Every team has stars it just cannot afford to lose. The Las Vegas Aces wouldn’t be the same team without A’ja Wilson, the New York Liberty need Breanna Stewart to compete for a championship, and Kelsey Mitchell proved last season how important she is to the Fever’s title hopes.
But those are all established stars. Each team also has young players it cannot afford to lose, even if they are still developing and haven’t had their big breakout yet.