Real Time Valkyrie Expansion Draft Coverage
- Thread starter Dillon77
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Burton being available is and isn't a surprise. But man, it's tough to see how many teams she's been on with the short career she has had to date.
Dillon77
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2nd round of four choices.
Wonder if some deal was pulled off regarding Zandelesini. Pay attention after this to see if any draft deals were done.
Coach Nakase probably wanted Martin based on her experience with her.
- Indiana: Temi Fegbule
- Las Vegas: Kate Martin
- Los Angeles: Stephanie Talbot
- Minnesota Lynx: Cecilia Zandelesini
Wonder if some deal was pulled off regarding Zandelesini. Pay attention after this to see if any draft deals were done.
Coach Nakase probably wanted Martin based on her experience with her.
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Fagbenle is a surprise to me. A big one.
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Yup. The ESPN crew is talking about how Golden State has a decent amount of cap space for free agency. The depth of this league is something else. Add a few key pieces to this roster.....could be a lot of fun to watch.
ochoopsfan
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7 of the 11 players taken are from overseas.
Interesting choices
Interesting choices
nwhoopfan
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Overall I like what they did. I don't know everybody who was available, so don't know all of the players they passed on. But this is a nice collection of vets w/ Thornton, Talbot, Fagenble, Billings, Zandalasini. Van Loo hasn't been in the league very long but she's not young. Definitely need to add more but they might be somewhat competitive sooner than later.
I was just thinking last night, I'm a little worried about another round of expansion draft coming up in a year, this time with 2 new teams. Might be kinda slim pickins' for those franchises.
I was just thinking last night, I'm a little worried about another round of expansion draft coming up in a year, this time with 2 new teams. Might be kinda slim pickins' for those franchises.
Yup! Which is why I roll my eyes when everyone talks about how much talent doesn't make WNBA rosters.
Dillon77
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ESPN's Kevin Pelton weighs in:
www.espn.com
Ranking the Valkyries' new roster: Our favorite and least favorite picks
How did the Golden State Valkyries fare on their inaugural expansion roster? Kevin Pelton breaks down every pick.
www.espn.com
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Yes and no. First, we don't know who these teams protected and it's likely we won't next year. Second, the teams will be picking from a slightly larger pool than the Valkyries. Considering who was selected this season, because there were a few surprises, they could find some good players to help build their teams.
Dillon77
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Morning-after take or three:
- After reading several previews, I was expecting to see the Valkyries to end up with some draft picks after other teams bribed them not to choose certain players by sending over draft choices and/or the V's threatening in return for picks.
This draft looked pretty straight forward and plain vanilla so I guess it was "everyone got what they wanted." Right?
- After reading several previews, I was expecting to see the Valkyries to end up with some draft picks after other teams bribed them not to choose certain players by sending over draft choices and/or the V's threatening in return for picks.
This draft looked pretty straight forward and plain vanilla so I guess it was "everyone got what they wanted." Right?
- The Kayla Thornton and Veronica Burton selections were widely predicted and both will add value.
- And the fact that the Valkyries didn't think enough of what's on Seattle's roster speaks volumes about that situation.
WBBTakeover
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I agree, but people were adamant about expansion teams being competitive from the jump. This roster (plus the #5 pick in 2025) is not going to compete for anything other than the worst record in the history of the WNBA. To me, this looks like a two-year tank job until they can get their hands on a JuJu Watkins or a Madison Booker in 2027.
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I really didn't think about that part until way after the draft and I was on social media. Overall, I really like the draft choices.
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Speaks to how the international game is respected by WNBA coaches in my opinion. Not mad at it at all.
Wish I could remember the podcast, but someone was talking about how the men's game in the US/North America is declining with respect to skillset and IQ in comparison to overseas. It was a really good conversation that made some good arguments on how the AAU situation isn't helping.
I think this Expansion Draft kinda preceded that. They did a good job at getting some solid role/bench players without using up a lot of the salary cap, now I can see them going after some top free agents who won’t mind being apart of a “rebuilding” team.
The organization should sell itself for top players of certain teams.