The Canberra Capitals hope the lure of back to back titles and the chance to play in Australia before an Olympic Games campaign will help convince two if their stars to re-sign with the club.
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Coach Paul Goriss finalised a two-year contract extension on Tuesday, but the looming free agency period is the biggest threat to the Capitals' chances of keeping their championship roster together.
Co-captain Marianna Tolo has already turned down offers to go to the WNBA in the United States this year as she manages her workload after her second knee reconstruction.
Leiliani Mitchell is yet to make a decision on her Australian future, although she is expected to be targeted by the Sydney Flames and overseas clubs who need a gun point guard.
Tolo and Mitchell will feature in the Australian Opals plans for the Tokyo Olympic Games next year and working with Goriss, an Opals assistant coach, could have a major impact on their next contracts.
"[Preparations for the Olympics] has been in my conversations with them already because they're really considering what they need to do be mentally and physically right for the Olympics," Goriss said.
"That's the target for Tolo and Leilani. Tolo is probably closer to the side of considering staying and playing in the WNBL versus going to Europe. We can't compete against European dollars.
"So it's going to be dollars versus what's best for them long term and an eye on to Tokyo, what's best for the Olympics for both of them."
The Capitals have already put offers to a handful of players to start rebuilding their squad. League, grand final and Capitals most valuable player Kelsey Griffin, Kristy Wallace and Keely Froling are the only three players signed to play next season.
Tolo, Mitchell and Kia Nurse are key cogs in Canberra's hopes of winning two championships in a row, but all three will attract interest from Australia and Europe.
"Home for Leilani and [partner] Mikaela is Newcastle, but what we can offer is the playing group and winning a championship, hopefully they want to be a part of that again," Goriss said.
Goriss and University of Canberra director of sport Carrie Graf have been working on his contract extension for the past three months and it was all but finalised before the side won the grand final three weeks ago.
The attention will now turn to players after the end of the two-week free agency freeze and capitalising on a resurgence in WNBL support in Canberra.
The Capitals attracted almost 10,000 people to two grand final matches at the AIS Arena and increased their regular-season attendance. Graf hopes the renewed interest carries over to next season.
"I view this as the start of a new dynasty and Gorrie is leading that," said Graf, a six-team WNBL championship-winning coach.
"I'll be honest, our budget isn't a bottomless pit. We've got a long way to go to get the business side of the Capitals on track.
"...We can't be flippant with what we do with our roster. When player agents ask for more and more and more, that's not good business. We'll work within our means knowing we've just re-signed a super quality coach that players want to play for and develop under.
"As a program we're in a great situation. Our front office can springboard off a championship win, that's the biggest challenge. How do we generate a sell-out crowd to the AIS Arena for a championship re-match in October.
"How do we get sell-out crowds week in, week out at the [National Convention Centre]? We've got a lot of work to do."
