WNBA's Washington Mystics claim that they have signed a Big Time Free Agent! No it's not Gilbert Arenas

The WNBA isn't on for another two months and no one really cares until the NCAA tournament is almost over since the draft is a couple days after. If not, not many will care at all. One of my co-workers and my superiors was real stoked about this with our local team, the Mystics, because of this announcement which is RBT-worthy esque:

"Now more than ever is an exciting time to be a Mystics fan!!

Join us on March 16th at 1pm for a Mystics press conference announcing one of the most prestigious additions in Mystics history.
The event will take place in the Acela Club located on the second level
of Verizon Center. This is your chance to see the newest member of our
squad LIVE and in person!

Later on, join us for an exclusive happy hour at Bar Louie from 6:30pm - 8:30pm
with our newest Mystics player. She will be on hand to sign autographs,
take pictures and mingle with the best fans in the WNBA. Plus there
will be free food and drink, giveaways and more.

Space is
limited. [The usual renew now if you haven't already or you can't go to this event BS]

You must RSVP to attend each event. See you on March 16th!"


Well, so you guys know, there are several big time free agents out right now, and they'd almost certainly be unrestricted as restricted FA's are likely to be re-signed by their old teams if they're really good. The best Restricted Free Agent is Phoenix's Cappie Pondexter, and she will not be going anywhere. As for the Unrestricted FA's, there are three that really stand out. One is 6'1" forward Penny Taylor-Gil (yes she's married), who played with Phoenix last year and was their Antawn Jamison of sorts and got them the title last year, and she plays both forward positions. Second, is 6'5 Center Lauren Jackson who has played her entire Seattle so far. Third is combo guard Katie Smith, who has led Detroit to two of their three championships.

If I were the Mystics press department or the owner Ted Leonsis or the Mystics President Sheila Johnson and had my head out of my ass, I definitely have one of these three or maybe Swoopes or even Cappie who I wouldn't mind. Otherwise this is only a ploy to get them to renew their tickets, and they shouldn't have done this type of email to get everyone hyped. Also you may ask, why the hell would they do this and not say who the new Mystic is for another two weeks? My explanation for that would be because of Euroleague ball which is where most WNBA players are in right now, and maybe they can't get her to DC until two weeks from now. For the Mystics' sake, I hope that they are getting Lauren Jackson, though she has always stated that she loves Seattle, but the Storm fucking lost six years in a row in the first round, and perhaps it's time for LJ and Sue to go their separate ways. Second is Katie Smith. Though she is old (36 when the season starts), Smith is a veteran leader, a sharpshooter, and is a great defender. Third is Penny Taylor. Though she'd be a hell of a pickup in and of itself, the Mystics are already pretty loaded at SG, SF, PF so having her means getting rid of Alana Beard (unlikely), Marissa Coleman (prob not) or Monique Currie (the Mystics just re-signed her) in some way. I've heard rumors of Sheryl Swoopes coming back to play for the Mystics, but I'm skeptical, and even Marion Jones, the former sprinter (that would be a disaster).

Regardless of which of the three get picked, I personally think they're picking Katie Smith to shore up the back court and be a killer sixth man, and by picking her up, it allows the Mystics to go after picking up a solid big to pair up with Crystal Langhorne in the draft, ideally, though I doubt it. There is also seems to be a basically unpublicized fact in some in WNBA fanatic blogs I've read regarding their offseason which say that Katie Smith is gay, and that Mystics PG Lindsey Harding is as well, and uh the two are an item. There is good reason for me to believe it's true myself since they have been shown together at a number of events, and Smith has been seen at Mystics games quite often last year when the Shock were off, among other things. So you know, neither Katie or Lindsey have stated on the record that they're gay.

If you're a WNBA fan, you will like this blog, which I think is pretty well written by two Mystics/Maryland women's bball season ticket holders. They certainly give more info and insight too on what's going on, at least with women's ball in our area. It's also Ted Leonsis approved and I have taken a look at this blog rather often since Leonsis listed it:

http://www.dcbasketcases.blogspot.com/

If the Mystics really do pick up Smith, I wonder if the Wizards can do the same this summer... After all, Ted's calling the shots to a degree guys.

Lauren Jackson re-signed with Seattle,

Penny Taylor's still available

My prediction is likely correct with Katie Smith.