GSV Expansion Draft Prediction: Phoenix Mercury
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The primary index for the whole Expansion Draft Series is here.
SI.com: Celeste Taylor
This one was tough. The Mercury's five starters will all certainly be protected, and we expect Monique Billings to be the sixth player chosen. That leaves Taylor and Natasha Mack; both of whom figure to be likely selections for Golden State. We ultimately went with Taylor — despite her having a very similar playing style to Muhl — because she's younger and our projected Valkyries roster needs more guards.
Valhalla.Basketball (very detailed analysis at site): Natasha Mack or Celeste Taylor
Assuming that Diana Taurasi announces her retirement before the protection deadline, Phoenix should not have too much difficulty in making their decisions, which would not likely leave the Valkyries with a particularly exciting choice. It would be nice to be able to pick Natasha Mack or Celeste Taylor, but if there end up being enough spots to protect both, then the decision would come down to the other three players with reserved status. Mikiah Herbert Harrigan’s questionable availability for next year might actually be beneficial in that the team might want to pick some players who they can postpone decisions on instead of having to cut players immediately before their first season. Charisma Osborne and Amy Atwell would be players who would be picked for training camp, getting their chances to prove themselves there for a spot on the final roster. This does not appear to be a team that would actively pursue a trade with Golden State, although they could make a small offer for additional protection.
Fansided: Mikiah Herbert Harrigan
Herbert Harrigan hardly played in the Mercury's first-round loss to the Lynx, and Phoenix seems to have its sights set on getting bigger and more physical in the frontcourt. But she was a fan favorite at South Carolina, and she flashed some offensive upside as a rookie with Seattle before spending the better part of the last four years playing in Europe. Speaking of 3-and-D archetypes, they didn't call her Mad Kiki in Columbia for nothing.
I have a question. So I read that next year there will be a big free agency event (something to do with the new Tv Deal/CBA?). So it would make sense for the Vs to keep some of their financial powder dry until that happens in case they can snag someone special on the FA market flood next year. Assuming they are considering that, how might that affect their choices this year (expansion draft, draft, and FA)?
The obvious answer is that they will probably not overpay anyone or select anyone they consider overpaid but, in my quest to understand the nuances better, are there any more subtle choices the looming FA event might affect?
No strong opinions here, though I did watch quite a few Mercury games this year (spouse is a huge DT fan).
Taylor is definitely a dogged, twitchy defender. Really moves around screens, gets into ball handlers, etc. Not sure there’s a whole lot else to her game, though. Maybe. She is young.
Mack is a bouncy, athletic shot blocker. Maybe sort of Damian Jones-ish?
Herbert-Harrigan is (theoretically) a shooter, but she hasn’t played much.