The Golden State Valkyries had another player leave for a national team after Monday’s game as Julie Vanloo will link up with Belgium. With two roster spots available, the team made the move to sign WNBA veteran wing Aerial Powers to fill one vacancy. Even with the two new contracts signed, the Valkyries still have the salary cap room to sign additional players and keep their roster full even with players gone as Janelle Salaun is joining France’s team imminently as well.
Julie Vanloo
As previously scheduled, Julie Vanloo left after the game in Los Angeles to join Belgium in time for their final exhibitions and practices before EuroBasket. The defending champions are happy to be back at full strength again after they had been going through preparations without their three WNBA players. Now that her contract is officially suspended, she will not be paid while she is away, but her salary stays on the salary cap while her roster spot is cleared and can be used to sign another player.
Aerial Powers
Golden State made a signing well in advance of their next game on Saturday, bringing in Aerial Powers to give them another option on the wing. She entered the draft in 2016, giving up her final year of college eligibility to be picked 5th and this season was the first time since then that she did not start the WNBA season on a team. After time in Dallas, Washington, and Minnesota, she spent last season with Atlanta, but went unsigned this past offseason. She most recently played in the Turkish league with Kayseri.
Besides bringing WNBA experience to the table, Powers has been after her most effective coming off the bench to provide scoring throughout her career and could quickly be an option to stop the droughts that the Valkyries hit sometimes. After not earning a contract during the main free agency signing period, she will also certainly be looking to prove something during her time with the team, even if that means auditioning for a role with another team after Golden State needs to make another cut when players return from their national teams.
Kyara Linskens, Laeticia Amihere
Kyara Linskens has not been claimed off of waivers so far so her base salary so far this season before she was released is set to stay on the salary cap. Based on the number of days that she was with the team, that would be $14,437 in total. Richard Cohen of Her Hoop Stats reported that Laeticia Amihere has signed a contract at the minimum, which means that her salary cap figure is $53,307 for now. That would be the amount that she is owed if she stays on the roster past the contract guarantee date, but if she is waived before then to get the roster back to 12 when players return, that would change to just the salary that she earned to that point.
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