GSV Expansion Draft Prediction: Minnesota Lynx
That player was stolen from us
The primary index for the whole Expansion Draft Series is here.
SI.com: Diamond Miller
Diamond Miller might be the most talented player the Valkyries land in the Expansion Draft. And while it might also seem absurd for Minnesota to not protect her, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft needs a change of scenery. Miller has become an afterthought in Minnesota, averaging just 10.1 minutes per game (10th-most on the team) after earning 26.1 minutes per game in 2023. She simply doesn't seem to be a good fit with the Lynx, and landing with Golden State would be a golden opportunity for the 23-year-old to recover her career.
Fansided: Alissa Pili
Pili's exactly the sort of player for whom the expansion draft was created: Taken No. 8 overall out of Utah in this year's draft, she can score in a ton of different ways with solid defense to boot, but she's gotten lost in the shuffle a bit on a loaded Lynx roster. Many of the names above are (very good) role players, but if the Valkyries are looking to swing for the fences a bit, Pili is a player who could blossom into a legit lead scorer.
The Ringer: Alissa Pili
Sohi: Is Diamond Miller going to be available?
Merchant: I don’t know. It’s like, if you’re Minnesota, right, do you want to protect six who are going to be crucial to you winning a title in 2025, or are you like, “I still have two years left of a rookie contract for Diamond Miller. Why would I waste this right now?” At the very least, Alyssa Pili should be available.
Sohi: Yeah, Alissa Pili, who I’m a huge fan of. I love Alissa Pili’s game. But okay, give me a one-minute scouting report on Diamond Miller.
Merchant: So I thought she was going to be a really good player out of the 2023 draft. Obviously not as good as Aliyah Boston, but comfortably the second-best player. She’s a really good slasher, can do some point-forward-type things. Really interesting defender, too. Maryland used her all over the floor defensively—power forward, point guard, just all different spots as a help, point of attack. I mean, I just like her athleticism. And I don’t mean to say this because they have the same name, but she reminds me of, like, pre-injury Diamond DeShields, before Kahleah Copper phased in as the new wing on the Chicago Sky. I just like her ability to get downhill and defend her position. And I think, you know, there aren’t a lot of forwards in the W who have that. Unfortunately, she’s just never been able to stay healthy, which is another Diamond DeShields comp.
Valhalla.Basketball (very detailed analysis at site): maybe Diamond Miller
With the team chemistry displayed all season long, Minnesota is going to be motivated to try to keep as much of the group together as possible. They likely to be one of the teams that will actively offer the Valkyries a trade to secure either additional protection that would leave Golden State with an asset in exchange for fewer options for picks or possibly the more costly option of giving up an asset to get Golden State to specifically choose one of the least urgent protection priorities, like the rights to Olivia Epoupa or Maia Hirsch.
The Valkyries will have to weigh that offer against the option to pick from a number of proven players or young prospects that the Lynx will be forced to leave unprotected. There is some expectation that Diamond Miller could be left available as she has not been able to contribute as much this year, but she is still considered a high-level talent. If Miller is protected, that would likely leave Dorka Juhasz available and she is still young, but has already shown the ability to contribute to the rotation. More experienced players like Cecilia Zandalasini and Jessica Shepard are also likely to be available while Golden State could also consider Minnesota’s most recently drafted player Alissa Pili.
I’ve only seen Miller play a couple of times, and tbh it was nothing to write home about. But she profiles as the kind of big wing NBA teams are all trying to stockpile (especially with some on-ball skills), and it seems to me that’s an even rarer archetype in the W, so I can see why she’d be high on everyone’s list.
Juhasz intrigues me a little bit, too. Cheryl Reeve has her centers do a lot, and Dorka managed 5.5. AST per 36 as a rookie (!) and has shown some willingness to step out to the three-point line as well (though her FT% attests to no great shooting touch). She lost a bunch of playing time to Alana Smith this year, but that’s hardly damning. Actually, Smith feels like a pretty good ~90th percentile comp for Juhasz.
There are definitely some folks in my life who would be thrilled with Pili, representing for both Pacific Islanders and indigenous Alaskans. Not sure what the ceiling is for a player like her, but it’d be fun to see what she can do with more minutes on a team that really needs her to score.