WNBA SEASON PREVIEW CAPSULES

There wasn’t a folded franchise to pick clean this time, and the 2005 college draft didn’t provide immediate help for many teams. But the WNBA as a whole was strengthened by an active free-agent market and the continued maturation of its players. That suggests the conference races will again be close -- and that there might be a new champion for the third consecutive season.

In predicted order of finish (with last season’s records):

EASTERN CONFERENCE

CONNECTICUT (18-16)

Coach: Mike Thibault.

Key addition: Margo Dydek.

Key loss: Wendy Palmer.

Outlook: Thibault said a lack of height probably cost the Sun in the finals last season. That’s not a problem anymore -- Thibault got the league’s biggest player, the 7-foot-2 Dydek, who was happy to leave San Antonio. Point guard Lindsey Whalen started slowly in her rookie season but blossomed in the playoffs. The loss of Palmer changes the frontcourt chemistry, but the Sun should still be the top team in the East.

DETROIT (17-17)

Coach: Bill Laimbeer.

Key addition: Kara Braxton.

Key loss: Icis Tillis.

Outlook: The Shock won the WNBA title in 2003, then fizzled last season. Laimbeer has restocked with size, depth and attitude. The 6-7 rookie Braxton has the size. Veteran guard Andrea Stinson, who left Charlotte as a free agent, provides depth. And new assistant Rick Mahorn, formerly Laimbeer’s Bad Boy teammate with the Detroit Pistons, brings the attitude. Swin Cash will sit out the start of the season while recovering from a knee injury sustained last September.

WASHINGTON (17-17)

Coach: Richie Adubato.

Key addition: DeLisha Milton-Jones.

Key loss: Chamique Holdsclaw.

Outlook: With Holdsclaw traded to the Sparks, this is Alana Beard’s team. That’s a big burden for a second-year player, but Beard can handle the load. Milton-Jones may not score as much as Holdsclaw, but she will toughen the Mystics on defense. Adubato, unceremoniously dumped by New York last season despite taking the Liberty to three WNBA finals in five years, becomes the Mystics’ eighth coach in nine seasons.

CHARLOTTE (16-18)

Coach: Trudi Lacey.

Key addition: Tangela Smith.

Key loss: Andrea Stinson.

Outlook: The Sting missed the playoffs by one game last season despite giving up an average of 63.8 points, fewest in the league, so Lacey has started a team makeover. Smith is expected to provide low-post scoring. Sheri Sam, a starter on Seattle’s championship team last year, should beef up the guard rotation. Playing time for Janel McCarville, the first pick in the draft, depends on how quickly she adapts to a stronger, faster game.

NEW YORK (18-16)

Coach: Pat Coyle.

Key addition: Loree Moore.

Key loss: Tari Phillips.

Outlook: Coyle took over on an interim basis for Richie Adubato last July and guided the Liberty to 11 wins in its last 18 games to earn the permanent job. However, except for Becky Hammond who is 28, the veteran core of Elena Baranova, La’Keshia Frett, Vickie Johnson and Crystal Robinson all are 30 and older. Coyle may be loyal to them, but she also has to find their eventual replacements. Moore is a rookie, but she is 5-9 and has the talent to start at the point.

INDIANA (15-19)

Coach: Brian Winters.

Key addition: Tully Bevilaqua.

Key loss: Kristen Rasmussen.

Outlook: The Fever led the East much of the season but lost its last four games and didn’t make the playoffs. Drafting guard Tan White, the NCAA’s leading scorer at Mississippi State, should bolster an offense that was too dependent on Tamika Catchings. Guard Yolanda Paige is another rookie to keep an eye on. Bevilaqua, fresh off a championship run with Seattle, steadies the guard rotation.

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WESTERN CONFERENCE

SPARKS (25-9)

Coach: Henry Bibby.

Key addition: Chamique Holdsclaw.

Key loss: DeLisha Milton-Jones.

Outlook: The addition of Holdsclaw is huge for the Sparks, who still have two-time league MVP Lisa Leslie to anchor the offense. The questions revolve around the team’s ability to adapt to a new coaching staff, and if there is enough bench depth to keep the starters from wearing down.

SEATTLE (20-14)

Coach: Anne Donovan.

Key addition: Suzy Batkovic.

Key loss: Kamila Vodichkova.

Outlook: The reigning league champions were hit hard by free agency defections, but the Big Three of Sue Bird, Lauren Jackson and Betty Lennox make the Storm formidable. High on Donovan’s agenda is keeping Seattle from being sunk by the type of post-championship blahs that gripped Detroit. Batkovic, a center and Jackson’s teammate on the 2004 Australian Olympic team, makes her WNBA debut.

MINNESOTA (18-16)

Coach: Sherry McConnell Serio.

Key addition: Kristi Harrower.

Key loss: Gwen Slaughter.

Outlook: The Lynx have figured out how to make the postseason; they’ve made consecutive trips to the playoffs. Now they have to learn how to get out of the first round -- and keep leading scorer Katie Smith healthy. Other than Diana Taurasi, Nicole Ohlde arguably was the top rookie in the league last season. Harrower returns after spending the 2004 season with the Australian national team.

PHOENIX (17-17)

Coach: Carrie Graff.

Key addition: Kamilia Vodichkova.

Key loss: Nikki McCray.

Outlook: Vodichkova hung in Seattle long enough to get a championship. She doesn’t join the Mercury until June 1 because of overseas commitments, but Phoenix -- which missed the postseason despite improving by nine games in 2004 -- expects her to help it earn a playoff slot. Diana Taurasi and forward Penny Taylor (also overseas until May 25) are a terrific offensive combination. But they need somebody, be it Vodichkova, or Ashley Robinson or Sandora Irvin, to get them the ball.

SACRAMENTO (18-16)

Coach: John Whisenant.

Key addition: Nicole Powell.

Key loss: Tangela Smith.

Outlook: Whisenant has revamped the backcourt -- Kara Lawson and Ticha Penicherio are the main holdovers -- and loaded up at power forward. That suggests he has other trade plans, depending on the kind of start Sacramento has. Powell, acquired from Charlotte, gets another chance to show why she deserved to be the third pick in the 2004 draft.

HOUSTON (13-21)

Coach: Van Chancellor.

Key addition: Janeth Arcain.

Key loss: Pollyanna Johns Kimbrough.

Outlook: The Comets missed the playoffs last season for the first time. That, and the fact she was shopped around in the off-season, should provide motivation for veteran Sheryl Swoopes. Arcain returns after spending last season with the Brazilian Olympic team. All-WNBA forward Tina Thompson, who is pregnant, may not rejoin the team this season. Michelle Snow could be ready for a breakout.

SAN ANTONIO (9-25)

Coach: Dan Hughes.

Key addition: Kendra Wecker.

Key loss: Margo Dydek.

Outlook: The Silver Stars have done nothing but regress since leaving Utah, winning only 21 games the last two seasons. Hughes, who had success coaching Cleveland (since disbanded) and who was hired during the off-season, will try to halt the slide. He’d like to build around rookies Wecker and Katie Feenstra, who was acquired in the Dydek trade, but he also needs a healthy Marie Ferdinand and an improving LaToya Thomas to be competitive.