Connecticut Sun head coach and general manager Curt Miller has a lot of players coming to training camp hoping for a job to fill out his bench.

There are two problems, though — Connecticut has very few openings and not a lot of cap space. It also means the bench is going to be inexperienced no matter who makes the team.

The Sun begin camp on Sunday with have nine veteran players under contract as well as three 2021 draft picks. Miller also signed 10 to training camp contracts, the most in his six seasons.

WNBA teams are allowed to carry up to 12 players but Miller has said that they’ll carry 11 due to the cap.

“It is conceivable with nine returning players under contract that, barring a complete surprise in training camp, I believe have a real shot to be back on the roster,” Miller said prior to the WNBA Draft. “That means that there’s two spots open between our draft picks and our free agents, and, with that, we’re going to try to create the most competitive camp as possible.”

The WNBA salary cap for 2021 is $1,339,000, according to the collective bargaining agreement approved in January 2020. Teams can carry up to 12 players. The Sun don’t have the room to pay 12 because they have some high salaries.

The upside to the new CBA is the maximum salary has gone from $117,500 in 2019 to $221,450 this season, meaning that the best players are getting paid more than ever.

The downside is that there's less money for everyone else after the stars get paid.

“In order to balance those big salaries, you have to have young developing players on your roster that are on the first four years of their (rookie) contract,” Miller said. “The unintended consequence of a great new CBA for our league is where is the niche for a role-playing veteran? Is that going to disappear in our league, a role-playing veteran that commands a solid salary?

"I’m concerned about the role-playing veteran in the next few years.”

Six jobs are already taken by wing DeWanna Bonner, guards Briann January and Jasmine Thomas, posts Brionna and Jonquel Jones and forward Alyssa Thomas because they have protected veteran contracts, meaning they have guaranteed salaries.

Alyssa Thomas’ contract is guaranteed despite the likelihood that she’ll miss the entire season after tearing her Achilles tendon while playing overseas in January. She was a free agent at the time of her injury, meaning that she had the option to be paid no matter who signed her.

Guards Kaila Charles and Natisha Hiedeman and post Beatrice Mompremier are the other three veterans under contract and should make the team. If they do, the Sun will have a little over $122,000 to sign two more players, according to salary cap figures at herhoopstats.com.

Connecticut drafted guards DiJonai Carrington and Micaela Kelly in the second round of the April 15 draft and Aleah Goodman in the third round.

The base salary for a 2021 second round pick is $61,543, meaning that if Charles, Hiedeman and Mompremier all make the team, the Sun won't have enough cap space to sign both Carrington and Kelly.

The base salary for a 2021 third-round pick is $58,710, the same amount for those who've signed training camp contracts. Rookie deals are for three seasons with a fourth-year option and increase in value each season.

Connecticut would, however, have the cap room to sign both Carrington and Kelly if one of its veterans arrived after the start of the regular season due to overseas commitments. The Sun would have the right to suspend her contract, thus freeing up cap space.

The Sun have signed the following to training camp contracts — guards Tanaya Atkinson, Feyonda Fitzgerald, Kamiah Smalls and Sydney Wallace, forwards Morgan Bertsch, Brianna Fraser, Stephanie Jones (younger sister of Brionna), Teana Muldrow, and centers Kai James and Vionise Pierre-Louis.

Fitzgerald, Muldrow and Smalls are the only three who have played a year in the WNBA. Smalls has played the most games (seven last season).

There's always a chance Connecticut signs a player off the waiver wire, which it did last season when Mompremier was cut by the Los Angeles Sparks a month after they drafted her in the second round.

There will be players waived who'll be attractive to other teams because the Sun are not the only team struggling with cap space. They could sign a player with two-or-fewer years experience ($58,710). They couldn't afford a player with three-or-more years of service (the base salary is $70,040 for those players) unless as previously mentioned, they could suspend a contract long enough to free up more money.

The Sun won't have a veteran bench no matter who makes the cut. Hiedeman has the most experience (two years) and Charles and Mompremier were rookies last season.

Miller has said that he's looking for more offensive "pop" off the bench. Charles, Hiedeman and Mompremier combined to average 13.8 points last season.

The Sun could use reliable shooters because they were third-to-last in field goal percentage (42.7) last season.

Miller's offensive system has been predicated on playing fast and using the three-ball to create spacing. Connecticut's shooting struggles last year forced it to both slow down and get its points inside — it averaged the most field goal attempts within five feet of the basket (23.7).

n.griffen@theday.com