Storm are in a Strong Position as WNBA Draft Approaches

The picture is more clear as we move closer to the draft.

The WNBA Draft is fast approaching and is less than a week away. The draft takes place in New York City on Monday, April 14th, at 4:30 PM. It will air live on ESPN. They will have pre-draft coverage beginning at 4:00 PM.

This past weekend, the UConn Huskies won their 12th National Championship after defeating the South Carolina Gamecocks 82-59 in the title game. Paige Bueckers, the presumptive number one overall pick, helped Connecticut reclaim their greatness at the top of the collegiate mountain. With the college season now over, our attention turns to the draft.

Over the past week or two, the draft got a big shakeup after we learned that Notre Dame point guard Olivia Miles would forego the WNBA Draft and return to college for a 5th season. She also announced that she would be transferring from Notre Dame to TCU. This came as a surprise as Miles was almost certainly going to be a lottery selection. Many mock drafts had her going 2nd overall to the Seattle Storm.

We also learned that Flau’jae Johnson did not declare early for the WNBA Draft. While this was expected, as she is just a junior, she was eligible to enter the 2025 draft. For one reason or another, there was some online chatter that Johnson might seriously consider declaring early. It wouldn’t be unprecedented if she had. We saw Jewell Loyd do exactly that prior to the 2015 WNBA Draft. Jackie Young also did it in 2019.

After all the dust settled, more players decided to return to college than expected. Initially, that seems like bad news for the Seattle Storm, who traded away Jewell Loyd to acquire the 2nd overall pick in the draft. However, I would argue that this puts the Storm in a stronger position than before.

There could be obvious disappointment in missing out on a talented prospect like Olivia Miles, especially if the Storm planned on taking her. We do know that the front office attended some of her games in person to get a closer look, so there was obviously interest there. However, I am not fully convinced that the Storm were going to take Miles in the draft had she stayed in it.

Rachel Galligan, who has connections throughout the league, had projected the Storm to draft Dominique Malonga prior to Olivia Miles publicly announcing she would be forgoing the draft and returning to college for another year.

ESPN’s Kevin Pelton also mentioned the Storm’s potential interest in Malonga.

If it’s true that the Storm were always leaning toward drafting Dominique Malonga, then Olivia Miles returning to college is actually good news for Seattle because they currently own three first-round picks (their own, LA’s, and Las Vegas’s) for next year’s draft in 2026.

One interesting note, Howard Megdal of The Next, who speculated months ago that Paige Bueckers or her camp weren’t happy about the idea of playing for the Dallas Wings, released a new article this past week indicating that could still be the case. There is still some uncertainty in that regard. In the article, he suggests the Dallas Wings could make a deal with the Washington Mystics, which would result in Paige Bueckers heading to D.C.

“Multiple league sources told The Next that the only package they believe could allow Dallas to deal Bueckers and save face, should she tell the Wings she is not willing to play there, is from the Washington Mystics, who can offer picks 3, 4 and 6, along with young talent like Shakira Austin or Aaliyah Edwards, in exchange for Bueckers. Again: a trio of rookies in this draft may be worth less with each passing prospect choosing to avoid it, but anyone signed to a current-CBA deal, potentially locked in for four years, is going to be immensely valuable under any new salary structure.”

I am of the belief that the Seattle Storm could make a stronger offer to the Dallas Wings for Paige Bueckers than what the Mystics would be offering. However, admittedly, that comes with some caveats.

It really comes down to two major things. Could Dominique Malonga truly be a generational talent like Jonquel Jones or Breanna Stewart? And will the LA Sparks make or miss the playoffs in 2025? If they miss the playoffs, then their draft pick in 2026 (which Seatle owns) will likely end up being a Top 3 pick in a very talented draft class.

Beyond trading the #2 overall pick and LA’s 2026 first-rounder, I’ve written about the “Godfather” offer, where Seattle includes that plus their additional two first-rounders in 2026. If they need to take it even further, they could trade away their 2027 first-rounder as well to land Bueckers.

I believe that would be a stronger offer than what the Washington Mystics could offer. However, a lot of that would depend on what the Dallas Wings think of Dominique Malonga. If they are extremely high on her, and if there is truth to the rumors about Paige not wanting to play for Dallas, then a proposed trade between Seattle and Dallas could look more modest. Maybe Seattle offers #2 and only LA’s first next season. Or they keep LA’s pick and parts with #2 and the other two first-round picks in 2026.

When reviewing the “Godfather” offer from Seattle’s perspective. They will have to figure out how they evaluate and compare Bueckers versus Malonga. Will Paige Bueckers be as good as Caitlin Clark? Is the better comparison Sabrina Ionescu or Jackie Young? Let’s say they believe she will put up similar numbers to one of those three players. The next question is, how do they view Malonga? Do they think she can be similar to Jonquel Jones or Breanna Stewart? If the answer is yes, then I don’t see a reason why they would trade all of their assets to move up to take Paige.

If they have strong convictions for Malonga, then they don’t need to worry about making any trades. The Storm can happily wait their turn and then draft Malonga after the Dallas Wings or another team selects Paige Bueckers.

Building Toward the Future

I truly believe the Storm are in a strong position moving forward. I think they have the assets to potentially move up to #1 overall if they truly want Paige Bueckers (or she doesn’t want to be in Dallas). But they are also in a strong position if they don’t make that deal. Dominique Malonga could be a game-changing talent in her own right. And the decisions by Azzi Fudd and Olivia Miles to return to college for another season now increases the value of the Storm’s three first-round picks in 2026.

Even if the Storm aren’t able to draft either Fudd or Miles next year, their additions to the class move other top prospects down the draft board. Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice, Flau'jae Johnson, Azzi Fudd, Olivia Miles, Ta’Niya Latson, Cotie McMahon, and Raegan Beers are some of the names that should headline the 2026 draft class.

Seattle can build a team to compete now with Nneka Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Gabby Williams, and Ezi Magbegor while also building a team for the future around Ezi Magbegor, Jordan Horston, Dominique Malonga, and one or two of the players from the 2026 WNBA Draft.

Because Ezi Magbegor shares some similar traits to Stewie, I am very curious to see what a duo of Magbegor and Malonga would look like in Seattle. That is a lot of length on the defensive side of the ball. And a lot of quickness and foot speed on the offensive end. Also, having Nneka Ogwumike there to help develop and mentor them is a tantalizing prospect.

Notes:
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