Why was Dominique Malonga absent from Seattle Storm training camp? Reasons explored 

With the second pick in the WNBA draft, the Seattle Strom selected center Dominique Malonga. While the majority of the roster was in attendance for the start of training camp Sunday, the French prospect is yet to be seen.

Malonga's absence stems from her career situation prior to being taken in the draft. Instead of playing in college, she has spent recent years playing professionally overseas.

The primary reason why Dominique Malonga isn't at training camp is because her season in France just recently ended. Because of this, she is taking some downtime before coming over to join the Storm.

While reporting on the situation for ESPN, Kevin Pelton cited the league's prioritization rule when it comes to players competing overseas. It typically requires players to be with the team before training camp, but Malonga doesn't meet the requirements for this stipulation yet.

"Although the WNBA's prioritization rule requires most players to join teams prior to the start of training camp, it does not apply to players like Malonga with fewer than three years of experience in the league. That allows Malonga to get a short break between the end of her French commitments and her arrival in Seattle."

As of now, it remains unclear when Malonga will join the Storm for camp.

---

Seattle Storm have been in contact with Dominique Malonga amid training camp absence

Following the start of training camp, Storm head coach Noel Quinn fielded questions about Dominique Malonga. While she isn't with the team yet, they've been in contact with her through this process. More developments regarding her arrival are expected in the coming days.

"We're in communication with her," Quinn said. "We'll get some updates this week."

The Storm went through a massive change this summer, trading Jewell Loyd to the Las Vegas Aces. While they still have promising veteran talent, Dominique Malonga is part of the team's recent youth movement. As a tantalizing prospect with a versatile skill set, she has a chance to be a pillar for the next phase of the franchise.

Looking at their schedule, the Storm have a minimal amount of time to get Malonga integrated to her new situation. Training camp will continue this week, with the start of the preseason just around the corner. Seattle's first game of the year is on Sunday against the Connecticut Sun.

Seeing that it's unknown when she'll be with the Storm, there is no telling when Malonga will make her WNBA debut.