The Golden State Valkyries want you to know they're going "bigger and bolder" in Year 2. President Jess Smith is talking a big game, and the front office is touting a 90% season ticket renewal rate heading into 2026. Sounds great on paper.

There's just one small problem: the actual basketball team is getting smaller.

The Valkyries lost both Carla Leite and María Conde on Friday — two players who were central to the expansion draft strategy that built the franchise's competitive foundation in Year 1. That's not a minor roster tweak. That's watching the blueprint you sold to fans walk out the door.

Look, talent attrition is a reality in professional sports, and especially brutal for expansion teams that don't yet have the gravitational pull of established franchises. But you can't simultaneously brag about your vision and lose core pieces without acknowledging the tension. Fans who renewed those season tickets did so based on what they saw last year — and what they saw included Leite and Conde.

The 90% renewal number is genuinely impressive, and credit where it's due: San Francisco showed up for women's basketball in a way that should make every other expansion market jealous. But renewal rates are a lagging indicator. They reflect last season's goodwill, not next season's product. If the front office doesn't replace the departed talent with equal or better players, that number won't hold in Year 3.

This is where "bigger and bolder" needs to mean something concrete. It can't just be a marketing slogan stapled to a diminished roster. The Valkyries have real momentum and a fanbase that clearly wants to believe. That's a rare and valuable thing.

Don't waste it. Show us the plan, not just the press conference.