With the WNBA regular season set to tip off Friday night, teams were required to pare down their final rosters to the league maximum of 12 players by 5 p.m. ET on Thursday.

Which moves were the most notable or surprising on cutdown day? JWS evaluates each team.

Atlanta Dream

Shatori Walker-Kimbrough was one of Atlanta’s final cuts Thursday. She played in 21 games last season for the Phoenix Mercury, averaging 19 minutes and 7.3 points per game. She also shot 43.1 percent from beyond the arc and was the seventh player in WNBA history to record at least 20 points, five steals and five 3-pointers in a game, on Aug. 14 against Atlanta. She also is one of only three players in WNBA history to hold a career free-throw percentage of at least 90 percent (minimum 100 attempts). Drafted sixth overall by the Washington Mystics, Walker-Kimbrough was named to the All-Rookie Team in 2017 and won a championship with the Mystics before being traded to the New York Liberty.

Honorable mention: Kaela Davis didn’t make the Dream’s opening night roster. Drafted 10th overall by the Dallas Wings in 2017, she was waived after three seasons in which she averaged 5.7 points across 93 games. She was picked up by the Dream during the 2020 season and saw minimal game action.

Chicago Sky

Lexie Brown is a proven starter, having appeared in 72 games with 13 starts for the Minnesota Lynx. Over that time, she averaged seven points per game. The ninth overall pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft, she signed with the Sky in the offseason. She had a solid showing in preseason against Indiana, scoring 10 points in 10 minutes played, but it wasn’t enough to make Chicago’s opening night roster.

HM: Natasha Mack, the 16th pick of the 2021 draft, was considered an intriguing prospect heading into training camp. Her time with the Sky might not be over just yet: She reportedly could rejoin the team for their game against Atlanta on May 19.

Sky waived Alexis Prince, Lexie Brown, Kobi Thornton and Natasha Mack.

I was told there is the potential for Mack to rejoin the team for Sky's game against Atlanta on the 19th.

— Annie Costabile (@AnnieCostabile) May 13, 2021

Connecticut Sun

Jasmine Thomas has been temporarily suspended by the Sun while she works her way back from overseas play. Thomas wrapped up her Turkish league season on Tuesday and, because she is not fully vaccinated, must have six consecutive days of negative tests prior to joining the team. The Sun announced Friday morning that they’ve signed Aleah Goodman to a hardship roster spot after previously waiving her. She will join the Sun for the season opener against Atlanta on Friday and likely remain with them until Thomas is eligible to return.

Dallas Wings

Megan Gustafson was one of Dallas’ final cap casualties, two years after being drafted 17th overall. A college basketball standout at Iowa, the 2019 AP Player of the Year and Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year was waived by the Wings prior to her rookie season but picked up again after they started the season 0-5. From there, she appeared in 34 games for Dallas, averaging 2.6 points and 2.2 rebounds per game.

Indiana Fever

Julie Allemand has been placed on the suspended list for the 2021 WNBA season due to overseas commitments. Currently, Allemand is playing in France for Basket Lattes Montpellier Agglomeration (BLMA) and will join the Belgian national team once the season is over. Rather than having her return after the Olympic break in mid-August, the two sides believed it better for her to rejoin the team next season. As one of JWS’ five players with the most breakout potential, she will be missed in Indiana this season.

Las Vegas Aces

Shakayla Thomas was invited to Aces training camp as a free agent. While coach Bill Laimbeer liked the way she competed while adjusting to a position change (from post to wing), ultimately it wasn’t enough for her to stick around. Emma Cannon, who played 14.3 minutes per game in the playoffs last season after signing with the team in the final month of the regular season, earned the last roster spot.

Los Angeles Sparks

Seimone Augustus is retiring after 15 seasons in the WNBA. She spent 14 seasons with the Minnesota Lynx, who drafted her with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2006 draft. There, she won championships in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017 and was named Finals MVP in 2011. She joined the Sparks as a free agent in 2020 for her final season. Augustus will retire with career averages of 15.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and a 48 field-goal and 36.4 3-point percentage. She currently ranks 10th on the all-time WNBA scoring list with 6,005 career points. The eight-time WNBA All-Star and four-time WNBA champion will remain with the Sparks as an assistant coach.

Sources inform @Winsidr that WNBA legend & 4x Champion Seimone Augustus is retiring from the WNBA and will be named a Sparks Assistant Coach.

— Rachel Galligan (@RachGall) May 13, 2021

HM: Kristine Anigwe played in 17 of the Sparks’ regular season games last year, averaging 4.6 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. She was expected to provide post depth this season but had some unpromising preseason performances. The Sparks also acquired Gabby Williams from the Sky. Williams won’t play this season after being placed on the season-long suspended list while playing for the French national team, but the Sparks ensured she stays with the team beyond 2021, signing her to a contract extension Friday.

Minnesota Lynx

Mikayla Pivec is a free agent after the Lynx waived her Thursday. Drafted 25th overall by Atlanta in the 2020 draft, the guard opted out of the season for personal reasons. She then signed overseas with CD Promete in Spain, appearing in 15 games and averaging 14.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 14.9 minutes per game. Prior to that, Pivec scored over 1,500 career points and had over 1,000 career rebounds with Oregon State. She was picked up by the Lynx in April.

New York Liberty

Asia Taylor was drafted 36th overall by Minnesota in the 2014 draft and had spent time with four different teams before making her way to New York. Signed to a training camp contract, she didn’t make the cut as spots on the Liberty’s regular season roster were limited. Additionally, Asia Durr was assigned to New York’s full season suspension list as she continues to battle with COVID-19 long-hauler symptoms.

Phoenix Mercury

Tiana Mangakahia signed a training camp contract with Phoenix shortly after going undrafted this spring, but her roster bid came up short. In her three seasons with Syracuse, the point guard averaged 15.3 points, 8.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds in 85 games, leading the nation in assists and assists per game in two of those seasons. She missed 2019-20 after being diagnosed with breast cancer but returned to play this past season. Mangakahia didn’t have to wait very long for her next opportunity — she signed a contract to play with the North OJ Pippin Homes Northside Wizards in her native Australia.

Seattle Storm

Kitija Laksa is on the market two years after the Storm selected her with the 11th overall pick. The Latvian remained overseas last season, averaging 8.0 points and 2.6 rebounds per game for TTT Riga. Before that, she had a standout carer at South Florida, averaging 17.8 points per game. There was hope she would be a part of the Storm’s future, but the roster competition proved to be too strong.

HM: N’dea Jones was looking to make the Storm’s roster after they drafted her 23rd overall last month. The forward finished her career at Texas A&M with the most rebounds and double-doubles. She was also a consistent player, ending her career on a 92-game starting streak.

Washington Mystics

The Mystics added on Thursday, acquiring Sydney Wiese from the Sparks in exchange for a 2022 second-round pick. Afterward, Wiese tweeted the following:

Noted.

— Sydney Wiese (@swiesebaby24) May 13, 2021

In 2020 with the Sparks, the guard averaged 6.8 points per game and made 47.2 percent of her shots from the 3-point line. Over four seasons in Los Angeles, Wiese shot 39.5 percent from beyond the arc. Wiese gives the Mystic depth and experience in the backcourt.

Cameron Brink already has her rookie of the year pick for the upcoming WNBA season, and it’s Indiana-bound star Caitlin Clark. 

In the latest edition of Kelley on the Street, host Kelley O'Hara caught up with Brink in New York hours before the Stanford phenom went No. 2 overall to the Los Angeles Sparks at the 2024 WNBA Draft. When O’Hara asked who would win the WNBA's rookie of the year, she answered without pause.

"Caitlin Clark," she said, while a fan commented that she thought Brink would take home the award. Brink later added that the extra foul granted to WNBA players will be "good for me."

"I hope it’s me," Charisma Osborne, who was later drafted by the Phoenix Mercury, said when asked her ROY prediction. "But, I don’t know — we’ll see."

Watch more of Kelley on the Street:

Maria Sanchez issued a statement on Thursday, confirming recent reports that she has requested a trade from the Houston Dash. 

In it, she revealed that the club has been aware of the request "since late March."

"This has all taken a toll and isn’t an easy thing to talk about, but I want to confirm that I’ve requested an immediate trade," she wrote. "My expectations and reasons have been clear. I trust that my current club’s management will honor my decision in a timely manner and proceed with accepting a trade."

"I’m eager to refocus and dive back into what I love most: playing football," she concluded.

Thank you, everyone, for the outpouring of kindness and support. pic.twitter.com/gcnN7dhCJU

— Maria Sanchez (@Maria17_7) April 19, 2024

Reports of Sanchez's trade request first surfaced on ESPN last week, and were later confirmed by multiple sources. 

In December of last year, Sanchez signed a three-year contract with the Dash valued at $1.5 million including bonuses and an option year. It was the largest contract in NWSL history at the time — a figure that would be eclipsed by multiple contracts in the following months. 

Sanchez spent the offseason as a restricted free agent, meaning that Houston could match any other team's offer to retain her rights. Should the Dash trade Sanchez, her current contract terms would remain intact, limiting potential buyers to teams able to afford to take on an inking of that size.

The Dash has yet to address the trade, instead reiterating to ESPN that Sanchez is "under contract, a choice she made in free agency at the end of 2023." 

Both the NWSL trade window and transfer window close tonight, April 19th, at 12 a.m. ET. The window will stay closed through the next 11 regular season games, reopening on August 1st, 2024.

The four-time league champion Seattle Storm unveiled their new practice facility on Thursday, with Storm co-owner Lisa Brummel dubbing Interbay's Seattle Storm Center for Basketball Performance the team’s "new home."

"It's just such a special space," Brummel told Fox 13 Seattle. "I think when the players get here, it's gonna be overwhelming."

The sprawling 50,000-square-foot, $64 million property is just the second designated practice facility to be designed and built expressly for a WNBA team, with the Storm further noting that 85% of all design and engineering team members involved in the project's construction were women and people of color. The finished product holds two professional indoor courts, two 3x3 outdoor courts, a state-of-the-art locker room, and players' lounge, plus designated areas for strength and conditioning, kitchen, dining, and nutrition, and recovery. 

"This facility reflects our commitment to providing our athletes an exceptional environment that supports their growth, health, and performance," said Storm co-owner Ginny Gilder in an official team release. "It’s built for women, by women, embodying our dedication to leading the way in professional women’s sports."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

For their part, the team can't wait to make the faciilty their own.

"It's amazing," Storm guard Jewell Loyd told Fox 13. "Not having to drive everywhere around, knowing you have access anytime of the day to get into the gym, to workout." 

Head coach Noelle Quinn said she predicts the team is "never going to leave this building."

"Which is a good thing for me," she continued. "You talk about having an edge in performance. We want our athletes to not only perform on the court, but get whatever they need."

All of the Storm's staff and operations will now live under one roof, and the team also has plans to launch a youth basketball program operating out of the building.

The Caitlin Clark effect is quickly making its mark on the big leagues, as WNBA host teams around the country rush to upgrade their Fever games to larger arenas in order to accommodate surging ticket sales.

With Clark mere weeks away from her Indiana Fever debut, both the Las Vegas Aces and Washington Mystics have officially relocated their scheduled home games with head coach Christie Sides' squad. On Thursday, the Mystics became the latest to adjust their plans, moving their June 7th matchup from Entertainment & Sports Arena in Southwest DC to the more centrally located — and much larger — Capital One Arena "due to unprecedented demand."

The Mystics home court's capacity taps out at 4,200, while Capital One Arena — home to the Wizards, Capitals, and Georgetown Hoya's Men's Basketball — can fit nearly five times that crowd at some 20,000 spectators.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Washington Mystics (@washmystics)

"The move to Capital One Arena will allow for additional fans in the stands as well as premium hospitality options, including Suites and the all-new all-inclusive courtside Hennessy Lofts," the team announced via Thursday's press release.

The Aces were one of the first teams to switch venues, aiming to take on the Indiana Fever in front of as many as 20,000 fans inside T-Mobile Arena on July 2nd. That’s a sizable a boost from their home venue, which holds just 12,000.

For those still planning to face the Fever in their home arenas, ticket prices have skyrocketed. Previously scheduled construction has already forced the LA Sparks to relocate their first five games — including their May 24th clash with the Fever — to Long Beach State's Walter Pyramid. The temporary venue is quite the downsize, holding just 4,000 in comparison to Crypto.com Arena's near-19,000. As of Friday, the get-in price for that game started around $400.

Despite fans launching a Change.org petition urging relocation, the Chicago Sky say they're unable to move their June 23rd Fever meeting from Wintrust Arena's 10,000-seat facility to the 23,500-seat United Center due to a concert. Tickets for that game start around $325 as of Friday.