparks are healthy with a complete and consistent roster. After missing both Cameron Brink and Rae Burrell for the majority of the first half of the season, both are back and have been impact players off the bench. Julie Allemand came back from her EuroBasket championship with renewed confidence. The Sparks are no longer relying on multiple hardship contract players for minutes.
With that said, there are a couple of moves the Sparks can still make in regards to the roster before the end of the regular season.
Sparks should increase Cameron Brink’s minutes
If you want to talk about trade deadline acquisitions, the Sparks arguably had the biggest of them all with a player that was already on the roster. Getting Cameron Brink back into the lineup has changed the team’s makeup defensively and given them another weapon on the offensive end.
There are couple of reasons though as to why Brink’s minutes are what they are. First, she’s been on a minutes restriction since returning, which is understandable. Second, even last season as a rookie, Brink has had a tendency to pick up fouls thus limiting her playing time.
But fouls aside, once Brink is cleared from her minutes restriction, the Sparks need to play her as much as possible. She’s simply too good and too impactful of a player to not have her on the court. Yes, Dearica Hamby and Azurá Stevens have been one of the top frontcourt pairings in the league even when the team wasn’t playing as well. As mentioned before, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
Brink should continue to come off the bench, and she’s clearly developing a consistent role to that end. But with a handful of regular season games remaining, there might come a time when it makes sense to have her out there potentially closing games. All in good time, but one the green light is given, then the Sparks should get as ready as possible for a potential playoff run.
Sparks should keep Alissa Pili for final roster spot
After the Sparks waived veteran center Mercedes Russell right before the All-Star break, they kept their final roster spot open for the time being. Over the weekend, the team decided to fill that spot temporarily with the signing of Alissa Pili to a 7-day contract. Pili’s 7-day contract expires this coming Saturday.
As per WNBA protocol, teams are allowed to sign players to up to three 7-day contracts before either signing them for the remainder of the season or releasing them. It’s a good way for teams to keep some roster flexibility and take fliers on potential, but the Sparks should cut to the chase and keep Pili for the rest of the year.
Yes, Pili hasn’t done anything on the court yet for the Sparks to consider keeping her around a no-brainer. She’s been on the roster for two games now and has yet to register a single minute.
But her skill-set is unique. She’s a big forward with ball-handling skills and good decision-making. And she had her best college seasons under Roberts back at Utah. Sometimes familiarity is critical for a player. The Sparks hired Kelsey Plum’s former college coach Mike Neighbors after acquiring her. If there’s a coach in the WNBA who can get Pili to reach her ceiling, it’s Roberts.
The Minnesota Lynx was just not an ideal situation for Pili as a rookie who needs development reps joining a veteran team looking to contend for a championship. The Sparks can afford to be patient with Pili. This is just year one of a long-term vision.
If the team does decide to keep her for the rest of the season, as they should, she obviously isn’t going to factor in to the team’s immediate plans. But investing her development and keeping a player around with that type of skill-set and a coach who understands her, could pay off in a big way with a valuable rotation piece for years to come.
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