The Golden State Valkyries, the WNBA’s new expansion franchise, will begin the process of filling out its roster for its inaugural season on Friday night during a highly anticipated expansion draft. That event is set for 6:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast by ESPN.
In simple terms, the expansion draft works like this: the Valkyries can select up to 12 players, but no more than one from each of the other 12 teams. The current teams, meanwhile, were able to protect six players, including those on the roster and those whose draft rights they hold, making them ineligible for selection.
Unfortunately, the league did not make those protected lists public, so we don’t know for sure who is off limits and who is available. We can make some educated guesses, though, based on the current teams’ roster and salary-cap situations. Here is a full breakdown of which six players each team might protect.
As the Valkyries start their team from scratch, they will likely be targeting young players with upside who either need a change of scenery or who, for whatever reason, haven’t gotten much of a chance so far. Ahead of Friday, here is a look at five players who might be available that would make sense for the Valkyries.
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