WNBA: Why the Atlanta Dream must sign shooters in free agency

In recent seasons at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU), where new Atlanta Dream head coach Karl Smesko had been in charge since 2002, players were identified not as guards, forwards or centers on the team’s official roster. All players were shooters.

The Dream, which finished the 2024 season ranked ninth in 3-point attempts per game and 11th in 3-point percentage, are not a team of shooters. At least not yet. Atlanta’s goal during the 2025 free agency period should be to construct a squad of shooters.

The lack of outside shooting explains the struggles of the Dream’s league-worst offense in 2024. All-Stars Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray enjoyed little space to operate on the offensive end, which often resulted in offensive possessions devolving into tough shot attempts from the pair or Tina Charles. While Smesko’s more sophisticated offensive schemes certainly will help Atlanta alleviate their offensive ills, the right roster is needed for the coach’s ideas to be fully actualized and optimized.

That should mean, with the exception of Howard, Gray and Jordin Canada, the Dream front office is open to any and all moves needed to create a more fruitful offensive environment. That includes not prioritizing any of the team’s current free agents, nor being afraid to trade young players who remain under contract. However, making such moves is easier said that done, especially in the league that, like Atlanta, increasingly is recognizing the value add of four-out and five-out offensive alignments. In other words, the Dream will not be the only team searching for shooting.

So, what options might emerge for Atlanta? Can they great creative in order to equip Smesko with a stable of shooters? Here’s a look the current state of the Dream’s roster and finances, followed by a break down of three strategies for Smesko-fitting the Dream:

Facts and figures*

Players under contract (contract status; 2025 salary)

• Laeticia Amihere (unprotected; $79,999)
• Jordin Canada (protected veteran; $190,000)
• Nia Coffey (protected veteran; $150,000)
• Allisha Gray (protected veteran; $190,000)
• Naz Hillmon (protected rookie scale; $80,823)
• Rhyne Howard (protected rookie scale; $91,981)
• Haley Jones (unprotected; $79,999)

Free agent (type; 2024 salary)

• Maya Caldwell (reserved; $36,841)
• Tina Charles (unrestricted; $130,000)
• Lorela Cubaj (reserved; $64,154)
• Cheyenne Parker-Tyus (unrestricted; $200,000)
• Aerial Powers (unrestricted; $155,000)

Total salary of free agents: $585,995

Total team salary: $862,802

Cap space: $644,298

Unsigned draftees (2025 salary)

• Nyadiew Puoch ($71,753)
• Isobel Borlase ($68,595)
• Matilde Villa ($65,438)

2025 WNBA Draft picks (2025 salary)

• Round 2, No. 18 ($69,267)
• Round 3, No. 36 ($66,079)

1. Call the best shooters on the market—if they’re out there

Photo by Adam Hagy/NBAE via Getty Images

The class of 2025 unrestricted free agents is short on dead-bang shooters. One name stands out: Alysha Clark.

The 2023 WNBA Sixth Player of the Year is a career 38.3 percent 3-point shooter. In her two seasons with the Las Vegas Aces, she attempted 5.4 and 4.7 triples per 36 minutes. Although almost strictly a spot-shooter, rather than a movement shooter who also can fire away when running off screens, she would offer the combination of accuracy and volume Atlanta needs to create space for the team’s offensive initiators. With the native Tennessean participating in Athletes Unlimited in her home state, might she be interested in sticking in the South and suiting up for the Dream?

Atlanta should also scour the market for a stretch big or two. But, they might be left searching, as the unrestricted free agent class features few actual, instead of just theoretical, stretch bigs. The direction to begin looking is Dallas, where unrestricted free agents Satou Sabally and Natasha Howard both have indicated that they have worn a Wings uniform for the last time.

Sabally is a long shot, yet one worth shooting. She is a forward with a credible 3-point stroke, in addition to more than credible on-ball chops. She’s called “The Unicorn” for a reason, and quite possibly is the most desirable player on the market. As Dallas likely will core her, Atlanta will have to try to acquire her via trade. She also might have to cite the ATL as her preferred destination to make it happen. Maybe Howard, Gray or Canada can shove Sabrina Ionescu, Sabally’s best bud and former (and hoped-for future?) teammate, into the backseat of a car with a bag of balls and corner Sabally during some Unrivaled down time to convince her to force her way to Atlanta?

While likely more gettable, Howard is a trickier on-court fit. She has experimented behind the arc, but most opponents comfortably will allow her to fire away, just as they would with Atlanta’s own unrestricted free agent bigs, Tina Charles and Cheyenne Parker-Tyus, both of whom have likewise been encouraged to venture beyond the 3-point line with mixed success. (This reality makes it all the more curious that the Dream left Iliana Rupert, who has shooting potential at 6-foot-4 and 23 years old, unprotected in the Golden State expansion draft; she was scooped up by the Valkyries.)

2. Make some Mystical moves

Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images

So, could Atlanta trade for a stretch big? Maybe?

That the team that employs the most intriguing option already owns the Dream’s 2025 first-round draft pick makes things a bit tricky. However, as our Josh Felton put it, the Washington Mystics are at a crossroads, and seemingly leaning toward a full rebuild, which Albert Lee also has covered at Bullets Forever. Quite possibly, they’d be interesting in sending out some of their prime-age vets for younger flyers from Atlanta, whether that be recent first-round selections Haley Jones and Laeticia Amihere, or the team’s even younger unsigned draftees in Nyadiew Puoch and Isobel Borlase.

The target in DC then has to be Stefanie Dolson, who is under contract through the 2025 season. Although she’s unlikely to replicate 2024’s career-best shooting season, when she drained 46.5 percent of her four 3-point attempts per game, Dolson is established enough as a deep threat that a defense cannot totally ignore her, which potentially makes her the kind of piece that could unlock Smesko’s offensive vision. Washington, which often favored spacing-centric lineups under former head coach Eric Thibault, also rosters a few other players who could be of interest to Atlanta, such as guard Karlie Samuelson, a career 39.7 percent 3-point shooter who is under contract for 2025, or wing Emily Engstler, a restricted free agent who began to flash a more confident outside stroke last season.

And while Atlanta is poking around DC, it’d be wise to also place a call to Elena Delle Donne, a now not-cored unrestricted free agent who would be a Dream offensive fit.

3. Star power > shooting?

Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Getty Images

After emphasizing the importance of Atlanta acquiring bigs that can shoot from distance, it might seem quite crazy to suggest that the Dream should be open to signing Alyssa Thomas, who, with two busted shoulders, possesses no semblance of an outside shot.

Although she will turn 33 before the 2025 season, Thomas remains one of the league’s most talented players. And elite talent is more valuable than plus shooting. Even if her offensive skillset is antithetical to Smesko’s shoot-heavy strategy, it would be interesting to see what an innovative head coach could unleash with a player like Thomas. This is not to say that adding the Connecticut Sun stalwart (and, in all likelihood, her partner DeWanna Bonner) is likely. It’s highly unlikely. Rather, the Thomas example serves to underscore that Atlanta should be open to a star chase, even if that player is an imperfect fit.

Considering most free agents will be signing one-year contracts in anticipation of the ratification of a new CBA before the 2026 season, 2025 is not the ideal offseason for beginning to build a team tailored to Smesko’s vision. The league is likely to experience significant shifts after the 2025 season. So, 2025 could end up being a one-year experiment, where it’s worth asking if an appealing unrestricted free agent star, such as the Seattle Storm’s Nneka Ogwumike or the Sun’s Brionna Jones, would be willing to come to Atlanta and not only lift the team into respectability, but also help the organization gather more information about the kind of longer-term, sustainable team to build around the Howard-Gray-Canada core once the new league landscape is established in 2026.

*Thanks to Her Hoop Stats for all roster information and salary numbers.