Valkyries general manager Ohemaa Nyanin could finally relax Friday — at least for the night.
After months of prep work, Golden State, the WNBA’s 13th franchise, completed the league’s first expansion draft since 2008, picking 11 players from the 12 current teams to be part of their initial 2025 roster.
It’s a starting point, sure.
But there’s plenty of work to be done.
Kayla Thornton, Kate Martin and Stephanie Talbot are the only players whom the Valkyries picked with contracts through at least next season.
That gives Golden State plenty of flexibility moving forward to the next phase of roster building: free agency.
The Valkyries will have a league-high of more than $1.2 million in salary cap space available, meaning they should be active in free agency.
“We’re open for business,” Nyanin said Friday after the draft. “We’re ready to talk to any and everybody that wants to have a conversation with us about being a part of this journey. We are just really excited about the opportunity to welcome these free agents and these college athletes as well and just wanted to give ourselves as much flexibility to be able to go and get athletes in the near future.”
Nneka Ogwumike, Kelsey Plum and Alyssa Thomas will be among the most coveted free agents on the market come Jan. 21 when teams can officially start negotiating future deals with free agents.
Contracts can’t be signed until Feb. 1.
The Valkyries also have the No. 5 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft.
Valkyries roster outlook now
When Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase discussed with Nyanin the type of players she wanted, Thornton was one of the first names that came to mind.
“She is a defensive specialist. She has grown her game to be able to shoot the 3. She’s a ball of energy,” Nyanin said of Thornton. “She knows how to bring people together, and I’m really excited.”
New York was the “hardest pick” for Nyanin because of her familiarity with the team.
As much as Nyanin said she’s excited, she’s nervous, too.
There’s a lot of unknowns when it comes to the expansion draft process.
Unlike a normal draft, the Valkyries weren’t able to host players for workouts or interviews to get a better feel for the person.
Overall, though, Nyanin is happy with Golden State’s start.
She believes they have a “competitive” roster, with players who want to win.
