3 Seattle Storm players who won't be back after regular season fiasco

The 2026 season was never going to go well for the Seattle Storm. It was clear, when looking at this roster, that the team was in a rebuild mode. What people likely didn't expect was for that rebuild to result in the team being the worst in the WNBA this season, but that's where we're at, as Seattle sits at 8-32 on the year.

Changes have to come after such a disappointing campaign. These three players seem very unlikely to survive those changes.

You have to think that an Ezi Magbegor trade is coming this offseason. She's under contract at $1.25 million per season for both 2027 and 2028, but the Storm have their frontcourt of the future in Dominique Malonga and Awa Fam. Magbegor is the perfect player to use in a deal to bring in more backcourt help, because despite her injury-riddled 2026 campaign, she still has the talent to be one of the best interior defenders in the league.

In fact, I'd argue that keeping Magbegor would be actively bad for the Storm's rebuilding effort, as having to play her takes minutes away from the young bigs you're developing. Even trading her for an established guard would help, though Seattle might prefer to just aim for draft capital to continue rebuilding.

The one concern for the Storm might just be that you won't get close to equal value back for Magbegor because of the injury situation and the fact that she's coming off a fairly rough 14 games when she was out there in 2026. That's unfortunate, but the Storm still need to prioritize the future, not the present.

This is the most obvious "won't be back in 2027" player on this Seattle Storm roster. There's just no real reason to think that Stefanie Dolson is playing basketball for Seattle next season.

Brought in as depth due to the Magbegor injury situation, the team's need for Dolson lessened once Fam was drafted. She's playing just 15.1 minutes per game, the second-lowest mark of her career, and while she provides some 3-point shooting upside for the Storm, that's not really enough, especially as her block numbers have been down this year.

Dolson's WNBA career is quickly approaching an end, and it'd be nice to see her have one more chance to play on a good team, something that just hasn't been the case for the past few seasons. Sure, she already has one ring, but a bench role as the fourth big on a contender where she has a shot at another would be fun. Maybe she'd be a fit with Vegas or Golden State?

I'll likely never stop thinking that Jordan Horston has breakout potential, but the 2027 offseason is likely when the Storm, forced with having to decide if they extend Horston, stops thinking that she has it.

Injuries have played a key role in Horston's career, as she missed the entire 2025 season with a torn ACL. Upon her return this year, her numbers have been down, including a career-low 4.7 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. She's shooting just 22.4 percent from deep, the lowest mark of her career.

Horston needs a fresh start on a rebuilding team where she can earn minutes. Yes, in theory that's just ... Seattle. But there also comes a point where a team and a player who've been together for a bit just need to separate. Horston would have a much better shot at finding herself in Toronto, Houston or, depending on how they approach this offseason, Los Angeles.