Managing WNBA Draft Assets

Could the Storm make another win-now move?

This has been a fascinating off-season for the Seattle Storm. There was unfortunate news about the bullying and harassment claim and then the subsequent request by Jewell Loyd to be traded.

The organization was respectful of Loyd’s request, even sending her to her preferred destination (Las Vegas). During this week’s press conference, General Manager Talisa Rhea had nothing but positive things to say about Jewell Loyd and what she meant for the Seattle Storm franchise.

“Jewell meant a lot to this organization. She built a lot with us here. Noelle and I have been a part of a couple championships with Jewell. This is not to take away anything that Jewell did during her time here with Seattle. We are very appreciative for that and we’ll continue to be.”

For me personally, Loyd’s departure is bittersweet. I started covering the Seattle Storm during Loyd’s rookie season in 2015. While I grew up going to Storm games with my father from the very beginning, my journey from fan to respected journalist began in 2015. Just as I grew into my role as a beat reporter covering the Storm, I watched Jewell develop into one of the most talented shooting guards in the entire league. During her tenure, I saw Loyd bring the Storm back from the cellar of the WNBA standings to become a two-time WNBA Champion winning Seattle’s third and fourth titles.

I’m sorry that things didn’t work out for Jewell in Seattle. Not long ago it felt like she was going to be a Storm member for life just as Sue Bird was. It’ll be a bit awkward to see her wearing an Aces’s jersey at first but as long as she finds her happiness, that’s all that matters.

The good news regarding Loyd’s departure is that it puts the Storm’s roster building more into focus. It leaves a large hole at the Shooting Guard position (for now). With Nneka Ogwumike and Gabby Williams re-signing this off-season, they are displaying their commitment to the franchise. The team also owns the #2 overall pick and three first-round picks in 2026.

As I’ve written about recently, the team can compete now for a championship while building for the future. Despite entering her 6th WNBA season, Ezi Magbegor is still just 25 years old. Jordan Horston (23) has already proven she can be a strong asset to the team for the next several years. And whichever player they select at #2 overall (Miles is 22, Malonga is 19, etc.) should be another talented piece to build around. If the team keeps all three of those first-round picks, they should be able to add a couple more starters or impact bench players.

I asked Talisa Rhea during the press conference about the importance of having those draft assets and the balance between building for the future and competing now.

“Yeah, it’s a great question. Sometimes it’s a tough balance to be able to maintain. I feel like the number two pick is definitely a pick that helps you win now and in the future. So we’re really excited we were able to acquire that. And then the picks next year, I think are really important with so much uncertainty next year. The CBA changing, new teams coming in, probably more expansion drafts. To be able to have three first-round picks, to be able to use them to either bring in new talent next year or as assets for future moves is critical to being able to be in a position to maintain success. While we do have our eye on the goal to win now also being set up for the years to come as well is important,” Rhea told me.

Her words are key here. If Seattle decides to keep all three of their picks, they might end up with at least one of Flau’jae Johnson, Cotie McMahon, Raegan Beers, or Kiki Rice. There are a lot of other talented players in what appears to be another deep draft. It’s also important to remember that if the Los Angeles Sparks were to miss the playoffs in 2025, their pick that belongs to Seattle could easily end up #1 overall. And likely would be a guaranteed Top 3 overall pick due to the two-year Draft Lottery rule.

The Sparks should have a much-improved team if Cameron Brink comes back healthy and with the addition of All-Star Guard Kelsey Plum. But five teams will miss the playoffs in 2025, and offhand I believe there are only three teams that will be worse than the Sparks. That would be the Golden State Valkyries, the Connecticut Sun, and the Washington Mystics. Even then, the Mystics were clearly a better team than LA last year and will add the 4th and 6th overall picks to their roster. I don’t love the Phoenix Mercury’s lack of depth (they are so top-heavy) and I’m not certain the Dallas Wings’ pieces will fit together. But overall, I believe the LA Sparks have a greater chance of missing the playoffs than they do of being a Top 5 team.

I wrote back on January 21st, that the Storm could land Paige Bueckers. That was before the Jewell Loyd trade. Back then, I suggested that Seattle could acquire the #3 overall pick and use one or two of their future first-round picks to move up to #1 overall. Since that article, the Storm have acquired the #2 overall pick AND an extra first-round pick in 2026. They have even more assets than I expected and they could try to use them for a deal that lands them Bueckers.

However, that’s not what this article is about. That’s a previous speculation that could still come true, but Seattle has other options.

For a little while, there was online chatter about how the Storm could trade away their #2 overall pick to acquire Marina Mabrey or Ariel Atkins. Those conversations or rumors should be dead now as I don’t believe Seattle could afford either player’s contract at this point. Seattle made a much more sensible trade to pick up Lexie Brown instead.

Maybe we were all looking in the wrong places. What if Seattle targets a post-player and not a guard with those extra first-round picks? The team needed more guard/wing help, three-point shooting, and another big. They’ve addressed the first two by adding Alysha Clark, Lexie Brown, and Katie Lou Samuelson.

The Storm have Nneka Ogwumike, Ezi Magbegor, and Li Yueru. They need at least one more post player. Mackenzie Holmes, the team’s third-round pick from 2024, will join the team after having surgery last year and will try to make the opening-day roster. Holmes will have an opportunity to earn a spot but I don’t think Seattle should rely solely on her.

As Coach Quinn said during the press conference, Free Agency isn’t over. And she is absolutely right. I’ve mentioned Isabelle Harrison (6’3”) at least a few times as an option for Seattle. She is still an Unrestricted Free Agent and there were reports that the Storm talked with her during a previous off-season. That is the simplest solution as it wouldn’t require any trades and her addition would be a solid move to bolster the bench. (UPDATE: Harrison has signed with the New York Liberty)

Someone suggested Elena Delle Donne, which is interesting. She was not given the Core Franchise tag this off-season. To my understanding, she would be an Unrestricted Free Agent. However, I’m not certain Delle Donne is playing in the WNBA this season. The latest I saw from Mystics’ reporter Kareem Copeland, is that the team has spoken with her and is giving her time to make a decision. She’s 35, has had back surgery, and hasn’t played in over a year. I don’t know how well she would hold up for a 44-game season. It’s worth kicking the tires on I suppose.

There is also the WNBA Draft. In this scenario, we assume that Dallas does not trade the #1 pick and they select Paige Bueckers. I think the favorite right now to go #2 overall, would be Olivia Miles. We all know how critically important it is to have a legitimate point guard. We all remember what it was like in 2023 after Sue Bird retired and before Skylar arrived. Diggins-Smith is 34. Hopefully, she has another 4-5 years left but it would be nice to have the heir apparent already in the fold. With that said, the team should do their due diligence and they could decide to draft 6’6” Center/Forward, Dominique Malonga.

There has also been some online speculation that Olivia Miles might want to return to Notre Dame for a 5th season for which she is eligible. Supposedly, that was a concern for the LA Sparks’ front office and that is why they made the deal to get Kelsey Plum instead of taking a gamble on the WNBA Draft.

But for the purpose of this article, let’s say that this recent Mock Draft is accurate through the first six selections. Rachel Galligan predicts the following…

1. Paige Bueckers - Dallas Wings

2. Olivia Miles - Seattle Storm

3. Sonia Citron - Chicago Sky

4. Dominique Malonga - Washington Mystics

5. Aneesah Morrow - Golden State Valkyries

6. Kiki Iriafen - Washington Mystics

During this week’s Press Conference, when asked about the team getting rebounding help, Coach Quinn told the reporter, “T (Talisa Rhea) might have some more magic up her sleeve. Talk to me in a couple more weeks.”

I started digging around at some possible trade options Seattle could make with those future first-round picks that would benefit the team now and in the future. A few requirements would need to be met to make this work.

1. The player would need to be on a cheaper rookie-scale contract. It could not be a player that makes $150-200K per season because it wouldn’t fit the Storm’s salary cap budget.

2. The player would need to be worthy of giving up a first-round pick.

3. The player would not be an Unrestricted Free Agent in 2026.

I went looking through the past three WNBA Drafts between 2022 and 2024 to see if I could find anything worthwhile. Looking over the prospects from 2024, you can automatically rule out Cameron Brink, Angel Reese, and Kamilla Cardoso because I can’t realistically see their teams being willing to trade them. I thought it might have been possible to go after Aaliyah Edwards as she had a more modest rookie season compared to the others. But after her impressive performance in the Unrivaled 1-on-1 Tournament, we can rule her out as well.

Nyadiew Pouch who was selected 12th overall by the Atlanta Dream, is a prospect that Seattle could pursue. Especially, after the Dream added Brittney Griner and Brionna Jones. Pouch would qualify for Rules #1 and 3 above, but would she be worthy of giving up a future first-round pick? We haven’t seen her compete at the WNBA level. Also, from watching her game film highlights, she is more of a slasher and jump shooter than a low post presence. She projects more as a Small Forward in my eyes.

The 2023 draft class doesn’t have any post players that would be worth trading a first-round pick for. I knew Stephanie Soares was waived by Dallas earlier this year. I thought that could have been a Free Agent option but then I learned that she’s expected to miss the entire 2025 season with another knee injury. That comes after already missing her entire 2023 rookie season and a good portion of her college career due to injuries. That’s not going to work.

Dorka Juhász could be an option but I’m not certain she’d be worth giving up a future first for, nor am I certain Minnesota would want to give her up.

Looking over the 2022 draft class. Olivia Nelson-Ododa could be an option. I think she’s primed to have a breakout season in Connecticut after most of the team departed. However, I don’t think she’s shown enough in limited action to give up a first-round pick.

I don’t see a realistic scenario where the New York Liberty would want to give up Nyara Sabally.

And that (finally) leads me to my crazy prediction. What if the Storm traded for Shakira Austin?

Why Would Seattle Make This Deal?

The Storm need another legitimate post player and this would be an opportunity to acquire one of the league’s top young bigs. Many other trade suggestions aren’t true game changers but this could be one. When the Storm and Mystics battle, I always like to write about the fun comparisons on the court between Ezi Magbegor and Shakira Austin. Now imagine if they were both on the same team!

Austin, when healthy, has #1 overall talent. She has excellent handles for a post player and a soft shooting touch around the rim and in the mid-range. Shakira can also be a strong defender and rebounder.

The New York Liberty create so many mismatches when using Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones. The Storm could look to replicate that with Shakira Austin and Ezi Magbegor. Plus, having both players could go a long way in trying to defend and match up against the current defending champions.

Another reason to make this deal is that Skylar and Shakira play on the same Unrivaled team together, the Lunar Owls (Hootie Hoo!). They are currently building team chemistry and that would translate over to the WNBA season.

Austin will make around $92,000 this season. The Storm could fit her into their salary cap budget as long as they signed Katie Lou Samuelson for less than $90,000. As of this writing, we are still waiting to hear the specifics of Samuelson’s contract (New Update Below).

She is in the final year of her contract but will be a Restricted Free Agent in 2026. If the Storm were to trade for Austin, they would likely be guaranteed to have her for two seasons in Seattle before she would become an Unrestricted Free Agent. At just 24 years old, Shakira could become a part of the Storm’s long-term future.

Risks. There would certainly be risks to making this trade for the Storm but that is also part of the reason I can seriously envision this trade scenario happening. After playing all 36 games during her rookie season, Shakira Austin has played just 31 out of a possible 80 games over the last two years. She had hip surgery in late December of 2023 that caused her to miss large portions of the 2023 and 2024 seasons. Considering the hip bothered her a lot still, could it be a degenerative or reoccurring issue?

Would she be a good fit for the team? How would the lineups look? Would she be OK coming off the bench? Could Seattle play Nneka or Ezi at the Small Forward Position if all three started?

Over her WNBA career, Austin has averaged less than 22 MPG. Some of that could be injury-related but she also averaged 21.6 MPG during her rookie campaign, when she played every game. Is it a conditioning issue? Foul trouble? Could the Storm count on her to play 30 MPG if they needed her to?

The trade could cost a lot. Seattle has three first-round picks in 2026 to use in a trade but they don’t have any second-round picks over the next three years due to previous trades. Could the Storm convince the Mystics to part with Austin by only giving Washington one of their three first-round picks? If they did, that would likely be the Sparks’ pick which could turn into #1 overall. If Seattle didn’t want to part with LA’s pick, the Mystics could demand they give up the other two picks in any deal for Austin.

If they do that, the Storm would be gambling a lot of their future on Shakira Austin. They would risk her injury history becoming a larger problem or risk losing her in Free Agency either in 2026 or 2027.

Why Would the Mystics Make This Deal?

Well, if you’re a Mystics fan you might scoff or laugh at this trade proposal but there are several things to consider. In this mock scenario, the Washington Mystics will be drafting 6’6” Center Dominique Malonga in the upcoming WNBA Draft. In Rachel’s mock draft, the Mystics come away with both Dominique Malonga and the other top post prospect, Kiki Iriafen. Even if Chicago takes Malonga at #3 overall, there is a good chance Washington will still get Iriafen and/or Aneesah Morrow that they can pair with Aaliyah Edwards, their top pick from this past draft.

Shakira Austin has had legitimate issues staying healthy and staying on the court. All the talent in the world doesn’t matter if a player can’t stay healthy or be available. If her injury history continues over the next season or two, the team could regret not getting valuable future assets in return when they could.

There is also the question of whether or not they believe they will be able to sign Austin to a long-term deal. There was some speculation last season that Austin wasn’t playing in some of the games because she wanted to be traded by the Mystics. If that is true, do they think she will sign back with them once she becomes a Free Agent?

If the Mystics can convince the Storm to part with the Sparks’ pick in 2026, that could end up #1 or at least Top 3. Or they might get two first-round picks which would give the Mystics three total; a luxurious position that the Storm are currently in.

In 2026, they could lose Brittney Sykes, Ariel Atkins, and Stefanie Dolson. Having multiple first-round picks would be the fastest way to rebuild their franchise.

Final Thoughts

This will continue to be a fascinating off-season for the Seattle Storm. They brought back their most important pieces, Nneka Ogwumike and Gabby Williams. They’ve built a much stronger bench with Alysha Clark, Erica Wheeler, Lexie Brown, Li Yueru, and Katie Lou Samuelson. They are set up to select one of the best prospects in the upcoming WNBA Draft. And they can get really creative with those three future first-round picks.

Maybe they make the ultimate play for Paige Bueckers. Maybe they draft Olivia Miles and trade their future picks for Shakira Austin. Or perhaps they draft Dominique Malonga, keep all three of their picks for next year, and draft another talented guard then.

I feel like the Storm have quietly had a strong off-season and the beautiful thing about what’s next is that we know they’ll have options!

New Update

Richard Cohen of HerHoopStats has stated that Katie Lou Samuelson’s deal with the Storm is for $90,000. Which is a little funny and a little unfortunate, only because it means that if the Storm were to trade for Shakira Austin and her salary of $91,981 their 11-player roster projection would be at $1,507,596. That would be $496 over the Salary Cap Limit. That means that if just one single player made $1,000 less then they’d be able to pull off this deal without any other Salary Cap gymnastics.

However, the good news is that the money is so close that the team would have options if they were interested in pulling off this type of trade and if the Mystics were willing to be partners. They could make the trade very early into the season (1-2 weeks in). But after a conversation and thinking about it more, what would make the most sense would be to perform a similar strategy to the one they did last season. When they cut Joyner Holmes out of training camp and kept Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu because Dulcy’s contract fit within the salary cap and Joyner’s did not. The team then waited a couple of weeks into the season and then waived Dulcy and re-signed Joyner.

If the Storm were to trade for Shakira Austin, they could perform a similar strategy. For example, they could temporarily cut Erica Wheeler who makes $78,831 and keep Zia Cooke ($66,079) only to bring Wheeler back after the first week or two of the season. This would make more sense as it would allow Austin to join the Storm in training camp and be fully up to speed with the team and their offensive and defensive systems prior to the start of the regular season. As opposed to joining the team in June and then having to spend another couple of weeks trying to learn everything while the season is going on.

If the team pulled off this trade the roster would look something like this after the first couple of weeks.

PG: Skylar Diggins-Smith, #2 Pick (Olivia Miles), Erica Wheeler
SG: Gabby Williams, Lexie Brown
SF: Alysha Clark, Katie Lou Samuelson
PF: Nneka Ogwumike, Shakira Austin*
C: Ezi Magbegor*, Li Yueru

*You could swap Magbegor and Austin

Would you want to see the Storm trade for Paige Bueckers? Would you prefer they draft Olivia Miles and try to trade for Shakira Austin? Or do you think the smartest move would just be to keep all of the current draft picks?

Notes:
Thanks for all the great support! Please tell other WNBA fans about my coverage. Please share, retweet, repost, etc. if you enjoy my articles.
Thanks to Her Hoop Stats and Across the Timeline for being great resources.

Social Media:
Follow me on Bluesky (@wnbastormchasers.bsky.social)
Follow me on Threads (@WNBAStormChasers)
Follow me on X/Twitter (@WNBAStormChaser)