Yesterday, we talked about one theme that stood apart with the Washington Wizards, specifically roster turnover. Today, we’ll do the same with the Washington Mystics.
The Mystics, like the Wizards, ultimately
have the same superboss, Monumental Basketball President Michael Winger. Winger was brought on in May 2023 to lead the organization, but primarily handled the Wizards’ rebuild with his right hand man Will Dawkins after then-General Manager Tommy Sheppard was fired.
But then-Mystics General Manager Mike Thibault and his Head Coach Eric were still with the Mystics where they were looking to rebuild the team their way. At the time, Winger seemed to be fine with letting them control the WNBA team. Ultimately, after the 2024 WNBA season however, Winger and the Thibaults parted ways. That allowed Winger to take an active role managing the Mystics and his philosophy. He ultimately brought on fomer NBA executive Jamila Wideman as the next General Manager and former Chicago Sky assistant coach Sydney Johnson as Head Coach.
I always have stated that the Mystics’, or any WNBA team’s 2025 season priorities needs to be focused on making the team a destination for potential free agents in 2026 when a new Collective Bargaining Agreement is expected to take effect. Players will almost definitely get revenue sharing and salaries multiple times higher than what they received in 2025.
To Winger’s and Wideman’s credit, the Mystics have a good young foundation to start with. They traded Ariel Atkins to the Chicago Sky and received the No. 3 pick which they used to select Sonia Citron. They had the No. 4 pick outright and selected Kiki Iriafen. Both of them became WNBA All-Star reserves as rookies. But they weren’t the best players on the 2025 Mystics season when it began. That was Brittney Sykes, who was an All-Star too as an injury replacement. The Mystics had three All-Stars and a good chance of making the playoffs.
But that’s when the Mystics started acting like the Wizards. Sykes was traded to the Seattle Storm for Alysha Clark, Zia Cooke and a 2026 first round pick. Ultimately, the Mystics felt it was better to get an additional first round pick for 2026 as opposed to trying to get an additional star in the 2026 free agency season. Washington then lost 10 straight games to miss the playoffs. And Wideman after the season noted that the Mystics aren’t necessarily prioritizing a win-now team for next year. If anything, they’re looking to build a lot like the Wizards have.
In short, I’ve asked you all if you believe the Mystics are ahead or behind the Wizards in their team building situations under Winger’s leadership — even if Winger didn’t actively handle the Mystics until this year. The consensus appears to be that the Mystics are ahead right now because Citron and Iriafen are clear pieces to build around as well as center Shakira Austin.
At the same time, I don’t think that will be enough to bring an additional top tier star to Washington in 2026. While building through the draft is a good strategy generally speaking, the WNBA’s realignment and expansion have to be balanced with care. The Mystics can’t afford to sit idly by while the other teams — even expansion teams — will be in a decent position to compete now because of this new CBA. And besides, some player on every team MUST get paid.
In past WNBA seasons, it wasn’t exactly fair to make an argument that a player was overpaid for her role, even if she was often injured or underperforming. In this new WNBA CBA however? There WILL be overpaid players.
I just don’t want to see the Mystics with more of them than necessary.
