WTF Was Steve Key Thinking?

[Disclaimer…I’m a Kristi Toliver fan, so my impartiality might be suspect.]

I know I’ve blogged about it before, but it pains me terribly to watch, game-after-game, Kristi Toliver spending a majority of her time on the Chicago Bench. What. A. Waste.

From what I’m seeing, it’s a Key problem. Of his guards, only Perkins and Canty get consistent minutes. Based on the stats, Perkins makes sense. But Canty? Definitely a head-scratcher there.

It’s clear that Key is a front-court coach, specifically forwards. This sort of preference isn’t unusual. Laimbeer liked his centers. Cooper his forwards. Westhead/Gaines their guard-forwards. Key drafted a 3-point shooting, up-tempo point guard for a system that is mid-tempo (at best) front-court-based. Not exactly a match made in heaven.

Announcers have attributed KT’s woes to point guard being the toughest position for a rookie. Doubtless it is. But there are always rookie point guards throughout the league. The key? Their coaches are willing (or have no choice but) to put up with the learning curve. For whatever reason, Kristi and the current Sky didn’t find a curve so much as an angle.

I’d like to think that perhaps this is the best for Toliver in the long run. She essentially gets a red-shirt season to learn the ropes. It’s likely that either she will be traded or a new coach installed. A trade would probably be ideal if another team trades for Toliver instead of Key trying to dump her.

What teams might be interested? I’m still rooting for Phoenix to offer up one of its diminutive PGs, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. Atlanta is still looking for a consistent 3-pt guard, Kristi could possibly fit their needs. At present, I’m starting to lean toward Seattle. Sue Bird will be a free agent. If she stays with the Storm, it might not be a bad idea to bring in Toliver as the guard meant to take over when Bird retires. If Bird goes elsewhere, there will be a HUGE vacancy in Seattle that could use an up-tempo, 3-pt shooting PG. Then there is the possibility of expansion. If Tulsa gets a new franchise (not a re-located one), Toliver will very likely be picked in the expansion draft. Then it’s the luck of the coaching draw.

In any case, this needs to be a lesson to teams during the draft. Be honest about your needs. Key has essentially wasted a year of Kristi Toliver’s WNBA career and a spot on his bench for a much-needed F-C because he picked the wrong player for his team’s system.