Winners and losers from the 2019 WNBA Draft
A surprising pick at No. 4 and aggressiveness from the Phoenix Mercury made for a fascinating 2019 WNBA Draft.
Once Oregon wing sensation Sabrina Ionescu — you might know her better as the next Steph Curry — decided to remain in college basketball for her senior season, Wednesday’s 2019 WNBA Draft changed. The Las Vegas Aces, with the No. 1 overall pick for the second consecutive season, were no longer in such a special position to put the talent of their young core over the top.
It also leveled the playing field without a clear top option. That led to the Chicago Sky reaching for sharpshooter Katie Lou Samuelson with the fourth pick. The ripples from that point defined the draft.
Let’s sift through the fallout from the draft.
Winners
New York Liberty
The Liberty just can’t get enough UConn players. New York now has first-round picks from 2014, 2015 and 2018 that all went to Connecticut on their roster. They might not be taking this scouting thing seriously enough. However this year, the Liberty reversed their seemingly simplified process and just picked the best player available.
They got the most fun youngster in the draft, Louisville’s Asia Durr, who shot 35 percent on over five 3-point attempts per season as a senior. She brings the most star potential and will fit right into the Big Apple as a smooth, marketable playmaker with legit wing size.
Facing the potential that franchise legend Tina Charles finally departs after signing a one-year core contract (basically the W’s equivalent of a franchise tag), New York needs its next star. Unfortunately, no one else on the Liberty roster averaged double-digit points in 2018.
Brian Agler
The former Los Angeles Sparks coach made the move to the Lone Star state to coach the Dallas Wings this summer, going from a great situation where he won a championship in 2017 to a much less sturdy infrastructure in Dallas. We could look back at the 2019 draft as the day that changed for the Wings.
By scooping up Arike Ogunbowale, who you may know as the woman who slayed UConn — and then Mississippi State — with buzzer-beaters in the 2018 tournament, Dallas completely resets his franchise. Ogunbowale is a typical scoring guard who will pair well with the bigger, more physical Skylar Diggins-Smith, and potentially lead the Wings back to the playoffs.
Particularly as the Wings look to flip 2018 MVP candidate Liz Cambage after her offseason trade request, nabbing another young star is important. If the rest of the offseason goes well for Dallas, they could be back on track to contend again in short order — and sustain their competitiveness for much longer than they would have with the shallow roster around Cambage and Diggins-Smith.
Napheesa Collier
Connecticut’s incredible interior presence fell to a perfect situation with the Minnesota Lynx. Particularly after the decision by Maya Moore to sit out the 2019 season to serve her faith more actively, there was a huge hole in Minneapolis. Collier can help fill it.
While she is not a perfect fit next to 2017 MVP Sylvia Fowles, the Lynx can groom Collier to potentially replace Fowles long-term and there is no better coach to make great talent work than Cheryl Reeve. It helps additionally that Reeve typically plays two bigs anyway. We will get to see Collier in a better circumstance than just about any rookie.
Phoenix Mercury
For a team whose coaches and front office executives will tell you they were three minutes away from a championship (they were close at the end of a deciding Game 5 of the semifinals and felt they would have been favored in the Finals), Phoenix managed to upgrade its roster considerably on draft night.
Armed with picks eight and 13, the Mercury first drafted two perfect fits, Alanna Smith and Sophie Cunningham. They were two of the better shooters in the entire draft, meaning Phoenix could space the floor for Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner better than ever in 2019.
Then, they managed to trade for Notre Dame forward Brianna Turner, a physical defensive presence who grew considerably, like all of the Fighting Irish, as a transition scorer over four years at school.
All three will play for Phoenix next year despite coach Sandy Brondello’s usual hesitancy to play rookies.
Losers
Connecticut Sun
This is not to say their first-round pick, Kristine Anigwe, is a bad player, rather to express concern over how they get all their talent on the court at once. Connecticut’s problem is not a lack of talent but a glut of good and above-average players who don’t necessarily fit well or possess star potential to push them over the top. Anigwe does little to change that.
Too often over the past couple seasons the Sun have been unable to find minutes for their big trio of Jonquel Jones, Alyssa Thomas and Chiney Ogwumike. Adding Anigwe to that group only magnifies that issue despite her talent and production at California.
Washington Mystics
Drafting Kiara Leslie simply felt like a reach for the Mystics. ESPN’s final mock draft of the year had Leslie going 19th — Washington picked her 10th. There’s nothing that quite stands out about her statistical resume despite good size at the guard spot.
Leslie made just 38 percent of her 3s and 72 percent of her free throws this season, meaning it’s not a lock she’ll be a great shooter in the WNBA. She also tallied 73 turnovers this year to just 96 assists.
The Mystics certainly need more shot creation, but Leslie doesn’t seem like the right answer.
Next. Full WNBA Draft results. dark
Katie Lou Samuelson
The Huskies’ sharpshooting guard went higher than expected to Chicago at No. 4, where she will struggle to find playing time. With Allie Quigley and Courtney Vandersloot locked into heavy minutes starting at the guard spots in Chicago, there’s not an obvious opening for Samuelson with the Sky this year.
Her skill set is one that figures to translate quickly to the pros, though, which makes this all the more puzzling. However, it’s not hard to imagine Samuelson forming interesting chemistry with last year’s Sky first-round picks, Diamond DeShields and Gabby Williams, two more modern and of course younger prospects.