What the [bleep] is going on with the Seattle Storm? (Part 2)
Jewell Loyd said she didn't hit her benchmarks this season. Beta Basket learned the consequences had a financial impact.
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Welcome to Part 2 of my series exploring the latest developments within the Seattle Storm organization. I am overwhelmed by the response to Part 1 and appreciate your support. I still don’t know how many parts this series will have, as I keep receiving new information from sources.
As an independent journalist with a full-time day job, I prioritize maintaining high standards in both writing and reporting. To ensure quality and accuracy, I will release each installment individually, allowing me to stay sharp while balancing my workload
One great way to help is by sharing this with people you think would like to read about it!
Diggin’ to find the problem
In the aftermath of the first report of the investigation against the Seattle Storm coaching staff by the Chicago Sun-Times, a series of finger-pointing pieces and tweets from media and fans started to emerge. Circling Seattle Sports published two stories affirming that “[Skylar] Diggins-Smith led several outbursts laced with vulgarity during practices directed at teammates” and that “[Noelle] Quinn and Diggins-Smith come from an era where this method of coaching and leadership was tolerated.”
Fans promptly responded by bringing up instances in which SDS quarreled with a teammate and organizations she was involved with
Yesterday, Beta Basket received exclusive information to add context to the conflict between players and coaching staff at the Seattle Storm that could change the perception of the situation.
Come along…
1. Benchmark (and bonus check) not achieved
During the Seattle Storm exit interviews, Jewell Loyd was very open about her shortcomings this season:
“This is the first time in my career where I haven't hit my benchmarks … There are factors that go into that, but at the same time, you know, I’m taking ownership in how this season and how I went and how I played,” she said. You can see the full portion of Loyd’s exit interview below (courtesy of Seattle Storm PR):
According to two sources, Jewell Loyd would have received a performance-based bonus from Nike as part of her sponsorship deal if she finished the season with an average of 20+ points per game. She fell just 0.3 points short, finishing with 19.7 PPG. The perception from those close to Loyd is that Noelle Quinn is responsible for her not hitting that benchmark, therefore not earning the additional money.
“Noey pulled her out when she’s hot. The quarter ends and she would wait 4-7 minutes to bring her back in. She [sensitive language] with Jewell's bonus money. She knew Jewell had to average 20 ppg to make her Nike bonus money,” said a source with knowledge of the contract.
Loyd led the Storm in minutes played (33.7 per game) but ranked eighth in FG% (36.0, a career-low) among her teammates with 10+ games this season. Beta Basket was also told that Quinn was aware of that contract clause.
Beta Basket will not make any judge of character at this time as this is a developing story.
2. A turbulent past storming into the present
Why has Skylar Diggins-Smith’s name come up as the instigator of the bullying and harassment allegations? One thing is for sure: she is not known for is staying silent.
In 2022, while playing for the Phoenix Mercury, an altercation broke out on the bench during a timeout, as a fired-up Diggins-Smith gestured towards Diana Taurasi following some disconnect in back-to-back plays, ending up with both players being de-escalated by peers and staff.
Before that, in October 2019, the point guard posted a series of tweets claiming lack of support from the Dallas Wings organization during her 2018 pregnancy. Then, in 2023, she again took to social media to express similar frustrations with the Mercury while pregnant with her second child.
There have been no more public displays of animosity between Skylar Diggins-Smith and teammates, although rumors have been brought up that she has a big personality and is not the easiest person to work with. In her own words during the Seattle Storm exit interviews, she’s “not everyone’s cup of tea.”
But is she actually the problem? Both her public complaints about organizations were tied to her pregnancy, which has proven to be a big issue in the WNBA in general, going back to Dearica Hamby’s lawsuit against the Las Vegas Aces and head coach Becky Hammon. In addition, both the Wings and the Mercury were involved in problematic situations. In 2021, Dallas’ Rebel Edition uniform was pulled due to its association with a military program that excluded Black women. As for the Mercury, under Vanessa Nygaard’s coaching tenure there were no shortage of problems, including a contract divorce with Tina Charles mid-season (Charles went on to sign with the Storm).
I have experienced firsthand Skylar Diggins-Smith directness in demanding something. While waiting for the end of practice, myself and a few other media members were talking during a moment of silence on the court. Skylar simply turned around and loudly told us to tone it down (paraphrasing) as they were trying to practice. Eventually, she came up to us and apologized. We understood, it was our bad mostly, because we were at her workplace.
Truth is, Storm fans and the city of Seattle were not prepared for a player with the personality of Skylar Diggins-Smith. She had been called crazy in a few instances and a source told me that it took a while for the fan base to get used to her.
One can’t help but raise the question: were personalities and expectations put into consideration before the big free agency moves?? We will dive into that in part 3.
This concludes Part 2. As an independent journalist with a full-time day job, I remain committed to maintaining high standards in both writing and reporting. To ensure quality and accuracy, I will release each installment individually, allowing me to stay sharp while balancing my workload
A great way to help is by sharing this with others who might enjoy reading it!
Thank you for looking into this and sharing. It's great to have more context based on your first hand experience and reporting.
I wish that people would wait until the results of the investigation before trying to assign guilt (not directed at the writer). I understand that the complaint resulting in an investigation lends credibility to the issue, but think the process should play out before we assume that the complaint is accurate.
Keep going. I'm looking forward to more on this and future parts/insights.
This is so bad. Based on this “journalist”‘s biased slant and Twitter interactions, I have to wonder if she has an agenda against Black women. What’s the point of painting Skylar as an angry Black woman based on one lame personal experience? The way this series was cued up, I expected multiple sources and more credible examples. This is harmful and I wish I could have her arrested for this horse crap.