After months of speculation and anticipation, the WNBA has finally announced the date of the Golden State Valkyries’ expansion draft.
The Valkyries, led by general manager Ohemaa Nyanin, will put together much of their inaugural roster on Dec. 6 in an event aired on ESPN.
Golden State, the WNBA’s first expansion team since the Atlanta Dream back in 2008, will pick from a pool of unprotected players designated by the league’s other 12 teams.
After the end of the 2024 season, which is currently in the second round of the playoffs, the 12 existing teams will pick six “protected players” who cannot be claimed by the Valkyries in the expansion draft. The deadline for roster selection will be roughly 10 days before the expansion draft, the WNBA said.
After the teams select their six protected players and before draft day, Golden State will be allowed to make trades with the other teams in the league.
These trades can include an agreement to select a particular player from the list of unprotected players, and trade that player to a team other than their existing team — essentially akin to trading a draft pick. They can also agree to avoid drafting a specific player in exchange for assets from that player’s team, or agree to pick a specific player in a deal.
During the draft, Golden State can pick just one player from each team.
The Valkyries will also only be allowed to pick one player who will become an unrestricted free agent this offseason — and with that spot, they can only draft someone who has not been on a high-salary “core player” contract (similar to the NFL’s franchise tag) for multiple seasons.
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The Valkyries can then designate that player as their core player in January.
Anyone not selected in the expansion draft or designated as a core player by their own team will enter free agency in February.
The Valkyries have not named a coach yet, and the WNBA has not yet announced whether the Valkyries will be eligible for the No. 1 overall pick in April’s 2025 amateur draft as an expansion team.
In a recent interview with this news organization, Nyanin said she was open-minded about how to build the Golden State roster, but she hinted that defense and versatility were two areas she planned to focus her attention.
“The versatility of your roster, to be able to adapt to the other team’s roster is what I’m most focused on,” she said. “And to be able to kind of guard any team the way in which would be the most successful.”
Reporter Danny Emerman contributed to this story.
