Monthly Archives: April 2013

2013 WNBA Draft Preview, Part 2

In case you missed it, Part 1 of this preview appeared yesterday here. On to Part 2, and the remaining six teams.

 

San Antonio Silver Stars

Gains: DeLisha Milton-Jones

Losses: Sophia Young to an ACL tear

Picks: #8, #16, #20 and #32

 

By the time San Antonio get involved, mock drafts will be falling apart and there’ll probably be at least one pick that led viewers to recoil and ask “Really? Her?” And it always seems like somehow a player that was supposed to go higher in the draft ends up falling in San Antonio head coach/GM Dan Hughes’s lap, wherever he may be positioned. Shenise Johnson wasn’t supposed to still be there at #5 last year; he found Danielle Adams still on the board at #20 a year earlier; you could even go back to 2007 when Camille Little was available at #17. So it feels like someone discussed in Part 1 of this preview will slip through and still be there for him to jump on.

The most likely area to target for San Antonio appears to be the post, especially after star forward Sophia Young blew out her knee while playing overseas. They picked up some cover in the shape of veteran DeLisha Milton-Jones, but they already had limited interior presence and rebounding. Tianna Hawkins (Maryland), Toni Young (Oklahoma State) and Kayla Alexander (Syracuse) could all be options if they’re still on the board, with other bigs like Carolyn Davis of Kansas starting to enter the conversation as well. Continue reading →

2013 WNBA Draft Preview, Part 1

Welcome back, everybody! As always, it’s been a long offseason for the WNBA, and WNBAlien took a similarly lengthy hiatus to recharge the batteries. But Monday night sees one of the most highly anticipated drafts in the league’s history, so it’s time to take a look at what might happen. Below is a reminder of the important moves each team has made in the offseason, a look at the remaining holes in each roster, and a guess or two at where the GMs might be leaning with their picks. Not so much a mock draft as a reintroduction to the world of the WNBA.

So here we go, in draft order from the top on down.


Phoenix Mercury

Gains: Very little so far, but an awful lot after Monday night. And they’re likely to be less ‘injured’ this year.

Losses: Also nothing much.

Picks: #1 and #26

 
This has been rehashed countless times in every outlet that pays any attention to the WNBA at all. They tanked, we all know they tanked, but it’s over and it worked. There’s no debate about the pick, with 6-8 Baylor behemoth Brittney Griner the first choice of absolutely everybody. Even Mercury head coach Corey Gaines should be able to improve his defense simply by sticking Griner in the middle of it and letting her play. She won’t hurt on offense, either.

The #26 pick could be anything and is unlikely to stick on the roster through training camp (as is the case with most players taken after the first round in WNBA drafts).

The Mercury have also re-signed DeWanna Bonner and have Penny Taylor returning from a serious knee injury. Plus this season they might actually give a crap about winning basketball games. Continue reading →