For the first time in well over a decade the WNBA has a thirteenth team. We analyze their expansion draft picks and the tasks ahead of the Valkyries in the upcoming 2025 offseason.
It seems to me the plan is to go after free agents to build the roster rather than the expansion draftees.
And I'll bet that all the Valkyrie contracts are one-year deals, and they jump even harder into free agency next year. If Joe Lacob is serious about winning, as he says he is, then the only way to do it quickly is to get proven vets. And if the Valkyries do OK on the court, make their players happy and look like a first-class organization, they could sign a raft of free agents after 2025 and be in contention in 2026.
Yes, which somewhat explains the veteran leaning of the expansion picks. In several cases they seem to have preferred aging players who've proven they can be useful over younger ones who might ultimately be better but also might not. But unless they're going to chase being good *right now* in the upcoming offseason, those veteran role players can walk away in a year anyway after not being much help.
So I still disagree with a bunch of the picks anyway. And while we're in a very unusual place for team-building in the WNBA, literally no good WNBA team in the league's history has ever been built completely through free agency. There's always at least one draft pick in there as a major piece.
I don't see the number five pick as being a difference maker, nor did anyone they pick or not pick. So it's a roll of the free agency dice, it seems -- it might not work, but let's say they get Nneka, Alyssa Thomas and Bonner. They're competitive in 2026.
What's scary is what the expansion draft will look like for the next two teams.
It's still about adding assets, whether picks or players. Angel McCoughtry might've been the central piece of all of Atlanta's Finals teams, but they got Erika de Souza in the expansion draft and Iziane Castro Marques in a trade made with expansion picks. New York needed a prior collection of picks to get Natasha Howard, which became the main piece traded for Jonquel Jones, who they don't win a title without. You have to get stuff right beyond just finding some star free agents to come (and they're not getting Thomas for nothing).
And yeah, next year is going to be a bizarre situation for an expansion draft, with 80% of the league free agents and two teams picking. Assuming the core designation still exists, there will still be some options, though. Let's hope there's no lockout/strike getting in the way of things on top.
Han Xu's still only 25. Johannes isn't young anymore but still fits into 'exciting'. Carrera and Fauthoux are both talented if they're ever healthy and willing to show up. Lots of people seemed excited about Marquesha Davis. There were a lot of options from NY.
It seems to me the plan is to go after free agents to build the roster rather than the expansion draftees.
And I'll bet that all the Valkyrie contracts are one-year deals, and they jump even harder into free agency next year. If Joe Lacob is serious about winning, as he says he is, then the only way to do it quickly is to get proven vets. And if the Valkyries do OK on the court, make their players happy and look like a first-class organization, they could sign a raft of free agents after 2025 and be in contention in 2026.
Yes, which somewhat explains the veteran leaning of the expansion picks. In several cases they seem to have preferred aging players who've proven they can be useful over younger ones who might ultimately be better but also might not. But unless they're going to chase being good *right now* in the upcoming offseason, those veteran role players can walk away in a year anyway after not being much help.
So I still disagree with a bunch of the picks anyway. And while we're in a very unusual place for team-building in the WNBA, literally no good WNBA team in the league's history has ever been built completely through free agency. There's always at least one draft pick in there as a major piece.
I don't see the number five pick as being a difference maker, nor did anyone they pick or not pick. So it's a roll of the free agency dice, it seems -- it might not work, but let's say they get Nneka, Alyssa Thomas and Bonner. They're competitive in 2026.
What's scary is what the expansion draft will look like for the next two teams.
It's still about adding assets, whether picks or players. Angel McCoughtry might've been the central piece of all of Atlanta's Finals teams, but they got Erika de Souza in the expansion draft and Iziane Castro Marques in a trade made with expansion picks. New York needed a prior collection of picks to get Natasha Howard, which became the main piece traded for Jonquel Jones, who they don't win a title without. You have to get stuff right beyond just finding some star free agents to come (and they're not getting Thomas for nothing).
And yeah, next year is going to be a bizarre situation for an expansion draft, with 80% of the league free agents and two teams picking. Assuming the core designation still exists, there will still be some options, though. Let's hope there's no lockout/strike getting in the way of things on top.
lI’m curious who you think are the exciting young players on the Liberty.
Han Xu's still only 25. Johannes isn't young anymore but still fits into 'exciting'. Carrera and Fauthoux are both talented if they're ever healthy and willing to show up. Lots of people seemed excited about Marquesha Davis. There were a lot of options from NY.