It's official: Monique Billings, Julie Vanloo, and Veronica Burton have signed with the Golden State Valkyries.
Though each player was selected as part of the team's Expansion Draft in December, the Valkyries still had to finalize a deal with all three. In January the team extended reserved qualifying offers to Vanloo and Burton (as well as to Cecilia Zandalasini). The team offered Vanloo $66,079 due to her one year of experience in the league, and offered Burton and Zandalasini the veteran minimum $78,831.
Toward the end of the month, the Valkyries also signed an unspecified deal with Billings.
Drafting Billings surprised WNBA insiders
Many people in the WNBA were surprised when the team drafted Billings in December. The 6'4" forward was an unrestricted free agent, the presumption was the Valkyries would need to core Billings and offer her the supermax contract to keep her — something that would have meant a massive pay increase for her but might not have made much sense for the team.
Coach Natalie Nakase was all in for Billings from the start, she told the Chronicle. "The first thing that catches your eye about Monique is how hard she plays," she told the newspaper. "She rebounds the ball, she can cut to the inside, she can protect the rim. She’s the kind of player who will dive after a loose ball on the floor. We feel like we can depend on her."
What we know about the rest of the Valkyries' roster
So far, there has been no news on whether or not Zandalasini will accept the offer from the Valkyries. The team also made a restricted qualifying offer to Temi Fagbenle, something that means she will retain the right to negotiate with other teams, and if she receives an outside offer the Valkyries will have to meet and/or exceed it to keep her. The Valkyries could also potentially negotiate a brand new contract with Fagbenle if that serves both parties. The team also offered Fagbenle the veteran minimum of $78,831 for a one-year contract before the new CBA is negotiated.
The Valkyries also have Kate Martin, Kayla Thornton, and Stephanie Talbot under contract and do not need to enter negotiations with them. There are two more players the team still needs to lock down: María Conde, and Iliana Rupert. Conde's situation is unclear after she suffered a season-ending Achilles tear while playing in Czechia.