The Toronto Tempo fanbase breathed a huge sigh of relief when it was reported that the injury to Brittney Sykes ended up being a plantar fascia injury (as opposed to an achilles injury – speculated by many fans over the past few days). She is expected to return this season.
However, that update also suggests that both Slim and Kiki Rice will be out for the foreseeable future. Nyara Sabally continues to be out and Tèmí Fágbénlé is clearly not back to one hundred percent.
Moreover, as we saw during the latter part of the game against the Indiana Fever and the five-minute scoring drought in the second quarter against the Connecticut Sun, the Tempo are now in need of a player who can handle the ball and create a bit more offense, especially when Marina Mabrey takes her rest. In short, this team needs help.
Make no mistake: Slim was averaging 20.1 points per game (currently placing her fifth in the W), along with 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists. These shoes can’t be filled by one player; however, we do wonder if the Tempo can find a hardship contract player who can provide some offensive spark and stability at the guard position.
What is a hardship contract?
For injury-riddled teams in the WNBA like the Toronto Tempo, as explained by a great piece by Colin Salao, hardship contracts can be granted to “teams with at least two players out with injury, illness, or other conditions for at least three weeks – and the injured player must have already missed at least two games.” Developmental players are not counted towards determining hardship eligibility.
Thanks to the new CBA, hardship contracts are pro-rated to 100% of a minimum contract, which now ranges between $270K to $300K.
As far as the updates indicate, the Tempo are eligible for a hardship contract.
Because of the still very competitive nature of roster spots on WNBA teams, there are free agents on the market who could help the Tempo stabilize during this next stretch without Slim and Kiki.
After scanning the current free agent landscape, here are three available players who the Tempo should take a look at.
- Julie Vanloo
Our first endorsement (by a mile) is Julie Vanloo. Vanloo entered into the league as an older rookie with lots of experience overseas. While she has bounced around the league from team to team, Vanloo is proven to be a smart ball handler who plays with pace, can pass, and create her own shot.
Before being cut by the New York Liberty this season, Vanloo was averaging 5.8 points – shooting 53% from the field and 50% from 3 – along with an average of 5.4 assists. Yes, it was only five games and, yes, her career averages are lower. However, Vanloo shares one quality with Slim that the Tempo can really use during Slim’s absence and that is the nasty. When all else fails, Vanloo is unafraid to take the big shot. This can be really important during the minutes when Mabrey needs to take a breather.
We have seen that Coach Brondello prefers veteran players. We have also seen that Tima Pouye is not a player who can create reliably. Vanloo can fill that void. We should also mention that Vanloo has ample experience and synergy playing with fellow Belgian guard, Julie Allemand.
- Shey Peddy
Shey Peddy is an experienced guard who is known for her defensive tenaciousness, hustle, steady hand, and some ability to space the floor. In the 2025 season, Peddy was signed by the Indiana Fever to a 7-day hardship contract and ended up playing important reserve minutes in the conference semi-final against the Las Vegas Aces. Admittedly, that Fever team was injury-riddled and desperately needed players, but this team also took the Aces to five games. Peddy finished that season averaging 5.2 points and 1.7 assists, shooting 52.8% from the field.
While Peddy is 37 years old, we know that this Tempo team has leaned more towards veterans rather than young talent. Also, Peddy played for Coach Sandy Brondello during the 2020 – 2021 seasons so Coach Brondello will be very familiar with her game.
That being said, if we were to rely on this hardship player to create their own shot and spark the second-unit offense, Peddy would not be a good fit for that role.
- J.J. Quinnerly
J.J. Quinnerly caught our attention last season with her quickness and stellar perimeter defense. For the Dallas Wings, she also averaged 6.5 points, 2.3 assists, and 1.9 rebounds in her rookie season. She also had a stretch in her rookie season where she averaged double digits for six straight games on good efficiency. These are excellent numbers for a third round pick!
Unfortunately, Quinnerly suffered a knee injury that sidelined her for the last part of the 2025 season and she only appeared in two games for the Wings this season before being waived. Quinnerly’s game also reminds us a bit of what the Tempo see in Tima Pouye, so Quinnerly might be a bit duplicative for this team.
Final thoughts
After a scan of the available free agents, we think that Julie Vanloo fits best with what can help the Tempo immediately without compromising the longer term vision of this team, including (hopefully) finally seeing this team fully healthy for the first time this season.
However, none of these candidates address the continuing challenge the Tempo have in the interior. Unfortunately, no current free agents stood out as candidates who can address our rim protection, rebounding, and interior scoring needs (Chloe Bibby could be interesting, but she is a stretch big like Izzy Harrison). Without an obvious candidate, we will continue to hope that Temi and Nyara can get fully healthy soon.