The Golden State Valkyries announced that they waived Caroline Ducharme on Tuesday. The move has not hit the league’s transaction page yet, but was made to accommodate returning players who are ready to report to training camp. Golden’s State’s total roster is now down to nineteen players, which the Valkyries should be able to sit at until the final day if they wish to wait as long as possible on making decisions. Those decisions will continue to be tough with even more players competing for spots on the final roster now.
Caroline Ducharme
When she was signed by the Valkyries, it was always considered unlikely for Caroline Ducharme to start the season in a roster spot. Her college career had ended without an appearance in her final game and with only a handful of NCAA tournament minutes after the game’s outcome was a foregone conclusion. Nevertheless, she did join training camp and was healthy enough to be full participant, showing some of what she had displayed before a series of injuries. She was able to play more than 7 minutes in the preseason game and made a basket and several other excellent plays. It remains to be seen what her next steps will be, but this stint does show that she should be able to play more minutes on a team somewhere in the basketball universe.
Returning Players
With Iliana Rupert, Janelle Salaun, Kaila Charles, and Cecilia Zandalasini all set to report to the team, the total number of players in training camp at the same time will be eighteen, which is still the limit. That only leaves Juste Jocyte as the rostered player who is not present still. There have been other players in the Spanish league who have been able to depart their teams early to much consternation from fans. Different players and different agencies have differing levels of aggression on pursuing that option and plenty of players do want to finish out the season when a championship is a possibility. Girona is both competing for a title and trying to secure a direct EuroLeague berth for next season.
Roster Battle and Development Players
Since there are no more preseason games, the Valkyries now have a week of training camp to decide on which players should make the final roster and the arrival of more players only makes that decision harder. There has been plenty of speculation about how many players are locked into spots, which would determine how many places are still truly up for grabs. Several players seem more like longshots at this point, but the ratio still looks daunting for the aspirants.
The exact rules have not been publicized, but it seems likely that basic roster rules would be similar, which would hopefully allow the Valkyries to retain an additional player until Juste Jocyte arrives. Final decisions on waivers could come earlier for some players that the team wishes to sign to the development player spots. Players must be free agents again, which includes passing through the process without any other team claiming their existing contract in order to sign the new contract. Waiving those players sooner would then allow them to be on the roster for the start of the regular season as the Valkyries play on the opening day.
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