The LA Sparks waived Sania Feagin and signed Kiana Williams to address backcourt depth. The Sparks are doing everything they can to salvage this season, which has been a disaster despite Kelsey Plum being one of the best scorers in the league. Now, they’re making some tough moves off the court regarding their roster. Coach Lynne Roberts has shared some light on the latest development.

Following the sudden waive-and-sign move, Coach Roberts has explained the team’s the rationale.

“We have a real need for another ball-handling point guard. And so we signed Kiana Williams. She’s on our way to LA right now…” Roberts said, as per John Davis.

“So you know, there’s the business element. Then there’s the human element. So it’s tough, you know, love. Sania, we still believe that she can make it in this league. It’s just more about our need, the business side of it,” she added.

Feagin has never really featured consistently in this Sparks team. Injuries have also played a part in that. But even when fully fit, Coach Roberts has gone with traditional bigs like Emma Cannon and Dearica Hamby.

It also seems that Coach Roberts is not comfortable playing too many players out of their natural positions.

“Somebody that can take pressure off of Erica and Kelsey. We tried to figure it out with Chance Spray or JP or Sania, and like that’s asking them to way out of their positions, and it was taking away from what they’re good at,” she said.

Also, with several recent backcourt injuries (Kelsey Plum’s status is day-to-day, and Kate Martin has a knee issue), the Sparks, it seems, have an immediate need for a point guard.

The Sparks currently sit at 7-8. While they have Kelsey Plum carrying the scoring burden, they have a fragile defense. Plum’s scoring prowess offsets some of their defensive liability.

Kelsey Plum is second in the league in scoring, at 25 points per game, behind only A’ja Wilson. She is also creating chances for others. She assists on 27.9% of her teammates’ field goals while she is on the court. Her high usage rate, at 28%, is also an indication of the Sparks’ high reliance on her.

Despite their struggles, the Sparks have a positive net rating when she is on the court (+7.3), as per Fox Sports. So without Plum, this team struggles to get on board. And without Cameron Brink, they struggle defensively and lack any real shot-blocking capacity.

With Plum carrying the load and Brink sidelined, the Sparks had no choice but to act, especially if they want to contend for a championship in the Plum era.

The Sparks Have Another Crucial Decision to Make in Kate Martin

This is not the only move that the Sparks could be making for their roster. They need to make another hard decision as to whether to keep Kate Martin.

Kate Martin is right now on a developmental contract. This means that she is nearing her 12-match limit. And she has played well so far. She’s earned starts over first-choice rotation options like Jihyun Park, Ta’Niya Latson, and Sania Feagin.

Kelsey Plum has voiced her support for giving a regular contract to Martin. When asked by a reporter about Martin’s impact despite being on a developmental contract, Plum replied:

“Yeah, hopefully, not for long [on the developmental contact]… You see her impact every time she goes in the game, her energy, she makes shots, she’s super active, and we need more.”

The issues around the Sparks roster are far from settled. Only time will tell whether the moves they make will result in an uptick in their results.