The answer was $10,000. Or, to put it in perspective, $5,000 less than the fine the N.B.A. recently handed down to Coach Nick Nurse of the Toronto Raptors for “public criticism of the officiating.”

“It wasn’t an easy decision,” Toliver said. “For me, I looked at the pros and the cons, the pros obviously being I get to rest my body, it being my first time in 10 years of not playing year-round, not going overseas. Obviously there are financial burdens that come with that, but this is also a very exciting opportunity that I want to take advantage of, being home, still being around the game, around the best players in the world, around the best coaches in the world.”

A battle ensued, with Toliver and the Wizards on one side, the league on the other, but ultimately Toliver lost, and decided to go forward with what amounts to a high-profile internship financially. The trade-off is it is offering a chance to do what she’s wanted to do on the N.B.A. side since the moment she came to terms with the idea she wouldn’t be replacing B.J. Armstrong as the point guard for the Chicago Bulls.

Her interest in coaching dates back to her collegiate days, when she starred at the University of Maryland — she won a championship there as well — and her success in the role comes as no surprise to her Terrapin coach, Brenda Frese, who began breaking down video with Toliver when the precocious point guard was a freshman. Even Toliver’s famous shot to beat Duke and win the 2006 N.C.A.A. championship reflects the way she sees the floor like a coach, Frese said.

“We were down three late. We had a play, but Kristi and Crystal Langhorne improvised,” Frese said. “Kristi kept the ball, and Crystal Langhorne saw that and went and set a second screen on her own. It led to Kristi burying one of the most clutch shots in women’s history.”