Bubble troubles Skylar Diggins-Smith
Skylar Diggins-Smith is "conflicted" about playing in the WNBA bubble in Florida but wouldn't go deeper into her reasons.
"I'm happy to be on this team, I'll say that," said Diggins-Smith, in the first season of a four-year contract with the Phoenix Mercury, during a teleconference on Sunday after the Mercury's third practice at IMG Academy in Bradenton.
The WNBA is playing its entire season at one site due to the coronavirus pandemic. Florida, like Arizona, is currently among the states spiking the most with COVID-19 cases.
Diggins-Smith would not comment on whether her husband and 1-year-old son are with her, or if concern over them is a reason for her mixed feelings about playing in a 22-game regular season that begins on July 25.
The 29-year-old did not play in the WNBA last season after giving birth in
early 2019. The two-time All-WNBA firstteam point guard was the Mercury's primary target during free agency, and they obtained her in a sign-and-trade with the Dallas Wings.
She joins Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner to form a new Big Three for the Mercury, following the departure of forward DeWanna Bonner to Connecticut.
"We have a great group, we have great personalities, very unselfish," DigginsSmith said. "Everybody seems to be getting along pretty well. We're just like everybody else trying to get it together on the floor. That just comes with time and you're just taking that day by day."
Mercury coach Sandy Brondello said the advantage of having three elite point guards — Bria Hartley plus DigginsSmith and Taurasi — is versatility and depth in the back court.
"They're all going to play the 1, they're all going to play the 2 (shooting guard)," Brondello said. "The offense is going to put them in a lot of pick-and-rolls, not just on the ball but off the ball as well, and then spotting them up. They're all great 3-point shooters.
"I keep saying just play to your strength, that's why you're here. If someone is being pressured, the other guard can just bring it up, and that's a great luxury to have."
Taurasi and Diggins-Smith were teammates as recently as last fall on the USA Basketball national team. The two worked out together in Phoenix before COVID restrictions.
"It's already been a pretty easy adjustment," Taurasi said. "I've always admired her fight, her energy, her willingness to do the really hard things and her work ethic. We already see the benefits of having another playmaker on the court, someone else who can handle the ball.
"I told her from day 1, you're first team All-WNBA, you should be that again this summer. Nothing changes with BG (Griner), with me on the court. We need Skylar to be one of the best players in the league."
Said Diggins-Smith: "I'm playing with the best players in the league. They just told me to be myself. I don't see myself playing any differently (than with Dallas). I'm still going to be aggressive, I'm still going to have the ball in my hands. I'll probably play a little more off the ball, but I guess that's to be determined."
Off the court, Diggins-Smith is working with LeBron James and other NBA stars in leadership of More than a Vote, an organization aimed at registering Black voters and fighting voter suppression.
She briefly addressed this year of world-wide protest over Black deaths due to police brutality. "I don't think there needs to be anything said. As a mother, a Black woman, a human being, it doesn't sit right with me. It's unsettling."
Cunningham now in bubble
Brondello said that second-year guard Sophie Cunningham reported to training camp Sunday and will practice with the team at some point next week after a quarantine period.
The Mercury now have 10 players in Florida, all but forward Jessica Breland, whose medical status has yet to be announced.
Brondello is giving her team Monday off and said she probably will continue to schedule days off after three practice days to keep players healthy. DigginsSmith did not practice Sunday; forward Alanna Smith, coming off foot and leg injuries, participated in all but the final 10 minutes of her third straight practice.