Golden State Valkyries Expansion Draft – Who I Would Select

On Friday, the WNBA will hold an expansion draft for the Golden State Valkyries.  While there almost certainly won’t be any stars that would be selected in this draft, there are several interesting role players or young players with upside.  As such, I would like to discuss who I would select.  While I would normally make predictions, there is one snag that makes this difficult.

The general rules are that Golden State can select up to 1 player per team, and up to 12 players total.  Each team can protect 6 players, and these players can be either under contract or are free agents (in which case the team will protect their rights).  Any player who have already been signed with a core designation are ineligible to be selected in this draft, so teams don’t have to protect them.  If Golden State selects a free agent or unsigned drafted player, they are selecting the rights to this player.  Teams have the ability to make a trade with Golden State to have them take another player instead (I expect this could happen with New York and Minnesota).  Golden State can only select 1 unrestricted free agent player in the draft.  Golden State is able to waive 1 player selected in the draft without a salary cap hit.

A catch with this whole exercise is that the WNBA have not announced what players are protected by each team; to counteract this issue, I am using a list that ESPN’s Kevin Pelton compiled with his predictions of who will be protected and unprotected, as well as who is ineligible.  Since ESPN’s article contains predictions, it is possible (and dare I say likely) that there is at least one player who is available that is discussed as protected that is not or vice versa; as such, there could be differences between the two.  ESPN’s article also summarizes the rules in a concise way if you would like more information.  I am ordering them in alphabetical order by team and not in order of selections; since there is only one team making selections, the order is arbitrary other than considering personalities (I’m not going to worry about that since I don’t know these players’ personalities well enough to consider egos).

If I were the one choosing who to select, I would focus on young players with upside, veterans on reasonable contracts who can be moved, veterans who are good leaders, players with value who can result in future assets, versatile players, and good shooters.  While the team might have a different mindset, the truth is that an expansion basketball team is not going to be a good team in their first year unless they get very lucky or strike gold in the offseason, so it makes sense to build a team that has the best path for the future.  There are certain skillsets that I think are going to be more pronounced in the future of the sport, including versatility, playmaking from non-traditional guards, size, and shooting.  There is a good chance that they go a totally different direction than I do; that is likely due to direction that the team wants to go for the present and future differing from how I would opt to go.

 

 

Atlanta Dream

Pelton has Atlanta protecting Rhyne Howard, Jordin Canada, Allisha Gray, Naz Hillmon, Isabel Borlase, and Nyadiew Puoch, while Tina Charles is ineligible for selection.  It wouldn’t surprise me if Hillmon, Borlase, or Puoch end up being unprotected if the team wanted to protect another player instead; if any are.  I personally would not go for Cheyenne Parker-Tyus, Aerial Powers, or Maya Caldwell, though it wouldn’t surprise me if any are selected, especially the earlier two.  The three that remain are Haley Jones, Iliana Rupert, and Matilde Villa.  After going back and forth between Jones and Rupert, I would select Jones due to the upside she has as a versatile defender and playmaker.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Rupert was selected due to her 2-way upside as a big; while I think Rupert’s upside is a little higher, I think Jones has nice upside and will be easy to fit in with the team while also being a better player at this time.

Selection:  Haley Jones, F/G

 

Chicago Sky

Pelton has Chicago protecting Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardosa, Chennedy Carter, Michaela Onyenwere, Dana Evans, and Elizabeth Evans.  It wouldn’t surprise me if either Evans or Williams were unprotected; if this happens, then I would predict that Evans would be selected (I probably would select her in that situation).  I considered 3 players, which were Lindsay Allen, Rachel Banham, and Nikolina Milic, but was seriously debating between the first two players.  Normally I would select Banham due to her salary and shooting, but I realized there is one significant issue with a lot of the other players I would opt for:  there was a massive dearth of lead playmaking guards in my selections.  While she is not a good shooter, Allen is a good defender and playmaker who has played a role on a competitive team and knows what it takes to win.  I normally would not select someone with that poor of a shooting touch, but I think her playmaking and leadership will help younger players significantly.  On top of that, it helps that her contract is easy enough to move.

Selection:  Lindsay Allen, G

 

Connecticut Sun

Pelton has Connecticut protecting Alyssa Thomas, DiJonai Carrington, Marina Mabrey, Tyasha Harris, Leila Lacan, and Veronica Burton, while DeWanna Bonner and Brionna Jones are ineligible.  With Bonner and Jones being ineligible, it makes it easy to protect the first five listed and make the last spot be either Burton or Olivia Nelson-Ododa, with the other being the one who will likely be selected.  I personally would hope that Nelson-Ododa would be the one eligible since I think she will be a very good defender while she could also be a starting-level offensive player.  I could also see Tiffany Mitchell being considered, though I’d rather Nelson-Ododa; I also considered Abbey Hsu for a split second.

Selection:  Olivia Nelson-Ododa, C

 

Dallas Wings

Pelton has Dallas protecting Arike Ogunbowale, Satou Sabally, Teaira McCowan, Maddy Siegrist, Jacy Sheldon, and Carla Leite, while Natasha Howard is ineligible.  Dallas is in an interesting situation since they have several recent draft picks who would be eligible, including (in addition to Siegrist, Sheldon, and Leite) Bella Alarie, Lou Lopez Senechal, and Stephanie Soares, as well as Kalani Brown, Sevgi Uzun, and Awak Kuier.  I don’t love any of the remaining unprotected players, but I would probably go with Brown since Soares has already had 2 ACL tears since starting college, I’m not that high on Lopez Senechal’s since she’s already going to be 27 this year and hasn’t played much in the W, and I’m much lower on the others.  While Brown isn’t a good defender and isn’t great outside the paint, she is a solid backup 5 who is a good finisher and is on a moveable contract, so she could get some value if they are interested in moving her.

Selection:  Kalani Brown, C

 

Indiana Fever

Pelton has Indiana protecting Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, Aaliyah Boston, NaLyssa Smith, Lexie Hull, and Temi Fagbenle.  It’s possible that Fagbenle isn’t protected, in which case I would expect that she would be selected.  While Pelton focused on Damiris Dantas and Kristy Wallace as potential picks to be taken, the obvious selection in my opinion is Katie Lou Samuelson.  While her shot was a bit streaky last year in her first season back after maternity leave, she has been better from 3 in prior seasons and has nice size.  She also is younger than the other two and is on a moveable contract.

Selection:  Katie Lou Samuelson, F

 

Las Vegas Aces

Pelton has Las Vegas protecting A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray, Kiah Stokes, and Kate Martin.  I don’t think Martin and Stokes are locks to be protected (though I think Martin is more likely); while I could see Stokes being selected if she is unprotected, I wouldn’t select her.  The big question here with who to select is how much Golden State wants to make Vegas squirm, since the last two Sixth Woman of the Year winners are unprotected in Tiffany Hayes and Alysha Clark.  In reality, I wouldn’t select either since Hayes is 35 and Clark is 37, so I would probably select Kierstan Bell, who is still pretty raw but is on a rookie deal and has some defensive upside.  While I didn’t consider them, I could see Megan Gustafson and Elizabeth Kitley receiving consideration as well.

Selection:  Kierstan Bell, F

 

Las Angeles Sparks

Pelton has Los Angeles protecting Camerin Brink, Dearica Hamby, Rickea Jackson, Azura Stevens, Rae Burrell, and Julie Allemand.  While there is a chance Burrell isn’t protected, I think the big question is if they would go with Allemand or another player, since there are several (I personally am surprised that Allemand was Pelton’s decision).  The most obvious choices out of the unprotected players are Lexie Brown, Aari McDonald, Shaneice Swain, Stephanie Talbot, and Li Yueru.  While each provide their value, I would select McDonald.  While she has consistently been an inefficient scorer, she is a good playmaker, and I think has some defensive upside that she hasn’t showcased yet.

Selection:  Aari McDonald, G

 

Minnesota Lynx

Pelton has Minnesota protecting Napheesa Collier, Kayla McBride, Alanna Smith, Courtney Williams, Bridget Carleton, and Diamond Miller.  While the 5 starters from last year are pretty much locks to be back, the last spot is up in the air; if Miller isn’t protected, I would guess that she is selected.  I believe there are several players that could be considered for the selection, including Maia Hirsch, Dorka Juhasz, Alissa Pili, Jessica Shepard, and Cecilia Zandalasini.  While I don’t feel like any of them could be beneficial, I would select Juhasz for two reasons.  First, she is a solid player on both ends with some shooting upside who is still on a rookie deal.  Second, she was a key part of their rotation, so it is likely that Minnesota would offer to make a trade to have Golden State select a different player, allowing for more assets from it.  Even if they don’t, Juhasz is a good player.

Selection:  Dorka Juhasz, F/C

 

New York Liberty

Pelton has New York protecting Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, Jonquel Jones, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, Leonie Fiebich, and Nyara Sabally.  The final spot isn’t a lock, though I would guess that it will either be Sabally or Marine Johannes protected.  New York has several players who they would likely want to keep, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a trade involving future picks in order to keep whomever they would prefer.  While the obvious answer to select in my opinion is Johannes due to her shooting and off-ball ability, though there is at least some value in Kayla Thornton, Rebekah Gardner, Ivana Dojkic, and Marquesha Davis.  I don’t expect that Golden State will end up with Johannes, but they will end up with a bunch of assets in lieu of her.

Selection:  Marine Johannes, G

 

Phoenix Mercury

Pelton has Phoenix protecting Kahleah Copper, Diana Taurasi, Natasha Cloud, Sophie Cunningham, Rebecca Allen, and Natasha Mack.  It’s not a lock that Mack is protected, but the list gets pretty thin after that.  The only catch would be if Taurasi isn’t protected because she is planning on retiring, though I don’t believe that there would be a serious risk of her being chosen in Golden State.  Beyond that, the list is limited.  While I suppose it’s possible that Monique Billings could be considered, I would go with either Charisma Osborne or Celeste Taylor.  While I was higher on Osborne than Taylor in their draft class, Osborne has only played 2 games while Taylor has topped 300 minutes, so I have to go with Taylor.  I’m not in love with this pick since I don’t know what Taylor is good at right now, though there is playmaking and defensive upside.

Selection:  Celeste Taylor, G

 

Seattle Storm

Pelton has Seattle protecting Skylar Diggins-Smith, Ezi Magbegor, Jewell Lloyd, Jordan Horston, and Nika Muhl, while Nneka Ogwumike is ineligible.  It’s possible that Seattle goes with Mackenzie Holmes instead of Muhl due to the latter’s torn ACL and meniscus (in which case, I would select Muhl).  Otherwise, the remaining players might be a worse list than what we could see from Phoenix.  The best options remaining are Holmes, who I wasn’t high on prior to the 2024 Draft and is coming off knee surgery, Sami Whitcomb, who is coming off her worst season and is 36, and Mercedes Russell, who is a good defender and reliable enough finisher as a backup center.  The only caveat with the 29-year-old is that she is an unrestricted free agent, so they would be selecting her rights for negotiations; the other thing to note is that they would not be able to select any other unrestricted free agent.  I just can’t justify selecting anyone else unprotected when Russell is so reliable.

Selection:  Mercedes Russell, C

Note:  Jewell Lloyd’s trade request was made public after the league required teams to submit their protected players, so she will likely still be protected (I think she would have been protected either way).

 

Washington Mystics

Pelton has Washington protecting Ariel Atkins, Shakira Austin, Brittney Sykes, Aaliyah Edwards, Karlie Samuelson, and Emily Engstler.  Samuelson and Engstler could be interchanged by a variety of players, as there are several players that could be protected by Washington.  The biggest question is what happens with Elena Delle Donne, who stepped away from basketball prior to last season; while she is one of the best players in the game when she plays, I saw multiple rumors that Washington was exploring trades for her, but couldn’t get as much value as they hoped for her.  In addition to Delle Donne, they could protect Stefanie Dolson (who could be selected if unprotected), Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, Julie Vanloo, Sila Kone, Jade Melbourne, Li Meng, Txell Alarcon, and Nastja Claessens, all of whom have some interesting value.  I haven’t taken a ton of risks with upside, so I think I would take a swing on Kone here.  While she is still raw, she is only 22 and showcased some 2-way potential after Washington acquired her in a trade.  That said, there are several players who I think are interesting choices here.

Selection:  Sika Kone, F

 

 

A Clarification from My Last Post

In my last post, I discussed how the NBA has favored trying to make white players the faces of the league, but I realized in the days after that I didn’t word it the way I wanted to.  What I meant to specify was the league did this when a player first joined the league.  It is not necessarily the case when a player has become an established player in the league (for instance, I gave the example of A’ja Wilson, who is one of the league’s faces now, but they waited a couple years before embracing her as a league’s face, which is how I believe it should work).  I apologize for the miswording, especially since what I said gave a different meaning than what my argument was.

Who do you think Golden State will select?  Anyone you hope they select?  Let me know in the comments!