Amanda Zahui B, Li Meng and Tianna Hawkins make Mystics roster after final cuts
Zahui B, Li Meng and Hawkins make Mystics roster originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
WASHINGTON -- A talent-loaded and positionally-diverse Mystics training camp has led the organization to whittle down their roster to the expected 11 players before the league's cutdown deadline on Thursday.
Washington waived both 2022 No. 4 overall pick Emily Engstler and Jazmine Jones as the final two cuts on Wednesday, meaning Amanda Zahui B., Li Meng and Tianna Hawkins were the final question marks to presumably make the team.
Barring any last-minute moves, this will be the team's roster for opening night, in alphabetical order:
-Amanda Zahui B.
-Li Meng
-Tianna Hawkins
It was expected that Zahui B would make the Mystics for at least the start of the 2023 season. Zahui B and Shakira Austin are the only true centers on the roster and both have the skill set at the position to match the style of offense Washington has played with over the past decade.
Given Washington traded future draft picks to acquire her rights this past offseason too, it seemed that Zahui B had a leg up on the remaining unprotected contracted players to make the roster.
Austin and Kristi Toliver were other non-guaranteed players who were assumed to make the roster.
The somewhat interesting decisions begin with cutting Jones and Engstler. Both had strong showings at training camp thus far and would have provided different values to the franchise. Instead, Washington opted for the international star Meng and the long-time proven veteran in Hawkins.
"It was [a] hard [decision] in the sense that we didn't have anybody that had a bad training camp. We've had a lot of really good players," general manager Mike Thibault said on Wednesday. "Our staff has commented that this is probably, from top-to-bottom from the start of camp, this is the best we've had so that every decision we've made was really tough. At the end of the day, Tianna had a terrific camp and more experience with this team and that was a big decision for us."
Hawkins will enter her 10th season in the WNBA after what was a relatively down year for her standards in 2022. She's looked great in camp and seems poised to have a significant impact off the bench this season.
She'll become a depth piece for the forward group who could be in big or small lineups depending on game situations.
Meng makes the team after there was a ton of hype following her training camp signing. An incredible 2022 FIBA World Cup performance vaulted her stock after averaging 16.0 points per game (the fourth-highest in competition) while also shooting 40.7% behind the 3-point line. The Mystics ranked 10th in 3-point shooting a year ago and Eric Thibault noted that was a factor in the process. Of the five players who were competing for spots, her potency to hit those shots is the best on the roster.
When considering roster construction, Meng becomes really only the second wing on the roster alongside Shatori Walker-Kimbrough. While the team knew she needed a bit of time acclimating to the team and playing with this group - she did miss several days during the first week due to a non-COVID illness - they believe they know what she brings to the roster.
"I think we saw enough to say that we saw what she brings to the table," Eric Thibault said.
That leaves Jones and Engstler as the two left out. Jones is a wing competing for a roster spot on a team that was devoid of players who would play it as their natural position. She had experience with the Mystics for a short stint in 2022 and her defense, it appeared, would carry her to making the team this season. A six-point (3-for-5 FG) outing in the final preseason game off the bench also signaled the work she put in during camp.
While she was a late addition, Engstler is a young, promising talent who was waived by the Indiana Fever just a year after drafting her. Over the past week, she really showed out at camp, jumpstarted by her 11 points and eight rebounds in their preseason victory over the Atlanta Dream. She provided youth, which is not something Washington has much of outside of Shakira Austin.
Mike Thibault added that the team is not looking to make any other roster moves before the season starts on Friday against the New York Liberty (7 p.m., NBC Sports Washington). Other teams will also be making roster cuts to get down to the 11-12 maximum that the league has in place. In the past (like in 2022 when adding Kennedy Burke), the organization might add someone else who gets released. However, he likes the 11 players they have on the roster and this is the roster he "envisioned" at the start of camp.
"I can't imagine that people who are going to get cut are better than who we've had at our own training camp," Mike Thibault said.
