Let’s start off this week’s Lynx mailbag by talking about an issue that is facing the team right away: Its roster.

A reader asks if Odyssey Sims and Jessica Shepard will be ready should the season start. And, if they are, how difficult will it be for the Lynx to reach their 12-player roster?

This is a very timely question given a report by the Associated Press this week that said teams will be asked to pare their rosters to 12 by next Tuesday so that players can start getting paid June 1.

This will present teams with difficult decisions, including the Lynx, who will have to make decisions about a number of younger players – including their second- and third-round draft selections (Crystal Dangerfield and Erica Ogwumike) without having watched them practice with the team.

Sims and Shepard are question marks for different reasons. Sims gave birth to a son in early April. She has remained mum on whether she’ll play this season, but the Lynx still believe she will be available, at least at some point.

In mid-June Shepard will reach the one-year mark from surgery she had after tearing the ACL in her right knee early in last season. Frankly, Reeve doesn’t know exactly how Shepard is doing, in large part because of the limitations stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.

I think it’d be safe to assume that, should a season get going this summer, both of these players might not be available when it begins.

Which leads us to another question, what does the depth chart look like at all five positions?

*Let’s start with guard. Assuming Sims is not available right away, my educated guess is the starting backcourt would be Shenise Johnson and Cecilia Zandalasini, with Lexie Brown and Rachel Banham in the rotation.

Johnson and Banham are new additions Reeve hasn’t coached. Zandalasini, from Italy, hasn’t played for the Lynx since 2018. So there is a lot of learning to do, on both sides. “I think it’s a pretty blank canvas,’’ Reeve said. “I know I like the games of [Johnson] and Cecilia and Lexie and Rachel. We’ll try to find ways to play them all.’’

Sims' return would give the Lynx a player who can attack the basket and run the floor. Rookie Dangerfield  from Connecticut – who I think makes the team – gives the team a true point guard off the bench.

*And now power forward: Starter Damiris Dantas backed up by rookie first-round draft pick Mikiah Herbert Harrigan and, if healthy, Shepard.

*At small forward starter Napheesa Collier is backed up by Karima Christmas-Kelly. I could see a small lineup that had Zandalasini at the three, but she’d have to prove she can rebound well enough at that position.

*Starting center Sylvia Fowles is backed up by newcomer Kayla Alexander.

A reader askes whether the Lynx still hold Moore’s rights even though she’s heading into year two of her WNBA hiatus.

The short answer: Yes.

I asked Reeve, who is also the team's GM, about this. “We have her rights,’’ she said. “When a player signs a contract [something Moore did prior to the 2019 season even as she was announcing her intention to step away from the game] and does not fulfill that contract, they go on the suspended list. When they come off that list, exclusive negotiating rights go to that team.’’

Former Gopher and Lynx player Janel McCarville was in a similar situation for a different reason. Taken by New York in the 2007 dispersal draft – she began her career with the Charlotte Sting – McCarville and the Liberty were at odds by 2011 and McCarville sat out both that WNBA season and in 2012.

The Lynx were interested in bringing her to Minnesota once McCarville expressed a desire to return to the league prior to the 2013 season. But they had to get her in a three-team trade because the Liberty retained her rights. 

With the WNBA – along with just about everyone else – in a holding pattern, let’s take some time to assess the Lynx and the team’s roster as we await news on whether basketball will find a way back onto the court this summer and fall. Here are my thoughts on some questions sent in by fans:

Q. One reader asks if reports about backup center Temi Fagbenle not playing this year were true, and how the Lynx will respond to this decision.

A. Temi Fagbenle, a former third-round draft pick who had become Sylvia Fowles’ backup the last three seasons, will not play in the WNBA in 2020. It appears the Lynx were anticipating such a decision.

“She’s not signed,’’ Lynx general manager and coach Cheryl Reeve said. “So she will remain a reserve player. She received a qualifying offer and didn’t sign. She’ll sit out 2020. We hold her rights. When January comes, we’ll send a qualifying offer again.’’

It doesn’t appear this is a decision based on the coronavirus pandemic that has put the league on hold. Fagbenle, a citizen of Great Britain, is apparently residing in the U.S. The Lynx knew Fagbenle would likely sit out the season if the British team had made the Olympics – and the Olympics hadn’t been canceled. But, even with no Olympics, Fagbenle decided to sit out the season, something the Lynx learned a while back.

That was a big reason why the Lynx signed veteran post player Kayla Alexander back in February.

Alexander’s addition gave the Lynx quite a bit of depth in the frontcourt. And, with the drafting of Mikiah Herbert Harrigan with the sixth pick in the WNBA draft, that depth got better.

There is flexibility here. In a league that is rapidly moving in the same direction the NBA – namely toward smaller lineups with more shooters and less of a dependence on a traditional post game – the Lynx have one of just a handful of true power centers in Sylvia Fowles. With the combination of Fowles and Alexander – who should make the team – the Lynx would appear set to defend against such teams.

But the Lynx will also be more able to defend against smaller, quicker post players. Damiris Dantas is the starting power forward, but can move inside if needed. Herbert Harrigan, a strong defender and rim protector, would seem ideally suited to defend a post player like Seattle’s Natasha Howard, who gave the Lynx fits the past two seasons. When Jessica Shepard is fully recovered from knee surgery – she may not be 100% if and when this season begins – there will be even more depth.

Meanwhile, at this point, the other international players on the Lynx roster – Dantas (Brazil), Cecilia Zandalasini (Italy) and Bridget Carleton (Canada) – are expected to be here if and when training camps open.

Q. A reader asks if, considering the relatively low profile the Lynx kept in free agency, if the team is being left behind by the league?

A. Cliched answer: Time will tell.

No, really. The Lynx took some early swings in free agency, but they weren’t able to land a big name. So Reeve and the Lynx took a different tack. The new CBA was affording teams more money to spend, and some did just that. The Lynx decided to add depth to the roster with solid, if unspectacular, additions while waiting for next year, when the free agent crop looks to be very talented and deep and the Lynx will have a good bit of money to spend.

So: The Lynx added depth in the backcourt in Shenise Johnson and Rachel Banham. They got post help with Alexander.  Forward Karima Christmas-Kelly should be healthy after knee problems limited her the last two seasons and Zandalasini will be back after staying in Italy last year.

Q. So, if the season started today, what would be the starting five for the Lynx?

A. Here is my belief: Fowles and Dantas at center and power forward, respectively. Napheesa Collier at small forward. Zandalasini at off guard and Odyssey Sims as the primary ball-handler.

Yes, Sims.

There has been a lot of talk about her not playing this year. But the Lynx remain convinced she will be on the team when things get going.

This is a pretty talented starting five. We all know about Fowles, the former league MVP. But Dantas showed real range with the three-pointer last year. Zandalasini adds another great shooter to the perimeter. And Sims was a first-time All Star last year.

And there is depth. The Lynx think the Johnson addition will be big, and she very well could start, especially in situations when the Lynx go a little smaller and use Zandalasini at the three. Banham will be given a big chance at good minutes and brings scoring. Herbert Harrigan brings good range, a very good mid-range shot and defensive flexibility. Lexi Brown is another ball-handling guard who can hit the three.

A big emphasis this season was to put players on the floor that would discourage opponents from collapsing on Fowles in the paint. They may have done so.

I think the Lynx did very well in the draft, taking Herbert Harrigan in the first round – when everyone expected they’d take a point guard – and getting Crystal Dangerfield in the second. I expect Dangerfield to make the team.

Q. Are the Lynx doing any sort of a virtual training program?

A. Well, there is a lot of teleconferencing going on, both among the coaches and between the players and coaches.

The problem is, in these stay-at-home times, not every player has great access to a court. I know the coaches are trying to get the players – especially the new players – up to speed on the team’s schemes on offense and defense, though.

Q. If the NBA and WNBA end up playing at the same time in the coming months, will that be a problem for the WNBA?

A. To be honest, I don’t know. It seems likely that any games that are played will be playing without fans. Even so, the WNBA – which still travels via commercial airlines – could see travel challenges. Will the teams be sent to so-called “safe cities’’ where games will take place?

I do think more WNBA games will be aired on TV. There has been talk of WNBA-NBA doubleheaders on TV.