NEWCASTLE (Paul Nilsen's Women's Basketball Worldwide) - It's difficult to have any other opinion than the WNBA remains the pinnacle of women's basketball at club level, or at least if your criteria is primarily quality and prestige.

With this in mind, is the WNBA in danger of becoming a luxury which the modern day players may eventually forsake for the cold reality of finance and national pride?

The recent article about Kristi Toliver in the Washington Post was excellent and maybe inadvertently, it shines a renewed spotlight on how the WNBA could potentially fall on its sword.

It's amazing the reaction that you get when you explain to people who don't know much about women's basketball that the best salaries aren't in the WNBA as they inevitably assume. Or that the WNBA still runs at the same time as the international calendar and causes conflict between club and country for many players.

For those capable of stepping out in the WNBA, there are still three main thrusts in a women's basketball career: 1. the lure of generally better money in Asia or Europe (in the so-called WNBA off-season); 2. international commitments at the FIBA World Championship, Olympics and EuroBasket Women (for example); 3. of course, the WNBA itself.

Consuming all three would appear to be getting more difficult as the women's game becomes more physically demanding, athletic and global in its focus which leads to more and more travelling, an often overlooked factor which surely eats into the longevity of any career.

Where do players' priorities lie and is the WNBA itself in danger of falling down the pecking order and into the bronze medal position on this particular podium?

Playing for your country is something most players are reluctant to turn their backs on (especially in Olympic years) and as European and Chinese clubs generally offer vastly more money in terms of salaries, there is arguably a rationale behind playing in the WNBA eventually becoming a luxury.

As players get tired playing all-year round, what is going to give first?

Don't get me wrong, the WNBA is (as I stated earlier) a truly great league. But salaries and the timing of the season could become more and more of an Achilles heel as time goes by.

For those players who already have plenty of money in the bank and are global superstars, they can afford to support the WNBA and continue to play in the league.

I am also absolutely convinced that stepping out in the WNBA remains a powerful aspiration, but could it be slipping from the top of the list  as the reality of a being a modern day women's baller bites?

The acid test of the power (or not) would be if it was to run alongside the NBA timetable - would players really continue to love the WNBA so much that they would continue to play in it? Or would they still head to the likes of China, Russia or Turkey and take mega-salaries on offer which way outstrip those being paid by WNBA clubs?

I strongly suspect that athletes will generally choose the dollar and that's the bottom line.

I hear your shouts of 'but it's not moving away from the summer'.

In this instance, it continues to compete with Olympics and other international commitments. Tellingly, it also perpetuates a women's basketball cycle which is surely unsustainable for players in both the current and future eras.

Having warned EuroLeague Women about the dangers posed by the money in the WCBA, now the WNBA may need to have another look at its business model and outlook for the future.

I think it is an interesting strategy to assume players can and will continue to juggle all three core commitments.

The WNBA has always appeared untouchable, but I think salaries on offer elsewhere are beginning to squeeze the lure it holds - along with the way women's basketball and the athletes themselves are evolving.

I am of course just throwing something out there with the above and could be absolutely wrong. However,  I do wonder how this three-pronged dynamic which so many players encounter will play out during coming years.

Yes, the Washington Post piece was very interesting indeed.

Paul Nilsen

FIBA

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