{"id":569562,"date":"2026-04-07T10:08:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T10:08:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/569562\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T10:08:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T10:08:07","slug":"wins-and-losses-for-the-sparks-after-the-expansion-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/569562\/","title":{"rendered":"Wins and losses for the Sparks after the expansion draft\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sparks fans went into Friday\u2019s expansion draft expecting to say goodbye to at least two players. They ultimately lost Julie Allemand<\/a> to the Toronto Tempo and Sarah Ashlee Barker<\/a> to the Portland Fire. But they\u2019re left with one major surprise: both Azur\u00e1 Stevens<\/a> and Rae Burrell<\/a> are still Sparks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was widely speculated that the five protection spots allotted to the Sparks would to go to Kelsey Plum<\/a>, Dearica Hamby<\/a>, Cameron Brink<\/a>, Rickea Jackson<\/a> and either Stevens or and Burrell, meaning that one of the two would be exposed. But, in a surprise, neither one was selected by Portland or Toronto. Not only does it make the Sparks\u2019 offseason priorities more in question without a clear line to who they protected, but it also raises questions about the perceived value of the two in the league.<\/p>\n

In a lot of ways, it\u2019s a major exhale. In 2025, Stevens<\/a> averaged 13 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks while shooting 48.8% from the floor and nearly 40% from three. Burrell shined in Unrivaled<\/a> this offseason, presumably raising her WNBA stock on the heels of her best-yet WNBA season<\/a>. It is a happy for the Sparks surprise to lose neither as teams head into free agency.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Losing Allemand, however, feels like an unavoidable blow. The Toronto Tempo chose Allemand as their first overall pick, a strong choice given her veteran experience at the point guard position.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Allemand\u2019s return from Eurobasket in 2025 marked a turning point<\/a> in the Sparks\u2019 season. While it may have not resulted in the dramatic run they\u2019d hoped, her calm and decisive experience presence precipitated throughout the team. She averaged 5.4 points, 5.0 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 28.3 minutes per game, with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.1, second in the league<\/a> behind only Lexie Brown<\/a>, who recorded 23 assists compared to Allemand\u2019s 127.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

In her first seven games after her return from EuroBasket last July, the Sparks went 5-2, with Allemand recording 36 assists against only 6 turnovers in that stretch. Toronto is getting a player who makes her teammates better, and whose international pass-first point guard play will be a strong fit for Coach Brondello\u2019s style. She\u2019ll play alongside Marina Mabrey<\/a>, a strong combination that will allow Mabrey to move off the ball and likely serve as the target for many of Allemand\u2019s assists.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cJulie brought a versatile skill set to the Sparks, highlighted by her elite court vision and selfless play,\u201d Sparks general manager Raegan Pebley said in a press release following the announcement. \u201cToronto is gaining a talented player and an exceptional teammate, and we wish her continued success.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barker\u2019s departure will cause less of an immediate gap \u2014\u00a0she largely came off the bench in a supporting role amid injury<\/a>. She was touted as a \u201c3-and-D\u201d rookie, who worked hard and was ready to learn and grow. \u201cShe\u2019s always in the right place,\u201d Sparks Head Coach Lynne Roberts said early in the season. Talent and coachability aside, Barker\u2019s rookie-scale contract makes her an affordable piece of Portland\u2019s build. If she can improve her shooting consistency and maintain her competitive defensive mindset, she\u2019ll be a strong piece off the bench.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c[She] embodies the competitiveness, attitude and work ethic every organization values,\u201d said Pebley. \u201cShe\u2019s a promising talent who approaches the game the right way, and Portland is gaining both a competitor and an incredible person.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Sparks\u2019 core remains intact. As of now, Plum, Hamby, Brink, Jackson, Stevens and Burrell remain, a solid six that on paper and, pending healthy seasons, would only need a few supporting pieces to do something special. The defense still needs work, however \u2014 the Sparks were first in the league in opponent points per game<\/a> at 88.2 in 2025, a problem that doesn\u2019t get easier when the most reliable point guard is replaced.<\/p>\n

Pebley called last year a \u201cplanting season.\u201d The Sparks\u2019 roster suggests the harvest is coming. But Plum and Hamby\u2019s second-highest scoring duo in the league needs a point guard who can protect the ball, manage the half court, and keep the turnovers down. Allemand was the answer to that question in 2025. Finding a new one is the most important task of this offseason.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sparks fans went into Friday\u2019s expansion draft expecting to say goodbye to at least two players. They ultimately…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":569563,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[247584,110298,5479,5041,48944,23628,10504,9215,3029,12816,10505,251295,68329,92929,99,434],"class_list":{"0":"post-569562","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-2026-wnba-expansion-draft","9":"tag-2026-wnba-offseason","10":"tag-azura-stevens","11":"tag-cameron-brink","12":"tag-dearica-hamby","13":"tag-julie-allemand","14":"tag-kelsey-plum","15":"tag-lexie-brown","16":"tag-los-angeles-sparks","17":"tag-marina-mabrey","18":"tag-rae-burrell","19":"tag-raegan-pebley","20":"tag-rickea-jackson","21":"tag-sarah-ashlee-barker","22":"tag-sports","23":"tag-wnba"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/569562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=569562"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/569562\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/569563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=569562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=569562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=569562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}