Sky<\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cNothing entices me more than playing with other people that love to approach the game like that, that\u2019s going to get after people and not apologize for it,\u201d Cloud said. \u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019ve kind of been searching for.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like many on the roster, for Cloud, Skylar Diggins stood out as a big part of the appeal.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s a dog,\u201d Cloud said. \u201cWe\u2019re only one year apart, but even from college, growing up watching Sky play \u2014 Sky goes hard. She expects everyone around her to play the same type of elite level, the same respect for the game, the same approach. That makes everyone around her better.\u201d<\/p>\n
The roster depth, which was a priority of the Sky\u2019s roster construction season, was part of the draw as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be on a team that really values one through 14,\u201d Cloud said, \u201cand understands that everyone in this locker room collectively is what\u2019s going to make us go.\u201d<\/p>\n
No timelines on success<\/p>\n
Everyone wants to know how quickly this new-look Sky roster will come together. But the team is staying focused on the present.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hate putting timelines on stuff,\u201d Cloud said. \u201cI think things happen organically and naturally. With timelines come expectations and crazy narratives. So grace and patience are my keywords right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, Cloud liked what she saw at her first two practices.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I felt today was that everyone knows what they\u2019re doing, where they\u2019re supposed to be,\u201d Cloud said.<\/p>\n
Sydney Taylor makes the team<\/p>\n
Sydney Taylor, the Sky\u2019s undrafted guard who made an underdog run to the final roster cut, recalled the moment she found out she made the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cI walked in there, saw [general manager] Jeff [Pagliocca] and Tyler [Marsh] with pretty serious faces,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cI was a little scared, not gonna lie. But as soon as I walked in there they lightened up and let me know I made the team.\u201d<\/p>\n
She then called her agent, her trainer and her family.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mom was like, \u2018I knew it, I knew it. I had faith in you,\u2019\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PORTLAND, Ore. \u2014 After a delayed signing, Natasha Cloud has joined the team. Coach Tyler Marsh didn\u2019t want…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":634226,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[99,434],"class_list":["post-634225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634225","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=634225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634225\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/634226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=634225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=634225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=634225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}