Morgan Tuck sat down with SB Nation to share whether she sees Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner, and Brionna Jones returning to the Connecticut Sun, the process of protecting players for the expansion draft, and more.
Very few WNBA teams have a future as unpredictable as the Connecticut Sun, who entered the offseason with five unrestricted free agents, including Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner, and Brionna Jones. The Sun have a new coach, a new general manager, and only three returning players under contract ahead of next season. It appears plausible that the team will run it back with the same core that’s made Connecticut one of the winningest franchises in recent history, but it also seems realistic that the franchise will head in a different direction.
SB Nation sat down with newly-appointed Sun general manager Morgan Tuck to get a sense of where things are heading into free agency, which begins on January 21st.
Before we dive into the conversation with Tuck, a quick refresher on where the Sun stand as of late December.
Stephanie White departed the organization to become the new coach of the Indiana Fever in October, and a few weeks later, the organization announced the hiring of a renowned French professional basketball coach, Rachid Meziane. Meziane currently serves as head coach of Villeneuve-d’Ascq, a French club that was the EuroLeague runner-up winners in each of the last two seasons. He also coached the Belgian women’s national team which came in fourth place at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Connecticut also has a new general manager, Morgan Tuck, a former UConn star and Sun player who has been in the front office for the last few seasons. Tuck replaces Darius Taylor, who served as the team’s general manager for two seasons. Taylor will now lead scouting for Connecticut.
On the free agency front, the team could be primed for significant change: Connecticut has five free agents: Alyssa Thomas, Brionna Jones, DeWanna Bonner, Tiffany Mitchell, and Astou Ndour-Fall. In addition, DiJonai Carrington, last year’s Most Improved Player, is a restricted free agent. Caitlin Bickle, who wasn’t in the rotation, is the team’s only reserved player, meaning that she can only negotiate with the Sun unless she is released.
Back-up point guard Veronica Burton, left unprotected in the Valkyrie’s expansion draft, is headed to Golden State.
So, the team’s only definite returners (barring a trade) are Marina Mabrey, Ty Harris, and Olivia Nelson-Ododa. Mabrey, acquired midseason from the Sky last season, was excellent in Connecticut, averaging 14.9 points and shooting 42.4% from three in 16 games for the Sun. Harris took a tremendous leap in her first season as a full-time starter, averaging 10.5 points in 28.8 minutes per game. And, in her third season as a pro, Nelson-Ododa established herself as a serviceable backup post player.
But, Thomas, Bonner, and Jones have been the team’s big three, and whether or not they’ll re-sign with Connecticut remains to be seen. If Connecticut does run it back with its core, it’ll likely be in the mix for another year of championship contention. If the veterans walk, the franchise may have to retool around new, younger talent.
The Sun’s new general manager joined SB Nation for a conversation regarding the hiring of Rachid Meziane and the upcoming free agency period. The following has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
Dalzell: What went into the decision to hire Rachid Meziane as head coach?
Tuck: We approached the hiring process very open-minded on what coach we were going to get. We were just like, ‘All right, let’s see who we feel is the best coach, but also the best fit for Connecticut and our organization.’
All of his coaching experience overseas was very intriguing as well. You’re seeing more and more international players coming into our league, and playing, and being really successful. It always helps when you have someone who is deeply rooted and connected over there. But overall, it just felt like he was the best fit. He’s maybe a little bit of a different pick than what most people would think or go with. But, we felt really confident in his abilities and who he is as a person. We feel like he can lead us in the right direction.
Dalzell: Meziane is not someone who has been in the WNBA circuit. On a personal level, what is he like?
He’s such a nice guy — just super laid back and chill. That’s just who he is as a person. I’m excited for people to get a chance to get to know him a little bit and see his personality on the sidelines. I think he’s somebody that — I care more about our fanbase liking him than others — but people in the league will be pleasantly surprised by him.
Dalzell: With so many free agents, this is primed to be quite an offseason for Connecticut. How do you balance wanting to stay competitive next season with thinking long-term and wanting to prepare for the future?
Tuck: It’s hard to go into it expecting that you’re going to be the exact same, right? We’ve had a lot of change within the last couple of months, and more change to come, obviously. But, we’re a Connecticut team, and Connecticut is known for having really competitive teams and really good teams — so I don’t think we can shy away from that and the expectations around how good we need to be. But it takes time — and you have to have change, and get things set up.
You approach it open-mindedly, and you approach it looking at: what are the best scenarios? What’s going to put us in the best position in the short-term and hopefully the long-term as well — especially with all the uncertainty around the new CBA that’s going to be in place next year? Free agency is going to be insane next year. So, you just have to look at the full picture and see what makes the most sense — what’s going to help you to remain competitive, but then also set us up for the future as well.
Dalzell: Would it be fair to say that right now, both potential pathways are on the table — both bringing key free agents back and resetting?
Tuck: I don’t know if I consider it resetting. I would put it more at — it’s just very open-minded. There are some players that we have a little bit more pull [with], and some where, hey, they get to choose where they go. So it’s hard to say exactly, but it’s very open at this point, and we have to use the next month or so to get it from open to a little bit more focused and pointed into a direction that we feel is the best way to go.
Dalzell: Do you want to see free agents like Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner, and Brionna Jones back in Connecticut next season?
Tuck: I think it just depends on the situation. We’ve been so good and we’ve had such a good core, that it’s hard to just say, ‘alright, let’s not do it.’ But at the same time, there are a lot of factors at play from our side and the players’ side. So, it’s very up in the air, and it’s going to be something that we’ll have a better idea of as we get closer to it. It’s just really open.
Dalzell: Veronica Burton was picked by the Golden State Valkyries in the expansion draft. What was the emotional side of being involved in those decisions like?
Tuck: Obviously, we were sad to see Veronica chosen to be taken — she was great. I think everyone can see just how great of a person she was, and as a player as well. But, this expansion draft was to test the water, but we’ll have two new teams coming in next year, so the expansion draft isn’t going anywhere. It was a good way to get one under your belt.
Dalzell: How did you go about deciding which players to protect, and how do you balance prioritizing the players you know you want back and who you think the Valkyries might be interested in?
There’s a reason why they put a limit on how many you can protect, and it’d be easy if you could protect everyone that you know you don’t want to lose. People that we ended up not protecting — it doesn’t mean that they’re not wanted. It’s hard when you have to leave people out or protect certain people over others.
But there are reasons for that, right? It’s to make things competitive and make sure that the Valkyries can start somewhat competitive as well. The Expansion Draft is always exciting, but it’s hard at the same time because you’re probably gonna lose someone that you wish you didn’t have to.
Note: The second half part of SB Nation’s conversation with Morgan Tuck — about her journey to general manager — will be published later this week.
