WNBA Draft Analysis - Breaking It Down Team by Team

Guru’s note: Check the Guru’s tweeter @womhoopsguru during the day for some of Lamar’s photos joining the ones posted Thursday night from Andy Lipton.

By Lamar Carter

NEW YORK, N.Y. --- Season 22 of the WNBA kicked off Thursday evening at the 2018 WNBA Draft at Nike Headquarters in Manhattan.

 

The beautiful, wide-open space -  home to the league’s new official apparel provider – hosted an amazing event that seemed to carry the energy and momentum of a thrilling Women’s Final Four and last year’s five-game WNBA Finals with it.

 

Here are each team’s selections (listed in order of their first selection of the day) and thoughts on their impact:

 

LAS VEGAS ACES

1. A’Ja Wilson (F, South Carolina)

13. Jaime Nared (G/F, Tennessee)

25. Raigyne Moncrief Louis (G, LSU)

32. Jill Barta (F, Gonzaga) - traded to MIN for Ji-Su Park, Kahlia Lawrence

ANALYSIS
San Antonio relocated to Las Vegas but began this season like it did the last, picking the consensus top player with the number one overall pick. 

Wilson - this year’s runaway National Player of the Year, a past national champion, and a four-time All-American - is an immediate game changer for the Aces on the court (pro-ready skill set from the inside out) and off (a megawatt personality that should pair well with MGM’s enthusiastic backing of the team and light up overall league coverage). 

A young core of Wilson, last year's No. 1 Kelsey Plum, Kayla McBride, Moriah Jefferson and Isabelle Harrison give new Head Coach & President of Basketball Operations Bill Laimbeer a foundation of talented pieces to develop. Nared and Louis give Vegas two long wing players that can do some things if they can stick.

 

INDIANA FEVER

2. Kelsey Mitchell (G, Ohio State)

8. Victoria Vivians (G, Mississippi State)

14. Stephanie Mavunga (F, Ohio State)

ANALYSIS
Indy will look to bounce back in 2018 by bringing in a pair of outstanding playmakers and a strong inside presence within the draft’s first 14 picks.

 Mitchell can flat out score (second in NCAA history with 3,402 points, behind only Plum) and should find ways to contribute immediately. 

The same can be said about Vivians, a key member of two straight Final Fours at Mississippi State that evolved her offensive game in the latter half of her career and can bring defensive toughness on day one.

 Mavunga will need to develop more over time but the Fever can use her 6-3 frame to help on the boards. The effect Mitchell and Vivians will have from the guard positions will be crucial to Indy’s success this year as coach Pokey Chatman looks to replace the production of Briann January (traded to Phoenix). 

CHICAGO SKY
3. Diamond DeShields (G, Turkey)
4. Gabby Williams (F, UConn)
28. Amarah Coleman (G, DePaul)

ANALYSIS
Last year, Dallas had the third and fourth pick and got 2017 Rookie of the Year Allisha Gray out of the mix (4th). 

Chicago took care of this year’s back-to-back picks by staking its claim with Indiana for the best haul of the draft.

 DeShields - no matter how traveled she may be after going from North Carolina to Tennessee to Turkey - is still a coveted big guard with dynamic abilities who now has a year of professional experience under her belt. 

Williams can successfully be argued as the best athlete in the draft and her championship-pedigree and jack-of-all-trades ability on both ends will allow her to chip in instantly at the pro level. 

SEATTLE STORM
5. Jordin Canada (G, UCLA)

29. Teana Muldrow (F, West Virginia)

ANALYSIS
Women’s basketball diehards may joke that the ageless Sue Bird may never retire, but the unfortunate reality is the league’s prototypical point guard will, at some point, hang up her high tops. 

Canada is a worthy option to try and earn heir apparent status in Seattle after a standout career in Westwood. 

She can score (over 1,800 points), set up teammates (Pac-12 assists leader) and defend (two-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year). 

If she can pick up even a sliver of Bird’s greatness and develop alongside young mainstays Jewell Loyd and Breanna Stewart, Canada has a chance to be special.

DALLAS WINGS

6. Azura’ Stevens (F, UConn)
18. Loryn Goodwin (G, Oklahoma State)

30. Natalie Butler (C, George Mason)

ANALYSIS
An early entrant to the Draft, discarding another year of  UConn eligibility, Stevens, whose collegiate career began at Duke, dropped a few spots after being projected to jump into the top three once she made herself available. 

Her final destination still gives her a great chance to be successful as Stevens lands on a Dallas team trending upward after making the playoffs last year with Skylar Diggins-Smith, Glory Johnson, and Gray leading the charge. 

Stevens is a tough, skilled 6-6 post that can overwhelm opponents in the paint and venture out to the perimeter in spurts. The speed of her pro development will be interesting to monitor, with 6-8 Liz Cambage set to return to the W this season. 

Goodwin could add guard depth if she remains with the team. Butler, who continued her career at UConn from Georgetown and then headed for George Mason, can do the same with the posts after a dominant season at the mid-major Patriots (33 double-doubles, four 20-pt, 20-reb games) and an earlier quality year with the Hoyas.

 

WASHINGTON MYSTICS

7. Ariel Atkins (G, Texas)
19. Myisha Hines-Allen (F, Louisville)

31. Rebecca Greenwell (G, Duke)

ANALYSIS

The Mystics leave the Draft with three perimeter players 5-11 and taller, proving you can never have enough length on the wing on a team that sports Elena Delle Donne. 

Atkins is an efficient scorer (1,400 points on 47 percent career shooting) that could benefit from being a bit more aggressive, Hines-Allen’s winning ways (most wins in Louisville history) and production (2,000 pts, 1,000 rebs) will make her a favorite in head coach Mike Thibault’s system, and Greenwell’s toughness and shooting will get her a honest look.

CONNECTICUT SUN

9. Lexie Brown (G, Duke)

33. Mikayla Cowling (G/F, California)

ANALYSIS
Earning All-American honors at one Power 5 school is tough...Lexie Brown was able to do it at two (Duke and Maryland). 

A consummate lead guard and exceptional defender (broke Duke legend Alana Beard’s single-season steals record this year), she should be able to learn from veteran Jasmine Thomas and 2017 Coach of the Year Curt Miller as the Sun look to build on last year’s two-seed while incorporating Chiney Ogwumike back into the mix.

 Cowling has great size for a guard at 6-2 and can play anywhere on the court. If she gets a chance to show her talents (scored over 1,200 points, grabbed over 500 rebounds, logged over 400 assists), she could carve out a role in the league.

NEW YORK LIBERTY
10. Kia Nurse (G, UConn)

22. Mercedes Russell (C, Tennessee)

34. Leslie Robinson (F, Princeton)

ANALYSIS
New head coach Katie Smith gets a battle-tested champion and internationally experienced player in Nurse (Canadian national team) that can shoot and defend at an elite level.

 Her leadership qualities and basketball IQ will serve her well in NYC as the team embarks on a new era under the pending Hall of Famer whose team moves to the suburbs playing all but two home games in Westchester.

Russell adds to the post rotation that the Liberty need to help cornerstone Tina Charles stay fresh throughout the year.

 

LOS ANGELES SPARKS

11. Maria Vadeeva (C, Russia)

23. Shakayla Thomas (F, Florida State)

35. Julia Reisingerova (C, Czech Republic)

 

ANALYSIS

With the bulk of the core that made the last two WNBA Finals and earned the title in 2016 in place, the Sparks looked to be in “draft-and-stash” mode with two of their three picks. 

Vadeeva was projected all over the first round (mostly higher than 11th) but ends up with one of the best squads in the league. 

If she comes over, the 19-year-old offensive threat gets to learn from some of the best bigs in the league (Nneka Ogwumike, Candace Parker, Jantel Lavender); if she stays, she can continue to develop against other pros. 

Reisingerova sits in the same position with less stateside hype attached to her. Thomas offsets her size with her athleticism and has room to grow.

 

PHOENIX MERCURY
12. Marie Gulich (C, Oregon State)

20. Tyler Scaife (G, Rutgers)

21. Raisa Musina (F, Russia)

26. Imani Wright (G, Florida State)

 

ANALYSIS

At 6-5, Gulich is a versatile big that has built herself up through a growing Oregon State program, going from just over three points per game as a freshman to nearly averaging a double-double (17.5 ppg, 9.1 rpg) as a senior. 

Scaife will mimic the early career of fellow Rutgers alum Cappie Pondexter by taking her record-breaking scoring touch (second all-time at RU) to Arizona. 

Musina and Wright have work to do - on physicality and midrange game, respectively - but do have offensive promise.

 

ATLANTA DREAM

15. Monique Billings (F, UCLA)

16. Kristy Wallace (G, Baylor)

27. Mackenzie Engram (F, Georgia)

ANALYSIS
One of the best players not picked in the first round, Billings gives the Dream another athletic big that possesses great defensive instincts (school-record holder in blocks, Pac-12 leader with 9.5 RPG) and a limitless motor. 

Wallace is a smart, heady point guard that Atlanta will look to for the future as she battles back from an ACL injury.

 

MINNESOTA

17. Ji-Su Park (C, South Korea) - traded to LV for Jill Barta

24. Kahlia Lawrence (G, Mercer) - traded to LV for Jill Barta

36. Carlie Wagner (G, Minnesota)

ANALYSIS
Like Los Angeles, the defending champions drafted knowing there weren’t major needs that had to fill. Barta - acquired for the Lynx first two picks - and Wagner can both shoot the ball (48 and 39 percent from the field, respectively).

There were other quality collegians who didn’t make the picks but nonetheless will begin receiving training camp invites so more evolvement to rosters will occur prior to opening day and who knows what surprises are ahead. 

Never forget that an all-time great in Becky Hammon arrived to the ‘W’ as a walk-on.