Mike Vorel: Storm's trade for Brittney Sykes was worth the risk. But will it be enough?

Mike Vorel, The Seattle Times on Aug 7, 2025

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SEATTLE —The Storm have hit a hump.

Brittney Sykes will help.

Since downing the defending WNBA champion New York Liberty, 79-70, on July 6 to improve to 12-7, Seattle has unexpectedly stalled. The Storm are 4-7 in their last 11 games — including losses to Connecticut (5-23), Dallas (8-22), Washington (13-16) and Los Angeles (13-15). In that uninspiring stretch, they rank 10th out of 13 teams in points per game (80.2), 11th in offensive rating (98.3), 12th in second-chance points (8.5 per game), 12th in rebounds per game (32.5) and last in 3-point percentage (29.6%).

In the wake of that Liberty win, I wrote that the Storm must be considered legitimate title contenders.

But it’s been a humbling month.

After a fourth-quarter comeback fell short in Tuesday’s 91-87 home loss to the Napheesa Collier-less Minnesota Lynx, Storm guard Erica Wheeler repeated: “We just need to get over that hump.”

Before the season slips away.

At 16-14, the Storm have stumbled into sixth place — just a half game ahead of Las Vegas (15-14), a game above Golden State (14-14) and two games better than LA, heading into Wednesday's games. They hit the road to play the aforementioned Aces and Sparks on Friday and Sunday, respectively, with playoff positioning an increasing concern.

The Storm have 14 games to solidify their spot in an eight-team field — and to prove they’re title contenders, after all.

When asked Tuesday how her team can get over the hump, coach Noelle Quinn said: “We’ve got somebody coming in here who can help us do that.”

Enter Sykes, whom Seattle made a splash in trading for Tuesday. The Storm dealt forward Alysha Clark, guard Zia Cooke and a 2026 first-round pick for the ninth-year guard, who earned her first All-Star selection this summer. Sykes averaged 15.4 points and 4.4 assists in 25 games for the Mystics in 2025, while shooting 31.8% from beyond the arc. Her 6.3 free-throw attempts per game ranks second in the league, and should instantly impact a Storm team that takes the WNBA’s fewest free throws.

Clark (3.5 points, 18.0 minutes per game) and Cooke (3.3, 10.4), meanwhile, were inconsistent contributors on one of the WNBA’s lightest benches.

On Tuesday, Washington coach Sydney Johnson said of the 31-year-old Sykes: “Seattle’s getting a hell of a player. They’re really good, but they just got a lot better.”

The question is how much better they can be.

It’s whether one hell-of-a-player can help the Storm over the hump.

But there’s no question whether Sykes was worth the risk. Considering their core includes 35-year-old forward Nneka Ogwumike, 35-year-old point guard Skylar Diggins and 34-year-old guard Erica Wheeler, this version of the Storm can’t afford to wait. Their time is now, or never.

Besides, Seattle was also swimming in draft capital. The Storm entered the summer with three 2026 first-round picks, gained via trades with Los Angeles for forward Kia Nurse and Las Vegas for guard Jewell Loyd, which afforded the ammunition to instantly improve.

The Storm’s front office owed it to Ogwumike and Loyd, as well as their fans, to allow this roster an opportunity to make a realistic run. And it did so without sacrificing the franchise’s future, as Seattle still has a pair of first-round picks in the upcoming draft.

What it hasn’t had is sufficient scoring depth.

Sure, four Storm players — Ogwumike (18.2 points per game), Diggins (16.6), Wheeler (11.2) and Gabby Williams (12.7) — average double figures. But forward-center Ezi Magbegor (8.4 points, 27.5 minutes per game) has not become a consistent offensive presence, while 19-year-old center Dominique Malonga (5.5 points, 11.0 minutes) earns a limited role as a rookie. Forwards Jordan Horston and Katie Lou Samuelson were expected to bolster the bench, but instead sustained season-ending torn ACLs.

Which left Seattle in need of scoring.

Some should come from Sykes.

“We talk about sometimes Sky (Diggins) and Nneka getting a ton of attention,” Quinn said. “I think it’s good to have another playmaker on the floor who can create for herself and for others.”

To be honest, I don’t know that it’s enough. Not when Minnesota (25-5) and New York (19-10) appear primed for a Finals rematch with overflowing rosters. Not when Sykes — a four-time WNBA All-Defensive Team selection — has proven a fickle and inefficient shooter, who’s knocking down just 37.9% of her field goals in 2025. Not when there are inherent hurdles with integrating a significant piece in the middle of a season.

But the Storm — who have lost their last three games by 10 total points — deserve credit for trying, as simple as that sounds. They didn’t re-sign Ogwumike last offseason to limp to the finish line. They didn’t outlast the Liberty on July 6, only to unravel. They didn’t earn four WNBA titles, tied for the most of any team, by settling and succumbing to a month-long hump.

Like the Mariners, the Storm improved their roster ahead of the stretch run. Like Johnson said, they got better.

We’ll soon see just how much.