The Golden State Valkyries are close to building a team.
The manner in which expansion teams enter the WNBA, or most leagues, is that they are stuck in limbo ahead of the expansion draft -- the moment when they get to pluck players from the rosters of other teams. The league has to balance allowing current teams to keep their talent while giving the expansion team a real pathway to building a roster.
For the Valkyries, that moment will be December 6th, when their expansion draft takes place. The WNBA has laid out the rules for the draft: the current 12 teams in the league can protect up to six players each, with every other player eligible to be "drafted" by Golden State. Teams can also choose to protect pending free agents if they held their rights at the end of the 2024 season, which limits the players who will be available to the Valkyries.
Golden State can choose a maximum of one player from each team, which opens up an interesting pathway for the Valkyries to gain assets: trades. The WNBA's current teams can negotiate a trade with Golden State based on who the Valkyries select. If a specific team wants to protect a seventh player, they can functionally do that by making it worth the Valkyries' while not to draft them via trade.
Which teams should general manager Ohemaa Nyanin be calling to negotiate a deal? Let's look at three trade partners for the Valkyries ahead of the expansion draft on Dec 6th, starting with the team that lost in the WNBA Finals.
Trade Partner No. 1: Minnesota Lynx
The Minnesota Lynx are in a difficult position heading into the expansion draft. A team that has built an extremely deep team with a mixture of veterans and young talent must decide which path forward to take in maintaining a contending team around MVP-level-talent Napheesa Collier.
It seems almost certain that the Lynx will protect each member of its superpowered starting lineup: Alanna Smith at center, Collier and Bridget Carleton in the frontcourt, and Kayla "McBuckets" McBride and Courtney Williams in the backcourt. Yet from there, the Lynx would almost certainly love to also bring back young center Dorka Juhasz, former No. 2 pick Diamond Miller and interior scorer Alissa Pili.
They can only protect one of those players, but it's possible they would be open to a deal with the Valkyries to guide their choice elsewhere. For example, if the Lynx feel they need to keep Juhasz but aren't ready to give up on Diamond Miller, they could trade a draft pick or another asset to the Valkyries to take Pili instead of Miller, or even to incentivize them enough to take another player altogether.
It will likely be a tall ask, because it seems likely the Valkyries will be getting a key player from the Lynx - perhaps not a win-now player, but someone with the upside to grow into something special. Because the Lynx are one of the league's deepest teams, the expansion draft will hurt them the most -- but also open up an opportunity for negotiation.
Trade Partner No. 2: Washington Mystics
The Washington Mystics have an interesting situation on their hands heading into the offseason. Their franchise player for the last decade, Elana Della Donne, sat out all of last season to give her body a year off. It's unclear if she wants to return to Washington at all, and that could open up an opportunity for the Mystics and Valkyries to work out a trade.
If Della Donne is ready to make her return to the WNBA, doing so as the centerpiece of the new Golden State Valkyries franchise would be an excellent way to do so. The Valkyries are allowed to pick one unrestricted free agent in the expansion draft and immediately "core" them (something like a supermax contract in the NBA) and they could do so with Della Donne.
The Valkyries could send an asset to the Mystics and Washington could in turn not protect Della Donne, allowing Golden State to draft her. Although the two-time MVP is now 35 years old, she was an All-Star averaging 16.7 points per game in 2023 and likely packs some punch. She could be the headliner for the Valkyries as they build fan support, while the Mystics can move on without committing that level of money to a 35-year-old player with significant injury issues.
It could be a win-win for both sides and it's worth some pre-draft conversations.
Trade Partner No. 3: New York Liberty
The defending champion New York Liberty are in a unique place, as they have a star-studded core that will surely be protected for December's expansion draft. Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones are not going anywhere, and you can add Betnijah Laney-Hamilton to the list of locks to be protected.
That leaves just two slots remaining for four players. Courtney Vandersloot was the fourth pillar of the superstar team-up, but she's 35 now and could be left unprotected. Nyara Sabally was a hero in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals but wasn't one of the Liberty's six most valuable players last season. Leonie Fiebich was a breakout as a rookie and seems like a lock to be protected. Add in Kayla Thornton, a 3-and-D wing who is the exact sort of player a contender wants to have around. We haven't even mentioned Marine Johannes or Rebekah Gardner.
Who is left unprotected from that group? It seems inevitable that the Liberty will lose a rotation player, but the Valkyries can call them up and negotiate a trade that dictates who Golden State chooses. For example, they could protect Sabally and Fiebich but trade a draft pick or the rights to a player in exchange for not selecting Kayla Thornton.
There are other trade partners to consider across the league, and Nyanin and the new Valkyries front office should be working the phones to canvas the league for trade opportunities. In doing so, they can give their team the best long-term outlook as they prepare to become a successful WNBA team for years to come.