Golden State Valkyries Expansion Draft: All Your Questions Answered

We break down everything you need to know about the expansion draft that will stock the WNBA's new franchise, from basic rules to complicated technicalities

Thanks for reading the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter. If you like our work, be sure to check out our stats site, our podcast, and our social media accounts on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also buy Her Hoop Stats gear, such as laptop stickers, mugs, and shirts!

Haven’t subscribed to the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter yet?

---

Photo credit: Chris Poss

A couple of days ago, the WNBA finally deigned to bless us with some details for the upcoming expansion draft that will initially stock the Golden State Valkyries roster. I will be doing a mock expansion draft at some point, but I got the same questions and witnessed the same areas of confusion so often on social media over recent days, that I thought this explainer was worth doing. Useful reference materials for all this include our salary cap sheets for each team (free agency status for each player can be seen in the blue boxes at the end of their row), and the full free agency lists we published a couple of weeks ago. If I leave anything out, or there are further questions remaining, feel free to ask in the comments section below, or I'm near-constantly available at @RichardCohen1.

First, the basics.

When is it?

December 6, on ESPN.

What do Golden State get to do?

They can choose 12 players, one from each existing team, to stock their initial roster.

Who can they pick from?

This is an interesting part, because it's a little different from what's in the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The answer is "almost everybody". Players who are under contract, unrestricted free agents, the rights to restricted free agents, rights to reserved players, rights to drafted players who never signed, rights to suspended players who weren't in the league this year, even rights to retired players that teams have quietly hung on to in case someone wanted to make a comeback - they're all in the pool for potential selection. Apart from six specfic names we're going to mention later, the only people who aren't available to be selected are those whose rights weren't held in any capacity by a team at the end of the 2024 regular season. So, for example, Liz Cambage and Emma Meesseman can't be taken, because they're unrestricted free agents with no existing connection to any franchise. This also applies to anyone who was on a hardship contract at the end of the 2024 regular season (Crystal Dangerfield, Odyssey Sims, etc.).

What can existing teams do to keep their players?

Each team gets to submit a list of six players they're "protecting". Those players are protected from being selected by Golden State. Importantly, given that Golden State can take nearly anyone, teams are similarly allowed to protect anyone. That includes unrestricted free agents. It's fair to say that if we were about to go into an expansion draft with no way for New York to block the Valkyries from taking Breanna Stewart, or Connecticut to prevent them taking Alyssa Thomas, there'd have been a riot from current owners and general managers. However, bear in mind the previous answer above. All kinds of players and rights are available. So, for example, New York not only have to worry about their rotation players from this year, but also the rights to players like Marine Johannès (reserved) and Han Xu (suspended-contract expired), and the draft rights to promising foreigners like Raquel Carrera and Marine Fauthoux. The six protected spots have to cover all those types.

---

The last two answers there may have gone a little beyond the basics, but now we're going to get into the deeper questions I've received multiple times in recent days.

So Golden State can just take anyone unprotected from any team?

No. The expansion team is only allowed to take one player who's about to become an unrestricted free agent, total, from across the league. This is because like every existing team, Golden State has a core designation they can use on one unrestricted free agent. Coring a player is like the NFL's 'franchise tag' - it blocks the player from being able to negotiate or sign with any other team, but comes with a core qualifying offer which is one year, guaranteed, at the supermax (which is $249,244 for the 2025 season).

So Golden State can take any unprotected unrestricted free agent with that one UFA pick?

Maybe, technically, but realistically no. There is a limit of two seasons played under the core designation. So if a player has played at least two years under a contract they signed while cored, they cannot be cored again. This offseason, there are six players who are about to become unrestricted free agents who fall into that category - DeWanna Bonner, Tina Charles, Brittney Griner, Natasha Howard, Brionna Jones and Nneka Ogwumike. Whether they technically could be selected as Golden State's one UFA expansion draft pick is debatable, but essentially they're excluded because there would be no point. They're all about to become true unrestricted free agents because their existing teams are not allowed to core them. Golden State also wouldn't be allowed to core them, so there would be no point selecting them.

So will teams protect those players?

No. I mean, if they don't have anyone else they want to bother protecting, then they could if they want. But there's no point. Those six are going to become true unrestricted free agents when free agency opens in January, regardless of the expansion draft. So there's no need to protect them, and no point in picking them. Essentially, remove them from your thinking for the expansion draft. A positive Connecticut fan could consider Bonner and Jones as two 'extra' protected players, given they still have six spots left without worrying about those two. The negative side, obviously, is that the Sun have no control over those two. They can freely choose where to sign for future seasons.

Wait, so having played two or more seasons on a core contract means you're safe! That means Jewell Loyd, and Jonquel Jones, and Kahleah Copper etc. are safe and don't need to be protected, right?

No. No, no, no. It's the combination of being about to become an unrestricted free agent and not being able to be cored again that makes those specific six named safe from selection. Loyd, Copper and Jonquel Jones are all under contract with their respective teams. That means they need to be amongst the six protected spots of those teams to block Golden State from taking them in the expansion draft.

Back to those unpickable UFAs. Are you saying there's no way for Golden State to get Nneka? It's impossible?

No. This is another element that some people seem to struggle with. As of January, when the expansion draft is all done, Golden State are just like any other team. They can chase free agents, make deals, and are subject to the same rules as anyone else. So those six true unrestricted free agents are free to sign anywhere, including their previous team, Golden State, or any of the other teams around the league. Ogwumike can go to Golden State if she wants, but it would be as an unrestricted free agent.

Talking of deals, can Golden State get a bit more creative than just selecting 12 players in the expansion draft?

Oh absolutely, yes. They can make deals with everybody, and not just basic trades. They can make agreements to pick someone specific who's been left available, in order to instantly trade them to a different team. They can acquire picks or players from other teams in return for agreeing not to select someone specific, even if that player has been left unprotected. Or even acquire something for agreeing to select someone specific. So, to go back to our New York example from earlier, say they're happy to protect only six current players, but also don't want to lose Johannès or Han. They could send Golden State a draft pick in return for the Valkyries promising to pick someone other than those two from the available Liberty options. Or, in reverse, say Indiana think they're going to make a really big splash in free agency and want to open up extra cap space. They could send a pick to Golden State as part of an agreement to take Katie Lou Samuelson as their selection from the Fever, thereby opening up extra cap space in Indiana.

---

Other questions I've received or seen in recent days.

Do Golden State have to core that one UFA they're allowed to pick?

By the letter of the law, probably not. But there is no point in taking that player unless they do. The player would become a true unrestricted free agent, free to sign anywhere they please. So it's pretty much assumed that if they take a UFA, that player will be cored.

Okay, so do they have to take a UFA?

Nope. It's an option, not a requirement. If there aren't any UFAs available that Golden State feel are worth taking, they're free to just take other types of player.

Can Golden State take more than one player from a team?

No. It's one pick from each existing franchise.

Do Golden State have to use all 12 picks?

Not necessarily. "Pass" is an entirely acceptable answer. But most teams will have the draft rights to some international player or a low-paid player on the end of their bench left unprotected that the Valkyries may as well take instead of passing. They're not locked in to keeping all the players they take in the expansion draft. Just like established teams will have plenty of players on their rosters during the offseason that don't make the team by opening day, so will Golden State.

How does Elena Delle Donne fit into the expansion draft?

Delle Donne was cored by Washington before the 2024 season in order to at least receive value in a trade if she wanted to play elsewhere, but a deal was never completed and she never signed a contract. Assuming she's still there, Washington can simply core her again in January (she doesn't even get credit for a year played under core designation, because she didn't play). However, she's selectable in the expansion draft, and would have to be listed as one of Washington's six protected players if they want to block the possibility of Golden State taking her. Given she would become an unrestricted free agent unless re-cored, she would presumably count as Golden State's one UFA pick if selected. It would certainly be a marquee signing and a heck of a way to make her comeback after a year out of the game.

Are you going to break down and predict the protected lists?

Yes. Mock expansion draft is on its way in the not-too-distant future. Maybe even a mock expansion podcast as well.

Will teams just protect their six best players?

Even after taking into account the caveats already stated, still no. If you're Las Vegas, for example, do you bother to protect Alysha Clark - the oldest player in the league not named Diana Taurasi, and an impending unrestricted free agent - or just protect someone younger, even if they're less vital to your current rotation? The risk of Clark being Golden State's one UFA pick seems minimal, and veteran players always have the "I'll just retire" threat if someone gains their rights that they don't want to play for. All of these things are a balancing act. This is why some teams may want to make deals to make sure they keep more than six, and why there are some tricky decisions for certain teams to make.

I see Kelsey Plum/Kelsey Mitchell/Breanna Stewart/whoever is a UFA and Golden State can select a UFA, so they get to start their franchise with them! Cool!

No. Again, no no no. I know I said this earlier, but I'm repeating for the cheap seats because of the number of times I saw a variant of this in recent days. Yes, Golden State can take a UFA. But the counterpart of that is that other teams can protect UFAs. I feel reasonably confident in predicting that Breanna Stewart will be one of New York's six protectees. Even if, purely hypothetically, Kelsey Plum has said to the Aces front office "I want to play in Golden State next year, get me there or I won't play at all", you still don't leave a player of her quality unprotected. You either work out some kind of deal for a significant haul from Golden State before the expansion draft, or you protect her, then core her, then negotiate a significant haul in a trade.

What's going on with Golden State's picks in the 2025 college draft?

We don't know yet. They will have a pick in each round, but the league is yet to tell us exactly where. Typically for expansion teams in both the NBA and WNBA they're slotted just after the lottery teams. That could mean after the spots decided by the lottery draw (so No. 3), or after all the current lottery teams (so No. 5), or they could even come up with something else. It’d be useful if the league would decide soon, because the Valkyries may want to use their picks in pre-expansion draft trades. In the last WNBA expansion draft, for the Atlanta Dream back in 2008, they dealt their pick (they were given No. 4) and a player taken in that draft for a different player and pick (it was Roneeka Hodges and the No. 4 for Iziane Castro Marques and the No. 8, to save anyone interested from having to look it up). Exact placement of those picks would be nice to know in order to judge the trade value.

---

Okay, one final section. This is mostly for the CBA nerds, or the real niche situations, or the stuff that I forgot to put in until now.

How does the salary cap affect Golden State?

As far as I can find, there is no special dispensation in the CBA for an expansion team to go over the cap, even on expansion draft day. However, some reports suggest they are allowed to go over, then fix it by the time free agents start signing in February. It’s very unlikely to matter. There aren’t that many dreadful high-end contracts in the WNBA, so most highly-paid players are either free agents or going to be protected by their existing teams. Golden State will likely be way under the cap even if they add 12 players with existing contracts on draft day. Also, given the core designation doesn’t have to be applied for over a month after the expansion draft, their UFA pick would count for $0 until then, leaving them more room to fix anything necessary beforehand. The special clause I’m about to explain will also help, if necessary.

So are there any weird salary cap rules that help expansion teams?

Yes. I told you this was heading into the weeds. The salary of any player selected in an expansion draft and waived before the opening day of their first regular season does not hit the expansion team’s salary cap. So, to return to our Indiana example, if the Fever were to simply waive Katie Lou Samuelson and her guaranteed $180,250 salary for 2025, that entire sum hits their salary cap and swallows space. If Golden State take her in the expansion draft and cut her before opening day, she still gets paid (and it can count towards things like reaching the minimum team salary), but she counts for $0 on their cap. So the Valkyries could take on someone like that without worrying too much about them swallowing cap space that Golden State might want to spend in free agency. If they happen to find a host of star free agents who want to join them and they need more space, expansion draft picks can be cut to immediately create more space (even if on guaranteed deals).

You’ve mentioned the possibility of players re-entering the draft before. How are they affected by the expansion draft?

Yes, I have. If you sit out the entire year after being drafted, the rules allow players to re-enter the draft the following year if they want to. It’s a clause that’s been around a long time, and literally never been utilised. Players like Elizabeth Kitley and Mackenzie Holmes were drafted in 2024 when injured, are yet to sign their rookie-scale contracts, and could therefore theoretically re-enter the draft. If their draft rights were taken by Golden State, there’s no good reason that the player’s options should change (although the CBA doesn’t really take this very, very niche scenario into account). The player should still have the right to re-enter if they wanted to, but probably wouldn’t exercise it. This does help illustrate another part of this whole thing that many people struggle to grasp. Player rights aren’t changing when they go to Golden State, they’re just moving to another team. Like when someone is traded, or if they’re claimed off waivers - it stays the same, just in a different place. If a player was slated to be a restricted free agent in Atlanta and the Valkyries select them in the expansion draft, they just become a restricted free agent in Golden State instead (assuming the requisite qualifying offer is sent out). Same with reserved rights, suspended-contract expired, retired, or whatever else. It’s even the same with the one unrestricted free agent pick. Their existing team had the option to core that player before; once selected, Golden State now have the option to core them instead.

You said existing teams can trade with Golden State, but can they trade with each other before the expansion draft?

Sort of. Trades become legal again at the end of the 2024 Finals. However, my information is that any player traded in the window between the end of the Finals and the protected lists being submitted will count as a protected player for the team trading them away. Even then, that player would still be selectable for Golden State unless the team that has acquired the player also protects them. So pre-expansion draft trades between existing teams don’t look particularly likely. Once the protected lists are submitted to the league, trades can only be made with Golden State.

---

That’s it for now, but if there’s any remaining confusion I’m happy to answer questions. Just wait until next year when there are two expansion teams and most of the league will be a free agent of some type. You’ll be longing for the simplicity of 2024.

---

Thanks for reading the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter. If you like our work, be sure to check out our stats site, our podcast, and our social media accounts on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.