Additionally, Golden State appears to be preparing to make a splash in next year’s free agency. The Valkyries selected only three players currently under contract for 2025, giving them plenty of wiggle room to pursue bigger stars who were unavailable in the expansion draft. At the same time, Golden State did not receive any additional draft picks from the expansion draft to build a core of young talent.

Overall I would give the Valkyries a B. In my opinion, they focused a bit too much on putting together the best possible 2025 roster rather than an expanded outlook that might have prioritized younger talent and traded for picks.

Let’s go through all 11 picks and what they mean for Golden State, sorting them from my favorite options to my least favorite options based on what other players might have been available.

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During the Fever’s final game of the 2024 playoffs, Fagbenle started and played 35 minutes, recording a point and a rebound after a double-double. Still, Indiana has apparently opted to protect the players under contract over Fagbenle, who will be a restricted free agent. Golden State can match any offer from another team to Fagbenle.

Fagbenle has spent the last five years abroad and is already 32 years old. But their smart play and international experience should fit well with the Valkyries’ young talent.

Carla Leite, G
Dallas Wings
Unsigned draft pick

Although she is not well known in the United States, Leite could contribute more to Golden State than any other player taken in the expansion draft. Leite, Dallas’ No. 9 pick last year, doesn’t turn 20 until April and is already a key player in the EuroLeague Villeneuve d’Ascq, averaging 14.5 points and 3.8 assists this season.

The only concern — and perhaps the reason the Wings chose not to protect her — is Leite’s availability to the WNBA, which could be a challenge as she moves on to the French national team after her junior career.

I had Burton on Connecticut’s protected list, but the Sun probably made the sensible decision to protect center Olivia Nelson-Ododa instead. Burton, the Wings’ No. 7 pick in the 2022 draft, was released in 2023 after starting 13 games and then found a second chance with the Suns. Improved 3-point shooting (35%, up from 27.5% in two seasons in Dallas) helped Burton stay on the court long enough to shine defensively.

Since Burton only has three years of experience, she is a reserved free agent and the Valkyries will inherit her exclusive negotiating rights.

I’m surprised the Aces left Martin unprotected. A second-round pick, Martin proved in her rookie season that she could contribute to the WNBA by beating out higher draft picks and becoming the only player on a rookie contract in Las Vegas’ rotation. Golden State’s interest should have come as no surprise to the Aces. According to league sources, former Las Vegas assistant coach and new Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase was one of Martin’s biggest supporters last season.

As the only expansion draft pick with a rookie contract, Martin has two more unprotected seasons before Golden State must decide on their 2027 team option. This deal could prove particularly valuable with an expected increase in the WNBA payroll following the 2025 season.

One of the league’s better fullbacks, Thornton started 11 games last season for the Liberty, where Golden State GM Ohemaa Nyanin – formerly New York’s assistant GM – was part of the deal that brought in Thornton and Finals MVP Jonquel Jones. The Liberty will be missing Thornton, who played 21 minutes in the decisive Game 5 of the WNBA Finals, but they had to prioritize protecting their five starters and junior reserve Nyara Sabally.

That’s why New York seemed like a good option for a deal to protect its players, including Thornton and younger options Marquesha Davis (the No. 11 pick in April) and Marine Johannes (a reserved free agent who would have brought exclusive negotiating rights). . ).

It’s not entirely clear how Thornton, who turned 32 in October, fits on an expansion team. But if the Valkyries can land a big name or two as a free agent, it would make more sense to sign Thornton. Alternatively, they could look to trade her to another contender during the offseason or before the 2025 deadline.

In addition to Thornton, Talbot is the other player Golden State selected on a protected contract. Talbot signed a one-year contract extension with the Sparks over the summer worth $125,000, according to salary data from HerHoopStats.com. The expansion draft rules allow the Valkyries to waive these players to keep their salary from reaching the cap, but there is little reason for this. According to Richard Cohen of HerHoopStats, Golden State already has $1.2 million in cap space, the second-highest total in the league behind the Sun.

Talbot, another 3-and-D winger, slumped to 26% from beyond the arc last season but is a career 36% shooter who will be a key reserve for playoff teams in 2021 and 2022 Seattle Storm was.

Like Fagbenle, Zandalasini went years between WNBA stints. After playing two seasons for the Lynx starting in 2017, she only returned to Minnesota last season. Zandalasini was an effective role player for the league’s second-place team, making 44% of her threes and contributing spot minutes in the playoffs.

The Lynx likely had to make one of their 2023 draft picks available, either No. 2 pick Diamond Miller or All-Rookie pick Dorka Juhasz, and it’s interesting that Golden State chose Zandalasini instead of one of those younger ones options decided.

Iliana Rupert, C
Atlanta dream
Suspended – contract expired

Rupert, a first-round pick in 2021, has yet to make much of an impact in the WNBA. She has been more productive in EuroLeague play, averaging 13.0 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists in four games for Turkish club Mersin this season. Since she chose to sit out the final season of her rookie contract to play for hosts France in the Olympics, Rupert can negotiate exclusively with the Valkyries, similar to a reserved free agent.

Maria Conde, F
Chicago sky
Unsigned draft pick

A third-round pick in 2019, Conde has not yet signed a WNBA contract – and it’s unclear if we’ll see her in a Valkyries uniform. The Spain international told The Athletic in 2022 that her interest in playing in the league was secondary to playing for her national team. “If the national team didn’t exist, I would definitely try to go there,” said Condé. “But the national team is somehow a priority for me in the summer.”

Vanloo wasn’t at the top of my list of potentially available players from Washington. She started 34 games in her first WNBA season at age 31 as an international veteran, but Vanloo was more of a high-volume 3-point shooter (8.6 attempts per 36 minutes) than an accurate one (32%). Golden State could expect Vanloo to better adapt to the WNBA 3-point line in year two.

The Mystics’ big name was unrestricted free agent Elena Delle Donne. Even if Delle Donne no longer plans to play in the WNBA, Washington probably wouldn’t have been able to protect all three of veteran starters Stefanie Dolson and Karlie Samuelson, as well as reserved free agent Emily Engstler. I would have picked any of them over Vanloo.

This was a surprising pick as Billings was the only unrestricted free agent the Valkyries were allowed to select. Due to a roster crisis at the end of training camp, the Sparks waived him and Billings started twelve games on a hardship contract in Dallas before finishing the season in Phoenix.

The idea of ​​taking an unrestricted free agent in the expansion draft gives Golden State a chance to take advantage of its core designation. That would be an aggressive move for Billings, who signed a non-guaranteed contract with Los Angeles in free agency last offseason. However, the alternative for the Valkyries was likely to forego selecting a player from the Mercury altogether, so they might simply look at that to begin their relationship with Billings before free agency.

Happen
Seattle Storm

Golden State actually chose not to select a player from Seattle. Because the Storm have so many unrestricted free agents – one of them, Nneka Ogwumike, was ineligible for the draft because he had played a maximum of two years on core contracts – the Valkyries’ only realistic choice was probably to pick up the draft rights 2024 third-round pick Mackenzie Holmes. Golden State might prefer to look at its own picks in training camp.