Previewing the Portland Fire's WNBA Expansion Draft
In less than forty-eight hours, the WNBA Expansion Draft will begin. What will that mean for the Portland Fire? This piece breaks it all down.
In less than forty-eight hours, the WNBA Expansion Draft will begin.
The moment marks another step towards the return of professional women's basketball to Portland. Each women selected will make history as members of the reignited Fire's first roster.
This piece addresses two important questions: when is the expansion draft, how will it work, and how can fans watch it? In addition, I will attempt to preview the Fire's selections. The list of available players is too extensive to accurately forecast, but there are several traits which I expect head coach Alex Sarama and general manager to covet. By spotlighting those traits, I think we all can be prepared for what the Fire will do on Friday.
When is the WNBA expansion draft?
The WNBA Expansion Draft is slated this Friday at 12:30 PM PST.
How will the WNBA expansion draft work?
The two expansion franchises this season - Portland and Toronto - will alternate picks. Each team can make up to six picks per round, and there are two rounds, so they can hypothetically pick up to twelve players each. After winning a coin toss on Monday, Portland will pick first in the first round; Toronto will pick first in the second round.
Many players are eligible to be selected. Per the league office: “In each round, Portland and Toronto will alternate selections and shall have the right to acquire the player contract of, or the negotiating rights to, one player listed on the Unprotected List of each of the existing 13 teams.“
Each team’s unprotected list contains their entire roster, except for five players, picked at each team’s discretion. Those five players are protected from being selected in the expansion draft.
In addition to picking from unprotected lists, Portland and Toronto are allowed to select one unrestricted free agent this offseason under the new collective bargaining agreement.
Frustratingly, the protected/unprotected lists are all private, meaning only WNBA front offices know who is or isn’t eligible to be selected.
Who will the Fire target in Friday’s WNBA Expansion Draft?
This is truly the million dollar question. Given the draft format explained above, teams are incentivized to protect their five most valuable core players. Muddying waters is the league’s secrecy behind the protected/unprotected lists.
Predicting who Portland will pick amidst that chaos is an impossible task, but I believe it is possible to predict how Portland will pick. I believe that head coach Alex Sarama and general manager Vanja Černivec will covet four traits in Friday’s expansion draft:
Veteran leadership
International playing experience
Alignment with Alex Sarama’s philosophies
Local ties
Veteran leadership is an obvious need. Over a hundred players league-wide are eligible for free agency later this month, freeing up teams to fight for the highest bid. If the money is even, players often pick their best career fits, or whichever team is likelier to contend for a championship. In such a competitive environment, Portland’s expansion team may appear less attractive. If they can’t sign veterans on the open market, the Fire might consider drafting them instead.
International playing experience is an another obvious consideration, given that both head coach Alex Sarama and general manager Vanja Černivec have extensive experience working overseas. The Englishman has learned many lessons coaching in Europe, and will have an easier time applying those lessons with international players.
Related to the second point, alignment with Sarama is a crucial trait for any player considered this offseason. The Fire’s coaching prodigy talks openly about a unique, experimental, constraints led approach to basketball coaching. He has also led coaching clinics on his offense, which emphasizes pace, space, and dribble-drive motion to create efficient shots. Athleticism will be at a premium, as will passing, shooting, and a player’s willingness to learn.
Lastly, and perhaps cynically, local players might help sell tickets. Oregon Ducks legend Sabrina Ionescu is reportedly off the table, but Phoenix forward Satou Sabally (Ionescu’s Oregon teammate from 2017-20) is set to hit the market, and might not make the Mercury’s protected list Friday. Likewise, 37 year old Chicago guard Courtney Vandersloot might not make the Sky’s protected list, but the former Gonzaga star and King County native might find a second wind back home in the Pacific Northwest.
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Matt Bagley is a professional sportswriter and broadcaster with a passion for women’s sports. Outside of work, he cherishes quality time with his birth family, his chosen family, and one very pesky house panther.
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