DeWanna Bonner had been the talk of the town for a minute now when she announced she had reached a buyout with the Phoenix Mercury. It was quite evident that Bonner wanted one last shot at the WNBA championship, and staying with the eliminated Mercury side wouldn’t help matters. And on Thursday, August 27, Bonner signed a $116,000 contract with the Atlanta Dream, sending shockwaves around the WNBA. Bonner’s latest move naturally started a lot of conversations again, including one from The Athletic’s Annie Costabile.

In the latest episode of The Athletic’s No Offseason, Costabile was asked about the Dream’s thought process in signing the 39-year-old veteran, and also about DeWanna Bonner picking the Dream over the Las Vegas Aces, where she would have been an easy replacement for the injured NaLyssa Smith. Costabile pointed out that the Dream had wanted Bonner’s talents for the past two years, and vice versa. The shared interests between the two parties naturally strengthened the relationship, but they were never able to strike a deal until now.

“The other thing, too, is they (the Dream) could offer her a prorated max contract. The Aces would have had to clear more space to do so. The Aces could have given her a minimum. And so it’s not that she’s really chasing a bag, but she definitely, like, that’s a big difference. And so that was in play too.” Costabile said.

“Just to clarify first regarding the money, as you reported, the prorated max is about 116,000 for the rest of the season. The minimum would have been 30,000. So that’s the difference we’re talking about.” Merchant said.

This time, with Brionna Jones’ health in question and the Dream wanting to add depth and experience, it made perfect sense that DeWanna Bonner would be in a Dream jersey for the remainder of the season. However, finances also came into play when choosing the Dream over the Aces, as suggested by Costabile and Sabreena Merchant.

DeWanna Bonner has been pretty clear that these are her final years in the WNBA, and we can see that through her choices in picking teams. Last season, she started with the Indiana Fever before switching to the Phoenix Mercury, who were on a roll and also had her partner, Alyssa Thomas. Bonner came agonizingly close to her third WNBA championship, but the Mercury failed to overcome the Aces in the Finals.

Bonner potentially takes her final shot at the title this year with the Dream, which qualified for the playoffs for the fourth straight season.

With Karl Smesko’s starting five pretty much set in stone, DeWanna Bonner being comfortable coming off the bench, and the difference between her earnings with the Dream and the Aces, you could say Bonner chose what was best for her in all aspects.

Regardless, Bonner is not the only one in the Dream who aims big. Following their first-round exit from the playoffs last season, the Dream has been on their own mission this season, something which they made abundantly clear when they acquired Angel Reese when the Chicago Sky traded her, and she has been an absolute success for the team and has levelled up the frontcourt tremendously. Reese is playing in her first WNBA playoffs this season, and is more than motivated to achieve big considering the season she has had.

With DeWanna Bonner on the Dream, head coach Smesko’s team is now getting extra depth and experience, something with which you cannot go wrong during the playoffs. Not to forget, Bonner’s proficiency in taking shots from outside the arc will always come in handy. The Dream is now looking more dangerous than ever ahead of the playoffs, and it will be interesting to see how the Dream incorporates Bonner next month.