Why the Atlanta Dream are signing Brittney Griner in latest WNBA free agency frenzy

The journey for the Dream to reach its greatest potential started Tuesday when Atlanta joined the WNBA’s free agency frenzy. ESPN’s Shams Charania and Alexa Phillippou reported that Brittney Griner agreed to a one-year deal to join the Dream after the 10-time WNBA All-Star spent all 11 of her WNBA seasons with the Phoenix Mercury. The deal will not become official until Feb. 1.

Griner’s reported trade comes on the heels of a seismic change in the landscape of WNBA superstars on Sunday when a three-team trade sent Las Vegas Aces guard and two-time WNBA champion Kelsey Plum to the Los Angeles Sparks, according to ESPN. Los Angeles also parted ways with center Li Yueru and its No. 2 pick in the 2025 WNBA draft to the Seattle Storm. In exchange, Seattle dealt Jewell Loyd and the Sparks’ No. 13 pick in this year’s draft to the Aces. Los Angeles also received the No. 9 selection in the 2025 draft and Seattle’s second-round pick in the 2026 draft. 

Although Griner’s departure from the Phoenix to Atlanta is one of the more stunning moves so far in this year’s free agency, the activity and motion from Padover and Dream leadership does not come as a surprise. Leading up to the free agency window beginning on Jan. 21, Padover told The Next that the team planned to “aggressively pursue all options” to improve the team that will take the court for its first game of the season on May 16 against the Washington Mystics.

“Could someone of notoriety fall at No. 18 [second round WNBA draft pick], absolutely,” Padover told The Next. “But, we’re also pounding the pavement to get better in the trade market and free agency. … We’re really looking at all avenues on how we can be more competitive.”

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Padover is no stranger to making bold moves in free agency and within the league’s WNBA Draft. When he left the Aces in Oct. 2021 after four seasons, Padover joined the Dream as the team’s general manager and secured a trade for Rhyne Howard at No. 1 and Naz Hillmon at No. 15 in the 2022 WNBA draft. In 2023, the Dream secured Allisha Gray — one of the best two-way players in the league — and followed up that act with signing players like Jordin Canada ahead of the 2024 campaign, resulting in back-to-back postseason appearances for the first time since the 2013 and 2014 campaigns. 

“We’ve done a good job of setting the foundation with some of our players and some we brought in,” Padover said. “My first [WNBA] draft here, we set the stage by bringing in Rhyne and Naz, along with some strategic trades. We’re comfortable at a foundational level. However, the foundational level doesn’t get you to where you want to get to.”

How Griner fits with the Dream

Griner averaged 17.8 points per game while averaging the second best field goal percentage (57.9) in the W and notching 6.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.5 blocks (fifth best in the league) per game in 30 contests last season. The two-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year currently sits at 812 career blocks, trailing only the late Margo Dydek (877) and Lisa Leslie (822). 

With Griner bringing her talents east, Padover hopes the 34-year-old will serve as the integral piece for Smesko to generate “creativity” and “excitement” by implementing his four or five-out offensive system that is embedded with high rates of three point shooting, high pace of play and ball movement, along with excellent floor spacing to create for highly efficient offense.

Last season, Atlanta finished 11th in offensive rating (99.0) and three-point field goal percentage (30.8%), ninth in three-point attempt rate as well as last or near the bottom tier of the league in effective field goal percentage, field goal percentage on two pointers up to field goal percentage on shots taken 10 to 16 feet away from the rim. The Dream also ranked next to the bottom of the league in layups made, field goal percentage on three pointers, two point percentage on field goals assisted as well as last in the league in assists per 100 possessions (23.6). 

“It’s no secret that we could have been a lot more efficient last year from an offensive standpoint,” Padover said. “We’re trying to make sure that both Karl’s scheme and with the new players we get in here, we’re able to put more points on the board efficiently.”

At FGCU, Smesko didn’t have a traditional big like Griner, resulting in smaller lineups with players who were efficient in shot selection, ball movement and scoring points near the rim and beyond the arch. It is unlikely that Smesko will call on Griner for scoring beyond the arch. However, with a dominant center like Griner who can run the floor, command attention with paint touches, it would allow her to kick it out to the Dream’s shooters like Howard (who led Atlanta in scoring with 17.3 ppg last season), Gray (15.6 ppg), Canada (10.6 ppg, 5.8 apg), Nia Coffey or Maya Caldwell for efficient and potential wide open three pointers as well as scoring from cuts to the rim that result from superb ball movement.

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Every initial field goal attempt — regardless if a player is guarded or not — will not always result in points. But with a player like Griner in the interior, it aids the Dream in securing critical offensive rebounds as well as crashing the boards on the defensive side of the ball, giving Atlanta the ability to get out and push the ball in transition. 

However, Griner is stronger on the defensive side than the offensive side when cleaning the glass. In fact, during all of Griner’s active seasons in Phoenix, the Mercury were better at defensive rebounding when she was on the court versus slightly worse at offensive rebounding when graced the floor, according to PBP Stats. 

But if teams are sending multiple players toward Griner to keep her off the glass, it creates the chance for players like Naz Hillmon  — who made major strides on the low block in securing offensive boards last season despite being undersized — or others that could land in Atlanta in free agency the opportunity to secure rebounds and the potential for second chance points.

“You have to maximize points per possession,” Smesko told The Next on Jan. 22 during an episode of Locked on Women’s Basketball. “… We have to generate higher quality shot opportunities where we can get a higher return on each possession. … We’re going to want to push the tempo. 

“… We’re going to want the ball to move … work together to create advantages and then understand how to move once we create an advantage. … That’s going to take a lot of people playing together.”

As Griner prepares to start the next chapter, it will be interesting to see how different her impact changes the offensive production of Howard, Gray and Canada, something that Atlanta did not get to see a full season of due to countless injuries last season. However, Padover said he is excited to see the trio take the floor for the 2025 season after watching small glimpses of it in the latter half of the 2024 campaign.

“Rhyne is the player with the most potential to take us to the next level but it’s not just her,” Padover said. “Her running mate [Allisha] and getting a full season out of Jordin and our complimentary pieces, we’ll get good looks to optimize our player skill sets. 

“Jordin is someone who can get into the defense. Rhyne and Allisha spread the floor from the perimeter and open up gaps for Jordin or Naz getting to the basket. At the end of the day, you need a full team of five.”

Shortly after the news broke that Griner found her second WNBA home, the former No. 1 pick in the 2013 WNBA draft — who is currently playing in Unrivaled in Miami — posted a video on social media elaborating on her decision to leave Phoenix for a fresh start while fishing on a boat with Howard and Gray on her day off from the the new professional 3-on-3 women’s basketball league. 

“So, free agency has been everything I wanted it to be,” the 6-foot-9 center said in the video. “ I was able to find where I wanted to go. And honestly, what led me to that decision ultimately was the team, the players, as individuals, and then also my family.”

On the other hand, Griner also said her decision to leave the Mercury was not an easy one.

“You’re leaving what you know — what I’ve known for my whole career,” Griner said. “But, there’s also the excited factor of — this is like a rebrand now. I get to show something different.”

The current state of the Dream’s roster

Aside from Griner and Atlanta’s core — Canada, Howard, Gray and Hillmon — Coffey, Haley Jones and Laeticia Amihere are all under contract for the upcoming season. Maya Caldwell signed a training camp offer on Jan. 18 as part of her accepting the Dream’s qualifying offer as a reserved player while Lorela Cubaj — another reserved player — received a qualifying offer but has not yet signed a contract. 

Griner’s emergence immediately generated buzz about the future of other players on the Dream’s current roster like forward and center Cheyenne Parker-Tyus, who is currently one of Atlanta’s three — Tina Charles and Aerial Powers — unrestricted free agents. ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported that the Aces have shown interest in Parker-Tyus after initially going after Griner in hopes to pair A’ja Wilson alongside another post player in Sin City. However, when Las Vegas landed Loyd, Aces leadership pivoted from Griner to Parker-Tyus based on the Aces’ style of play, per Shelburne. 

In addition to Griner joining the Dream, Kareem Copeland of The Washington Post reported that Mystics veteran guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough will sign a one-year deal on Saturday to join the Dream. Kimbrough, who spent seven non-successive seasons in Washington, posted her best campaign with the Mystics in terms of points per game (7.5) while shooting 41.5% from the floor, 80.6% from the free throw line and notching 1.1 steals per game in 40 contests in 2024, per HerHoopStats. 

Statistically, Kimbrough’s numbers last season in three point shooting percentage and free throw percentage were lower than her marks in 2023, mainly due to the fact that she started more games (15 out of 40) two seasons ago — shooting 39.0% from three (good for top 20 in the W) — and coming in as the third best free throw shooter (93.6%). 

With Atlanta’s reported signings of Kimbrough and Griner, it could likely mean the end of both Parker-Tyus and Powers’ tenures in a Dream uniform. But, with more dominoes to fall in free agency, there is the potential for more to change in Atlanta. The Dream still hold their No. 18 selection in the second round and their No. 36 pick in the third round of this year’s draft as well as all of their future selections in the 2026 draft. 

“We don’t have our sights set on a specific goal,” Padover said. “We’re simply focused on getting better each day, optimizing our players’ skill sets and playing a fun style of basketball that our fans will enjoy.”

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