Vanja Černivec on "Generational" Draft Pick, Draft Night Deals, and More
After last night's draft, news broke regarding Portland's first and third round picks. Vanja Černivec addressed that, and more, in a wide-ranging press conference.
History was written yesterday, as the WNBA expansion Portland Fire completed their first ever draft night.
Months of collaboration between general manager Vanja Černivec, head coach Alex Sarama, and their staffs came to fruition. In less than three hours, Portland selected 7th overall pick Iyana Martín, 17th overall pick Frieda Bühner, and 37th overall pick Taylor Bigby.
Afterwards, Černivec delivered a press conference. Before fielding a question, she expressed amazement over the Spanish international Martín.
“I’ve been watching Iyana for the last three or four years, and dreamt last year - when I was with the Valkyries - that we could get our hands on her. This year, [knowing] that such a generational talent is actually available at seven outside of the lottery pick is just incredible. I don’t think we could be happier to invite Iyana to Portland. She’s someone that carries her Spanish Avenida team [club team CB Avenida in Spain] and her national team on her shoulders. She’s been an under 19 MVP World Cup MVP, and if you look at the list of players that are up there with her - you have Paige [Paige Bueckers], you have A’ja [A’ja Wilson] - so it’s just an incredible talent.”
Later, Černivec revealed that Fire fans would need to wait to see Martín wear black & red.
“This year, she’s going to be a draft and stash. We had a conversation with her, and it was her preference. She knows exactly what she wants, and for this summer she just said she needs rest. Last year she went through a very serious stomach virus. I don’t know if you remember but during EuroBasket she played I think three or four games, and then she ended up in a hospital for several days, and she still feels like she hasn’t recovered from that, because she went straight from playing from the national team, [then the] hospital, and then her season in Europe started. So for her body and just for her mental health as well, she said she wants to kind of take the summer off, and then focus with her national team on the World Cup.”
Portland’s general manager also raved about the former Florida Gator, and current German national team standout Bühner.
“Second pick, we got our hands on another international, Frieda Bühner. Another young talent that kind of carries her national team on her shoulder with her age. [She is] a sniper, but can also do damage around the hoop as well. I’m very excited! She’s gonna come out probably the next couple of days, so [I’m] excited to welcome her in Portland.”
Over the past two seasons, Bühner represented Germany at the 2024 FIBA U20 Women’s EuroBasket, then the 2024 Summer Olympics, and now plays a vital role in Germany’s FIBA World Cup qualifying. She is just 21 years old.
Many fans left the Fire’s official draft night party following Bühner’s selection, confused and perhaps frustrated after the expansion team overlooked many notable college basketball stars through two rounds. As to be expected from any team’s general manager, Černivec defended her picks.
“If you zoom out, I think there’s more international players - you guys can tell me better, probably, you know the numbers - there’s more international players this year than ever before. You also have to put into context that international players are three to four years younger than the players who have just graduated from [the] NCAA. The fact that the two players that we took are carrying their national team on their shoulders at this age is just something you can’t ignore. So [what] I just want to say to the fans is just yeah, please have trust in our scouting department and our team, that we do watch across [the globe], globally, what players are doing and the levels of the leagues they’re competing at. [I] just want to give them a chance. To the fans and the community: please go watch their highlights, what they do internationally, and then once they’re here, just give them a chance.“
Portland’s historic draft night concluded with former Oregon Duck Taylor Bigby, whose time with the Fire proved to be short lived. Černivec explained that the franchise traded Bigby’s rights to the Connecticut Sun.
“Usually the third round is very boring, but we managed to make it interesting, and successfully managed to trade up with Connecticut. So we got our hands on Serah Williams from UConn. As Ashley [VP of Basketball Operations Ashley Battle] mentioned before, you cannot have too many UConn players on your team, ever. [Serah is] another player that we think has a lot of potential, and with our coaching and in our system, we think [we] can develop her into a really, really good player and pillar on our team. Defensively we all know she’s a monster, but [she] can run the floor. We’re very confident we can develop her offensive game.”
Williams went four picks earlier, to Connecticut, at 33 overall. Before transferring to UConn ahead of the 2025-26 season, she played three years at Wisconsin, twice earning Big Ten Conference All-Defensive Team and First Team All-Big Ten honors, while once earning the Big Ten Conference Defensive Player of the Year award. In Storrs, her minutes were almost halved (17.4 per game), but she still averaged impressive defensive statistics: Williams averaged 1.3 blocks, 0.7 steals, 4.4 rebounds, and less than 2 fouls per game.
Pending the agreement of training camp contracts, Bühner and Williams will compete for roster spots when practices begin on April 19th.
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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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