Will surprisingly competitive Valkyries be a buyer ahead of WNBA trade deadline?

San Francisco Chronicle​

14 hours ago

The WNBA trade deadline is Aug. 7 and the Golden State Valkyries might enter it in a position few anticipated: as buyers.
For an expansion team built primarily on short-term veteran contracts, many expected a selloff in order to stockpile future assets. But the Valkyries (10-12) will return to the court Friday after the All-Star break just one game out of a playoff spot.
Whether that means staying the course or making a bold trade remains to be seen. But general manager Ohemaa Nyanin isn't ruling anything out.
'I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't evaluate talent,' Nyanin said. 'I travel with a team to be able to do that in person, being able to see what we've created and then using each game as an opportunity to evaluate other talent. I think where we're at right now is not being too hasty about any of the decisions that we need to make moving forward.'
Upcoming collective bargaining agreement negotiations may complicate the trade market, but teams without playoff hopes could still be interested in shipping away veterans for draft picks. It's hard to say how much value each draft pick actually has, especially after WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert had no answers about an expansion draft format this offseason, but it opens the door to some possibilities.
'We know nothing,' Nyanin added. 'Regardless of whether we know now or in the next two months, decisions are still going to be hard. How you put your roster together as a result of an expansion team, everybody's going to have a different philosophy. So knowing the information now versus knowing it at the end of the season isn't really going to make that much of a difference.'
The Valkyries have ample cap space. After the official midway point — which was July 14 — every contract became guaranteed, so cutting any player would not save any cap space.
Golden State will already get a second-half reinforcement in stretch center Iliana Rupert, who joins the team after playing for France at EuroBasket. The 6-foot-5 big will give the Valkyries a much-needed size boost and ability to shoot from 3-point range.
But the Valkyries have other issues to address, too. And if they were to fall out of the race quickly, plenty of teams would be willing to add someone like All-Star Kayla Thornton or Temi Fagbenle to their rotation.
Golden State scores the fourth-fewest points per game (79.1) in the league, has the second-worst shooting (40.2%), second-worst 3-point shooting (30.7%), and fourth-fewest assists per game (18.4). They've upped their scoring in the past six games, but five of those have been losses.
Adding a veteran scorer who is accustomed to taking the ball in late-game situations could alter the dynamic, if the Valkyries believe it is worth parting with a few draft picks to make a playoff run in their first season.
Dallas guard Arike Ogunbowale, who is averaging 15.7 points on 34.6% from the field and 30.5% 3-point shooting, could be someone the Wings are willing to part with. The Valkyries could fit her $249,032 cap hit for the rest of the season. The Wings (6-17) have already been active, trading NaLyssa Smith to Las Vegas, but Ogwunbowale is in her seventh season with Dallas and has become the face of the franchise.
Los Angeles All-Star guard Kelsey Plum is averaging 20.1 points per game, a career-high 5.8 assists, but the Sparks are 8-14 and in the midst of a rebuilding season.
Veteran forward Tina Charles was a free agent target this offseason, but signed with Connecticut. The 36-year-old has scored 15.6 points per game in 28.8 minutes with the Sun, but the addition of Rupert could take Charles off the board.
Golden State hasn't been afraid to make bold moves. It cut veteran forward Steph Talbot to make room for Rupert despite her guaranteed contract, and made the controversial choice to waive point guard Julie Vanloo following EuroBasket and faced criticism for letting second-round pick Shyanne Sellers go five days into the preseason.
'This has not been super enjoyable to be quite frank,' Nyanin said. 'I knew it was going to be hard, so it's a lesson in, you can't please everybody.'
The Valkyries will play seven times before the trade deadline and most of the games can be considered winnable. In that stretch, Dallas (on Friday) and Atlanta (on July 29) are the only teams they have yet to beat and they can gain ground against Washington and Las Vegas — the current holders of the final two playoff spots.
Golden State will play 11 games against sub-.500 opponents before facing a top-five team (Atlanta on Aug. 17).