The GSV Expansion Draft Prediction Series

a tour of each team to see who might be drafted by the Golden State Valkyries

The Golden State Valkyries Expansion Draft is coming and it’s time to get ready. The draft will be announced Dec 6, which gives us 17 days to prepare. Since there are 12 teams in the WNBA contributing players, we will do one team each weekday.

To be clear, there is no way we will predict this properly. First, we won’t (EVER) know who is protected. Second, there is the possibility of GSV making trades. Third, the players drafted from one team are highly dependent on the ones drafted from the others, as the roster has to be coherent.

This exercise is just a way to digest a little bit at a time about the possibilities and at least for me, a chance to catch up on the league.

I’ll be sharing a few predictions I’ve seen elsewhere — I am not savvy enough to predict — and throwing in some highlight film. I will rely on SI.com, Fansided, The Ringer and Valhalla.Basketball. If you have another source you think I should include, please say so in the comments.

This will serve as a primary index for the series. Tomorrow we’ll start with the Atlanta Dream.

• Atlanta Dream

• Chicago Sky

• Connecticut Sun (11/21)

• Dallas Wings (11/22)

• Indiana Fever (11/25)

• Las Vegas Aces (11/26)

• Los Angeles Sparks (11/27)

• Minnesota Lynx (11/28)

• New York Liberty (11/29)

• Phoenix Mercury (12/2)

• Seattle Storm (12/3)

• Washington Mystics (12/4)

And finally, the actual draft day thread with 173 comments…

• At last, Valkyries Expansion Draft (and trades) to be announced Fri Dec 6, 3:30pm Pacific on ESPN

• And the final GSV expansion draft roster with interviews with Martin, Nakase and Nyanin

The Expansion Draft

Too Long; Didn't Read

• Each current WNBA team can protect up to six players from being selected

• The Golden State Valkyries will select from a designated pool of available players from each of the 12 current teams

• The Golden State Valkyries may make pre-expansion draft trades, including deals to pick specific players and trade them to different teams

• The Golden State Valkyries may only select one player set to become a 2024 unrestricted free agent.

The nitty gritty rules

The WNBA said:

The WNBA’s 13^th franchise, the Golden State Valkyries, set to begin play in 2025, will begin assembling the team’s inaugural roster when the league conducts the Golden State Expansion Draft on Friday, December 6, on ESPN. 

Golden State will have the ability to select from a designated pool of available players as designated by each of the current 12 teams.

Following the conclusion of the 2024 WNBA season and in advance of the Expansion Draft, each of the existing teams will be required to submit to the league office a Roster List that includes every player to whom the team has rights – players on the team’s active, suspended, draft list/reserved, core, and retired lists – as of the final day of the 2024 regular season. The deadline for the submission of the Roster List will be determined at a later date but is expected to be approximately 10 days prior to the date of the Expansion Draft. 

The submitted Roster List of each of the current 12 teams will be required to designate a maximum of six “Protected Players” who will not be available for selection in the Expansion Draft. All other players on each team’s Roster List will be eligible for selection by the Valkyries (“Available Expansion Draft players)”.

Golden State will have the opportunity to acquire the player contract of, or the negotiating rights to, one available player from each of the current 12 teams.

If a player not signed to a contract for the 2025 season is selected, Golden State shall receive whatever rights to such player that the existing team would have had if that player was not selected in the Expansion Draft. The Valkyries will only be able to select one player in the Expansion Draft who is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent following the 2024 season. Golden State may choose such a player provided that the player has not previously played pursuant to a Core Player contract for two or more seasons. Golden State may then designate that player as its one Core Player in January. Any unrestricted free agents not selected in the Expansion Draft and not designated as a Core Player by their current team may be signed by any team, including Golden State, once the free agency period opens in February.

Between the time that the Roster Lists are submitted and a designated time on the day before the Expansion Draft, Golden State will be permitted to make trades with existing teams, including (i) an agreement to select a particular player from the list of Available Expansion Draft players, and trade that player to a team other than their existing team; and (ii) an agreement to select (or not select) a particular player from such trading team’s list of Available Expansion Draft players.

Reminder: the protected players will NOT be announced publicly

You can imagine how much outcry and drama could erupt over these lists.