SEATTLE — The Seattle Storm just did what their housemates haven’t.

While the Kraken have missed the playoffs in three consecutive seasons, clinging stubbornly to an aging core that will never win a Stanley Cup, the Storm embraced a rebuild this month that could make them WNBA contenders for seasons to come.

On Monday that meant drafting a pair of first-round picks, in 19-year-old Spanish center Awa Fam (No. 3 overall) and Duke point guard Taina Mair (No. 14), then making the night’s most surprising splash by trading for LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson (who the Golden State Valkyries had just selected eighth overall).

That trio should combine with 20-year-old center Dominique Malonga, 26-year-old forward/center Ezi Magbegor and 24-year-old forward Jordan Horston to carry this franchise into the future.

“Future” might be the key word here, considering the firepower that just left in free agency. The Storm will start training camp without their top five scorers from a season ago.

Yes, the 2026 season might sting, as a radically younger roster is molded by first-year coach Sonia Raman. But a rebuild — or “reset,” per Storm general manager Talisa Rhea — was the right move for an organization that strives for championships.

Not fringe playoff appearances and first-round exits.

That’s what settling for the status quo would have looked like. Because we’ve all seen the ceiling for the Storm’s previous core — coach Noelle Quinn and stars Nneka Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins, Gabby Williams, Brittney Sykes, Erica Wheeler, etc. Seattle was bounced by Las Vegas in the opening round of back-to-back playoffs and went just 12-14 against fellow playoff teams in 2025.

At 23-21, the Storm came uncomfortably close to missing the postseason altogether, while ranking eighth in the WNBA in points per game and last in free-throw attempts and rebounds. Somehow, with one of the league’s most electric home courts, Seattle finished just 10-12 at Climate Pledge Arena.

None of which is an admonishment of those players or their contributions. Ogwumike is one of the league’s finest leaders and a former MVP who averaged 18.3 points per game on 51.9% shooting in her 14th season. Diggins is an uncompromising competitor who rediscovered her three-point shot in 2025. Williams and Sykes are a pair of formidable defensive dynamos. Wheeler is a veteran spark plug and fan favorite who seemed to find a home here.

But considering Seattle had the WNBA’s oldest core — featuring 35-year-old Ogwumike, 35-year-old Diggins, 34-year-old Wheeler and 32-year-old Sykes — their contending window was quickly closing. That core wasn’t going to win a WNBA title against the likes of Las Vegas, New York, Minnesota or Indiana any time soon.

So Seattle traded a continued coasting for a chance at championships.

It’ll get worse before it gets better. But that’s a trade Seattle sports fans should take every time.

“(Raman and I) aligned initially on the foundation we wanted to set, the culture that our coaches want to come in and really instill and build and be able to partner with our players,” Rhea said Monday after completing one of the WNBA's best drafts. “We feel like we were in a great position to go this route this offseason. We have a lot of young talent from previous years. We had two first-round picks coming into this draft. So we felt like it was a great time to just reset the foundation.”

The question is whether this foundation actually fits. After guards Azzi Fudd and Olivia Miles flew off the board Monday, Seattle added Fam to an already crowded frontcourt. At 6 feet 4 with a 6-8 wingspan and prodigious potential, Fam was a contender to be drafted by Dallas with the top overall pick. But in Seattle she’ll seek minutes alongside Malonga (a 6-6 center and the No. 2 overall pick a year ago) and Magbegor (a 6-4 mainstay who just signed a three-year, $3.75 million deal).

(Veteran center Stefanie Dolson was recently signed by Seattle as well.)

Schematically, developmentally, Raman must prove all three can flourish in the same frontcourt.

“I don't know if we've seen this type of a frontcourt,” Raman said. “I'm really excited about it, and I'm excited for the creativity that allows us as coaches to lean into some really innovative ways that we're going to use them on both ends.”

Meanwhile, there’s no questioning Johnson’s fit. The 22-year-old guard, who Seattle somehow acquired for the rights to second-round pick Marta Suarez and an additional 2028 second-round pick, should make an immediate impact after topping 2,000 points in a prolific four seasons at LSU.

As ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo said during Monday’s draft: “Flau’jae Johnson is different from any of the players they have on their roster, in terms of not only being a wing but the ways in which she plays. She can be a terrific defender. We talked about her ability to hit from 3 (37.3% in her college career) and be a slasher as well. So there’s not redundancy for her at that position. She can go in and make her mark.”

We don’t know if the redundancy in Fam, Malonga and Magbegor’s games will ultimately limit the Storm’s ceiling.

But we do know the status quo wasn’t going to give this franchise its fifth WNBA championship.

Given those options, I’ll take the unknown.

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