WNBA Draft Lottery 2024 will be held Sunday, Dec. 10 at 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. In anticipation of the event, we’re analyzing what might happen if each of the four lottery teams—the Indiana Fever, Phoenix Mercury, Los Angeles Sparks and Seattle Storm—win the lottery and the No. 1 pick in a potentially-stacked 2024 WNBA Draft. Time for the Mercury.
More than any team in the WNBA, the Phoenix Mercury, owners of the second-best lottery odds with 276 of 1,000 chances, could use the infusion of elite, young talent that would come with winning the No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft.
Since Brittney Griner was selected first overall in 2013, Phoenix has not seen a draft pick develop into a star, or even a supporting star. All in on Diana Taurasi’s timeline, the Mercury, more often than not, have traded their first-round pick or traded the player selected soon after, seeking to surround Taurasi and Griner with win-now players. Considering Phoenix was a playoff fixture until last season, when the organization missed the playoffs for the first time since 2012, it was an understandable approach.
Now under new leadership, Phoenix should be focused on the future. But, that’s easier said than done. The franchise is not going to push a living legend in Taurasi out the door,…
