Cappie Pondexter finally answered one of the most anticipated questions of the free agency period when she signed on with the Los Angeles Sparks.

In a free agency period which has changed the fortunes of many team, the signing of Cappie Pondexter was still going to be a difference maker. When she signed with the Los Angeles Sparks, Pondexter is going to make a difference on a championship contenting team.

The signing also answered the question of whether Pondexter wanted to play for a payday or if she wanted another championship. Full respect to Pondexter, she wants to be a part of something greater than her and try to win another championship.

The reason I say this is the Sparks did not have much room in their salary cap to sign a quality player. Pondexter could have accepted more money from a lesser ranked club but that is not her style.

What Pondexter brings

What Pondexter bring to the Sparks is an experienced presence who can run the second unit, changing the style of the Spark. Coach Brian Agler has been running a short rotation throughout the regular season as well as the postseason.

Pondexter comes to the team and she has the ability to carve out a role with the second unit. She also has the ability to create a second unit.

That may be a big statement but last season the Sparks did not have a top back-up point guard. This meant the starters had to play more minutes to ensure opposition teams did not exploit this weakness.

Pondexter can play with Jantel Lavender, Riquna Williams, Sydney Wiese and a starter. This is important for so many reasons. The season is 34 games long which averages to games a week. This can be hard on the body and the risk of injury increases every week.

Pondexter also changes the way the Sparks play. She is a tremendous mid-range shooter who still has a crossover which breaks ankles of almost every player in the league. She is a legitimate threat driving to the rim and a reasonable 3-point shooter going at 35.7 percent for her extraordinary career.

Her impact on offense is going to create a massive amount of  open shots which will allow Wiese to come into her own. She was a knock down shooter in college and in her rookie season shot 40 percent from deep.

However, Pondexter also will have the ability to play with the majority of the starters. The only time I have seen Pondexter truly struggle was when she was trying to carry the Chicago Sky’s entire offense at the start of last season. She will never be asked to do this when playing for the Sparks, there are too many good players.

This is another move by the Sparks which makes their team stronger. They needed to with the advancing talent levels on most other teams in the league. However, this signing should install them as outright favorite for the title. They have addressed one of their only weaknesses last season by signing a future hall of fame player.

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