October 3, 2023
Locked On Women’s Basketball: Seattle Storm AGM Pokey Chatman talks 2023 WNBA Finals, Storm path, draft history
By The Next
Pokey and Howard discuss her return to the AGM chair and all things Storm.
On Tuesday’s episode of Locked On Women’s Basketball, Seattle Storm Associate GM (AGM) Pokey Chatman joins the podcast to discuss her new role in Seattle and her process for evaluating WNBA talent. After two years as an assistant coach with the Storm, Chatman will add on AGM responsibilities as a rebuilding Seattle Storm enters another pivotal offseason.
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The conversation began with a discussion of Chatman’s time in Seattle so far, including her relationship with Storm head coach Noelle Quinn. They also spoke about the current state of the Storm as they rebound from the loss of Breanna Stewart and Sue Bird.
“[Talisa Rhea], our general manager, and [Alisha Valavanis], our president, they’re all so collaborative, along with [Quinn], so this is just really moving me up a little bit [earlier] on in the process, and I’m excited about it because I get an opportunity to double impact,” Chatman said. “I get to evaluate them, get to try to bring them into the fold and also develop them. I hadn’t done it in a few years and to do it with an organization that, even when I played against Seattle, you always felt like ‘Man, this is a place you want to be.'”
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Howard brought up the addition of rookies Jordan Horston and Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu, which led to a conversation of how Seattle’s new additions have started to mesh with Storm stars Jewell Loyd and Ezi Magbegor.
Chatman also spoke about Loyd’s contract extension, which came on the final day of the Storm’s season: “If I told you how much I celebrated that, you probably wouldn’t believe me,” she said. “But, it was Jewell’s process of things and watching her growth prior to getting to the end of the season and [then] her extending that contract with us. She just had this maturity about her.”
Then, the two discussed the Storm’s offseason, as well as the upcoming WNBA Draft and how Chatman approaches making picks in later rounds.
“It’s just a matter of what fits the holes that you need to fill for your particular team. So it’s going to be a lot of evaluation of talent and going through some mock drafts and figuring out those pieces. But it’s going to be fun because we know we’re guaranteed some quality [with the No. 4 and No. 14 picks],” Chatman said.
The two also discussed the upcoming WNBA Finals, and what makes a “superteam” more than just a collection of great players, and what they expect to see from the New York Liberty and Las Vegas Aces as the Finals kick off on Oct. 8.
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