The Washington Mystics find themselves in an intriguing spot heading into the offseason. The rookie duo of Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen helped the team improve to 16-28, and before the team traded away Brittney Sykes, it looked like the Mystics could have found a way to sneak into the playoffs.
The Sykes trade signaled that this front office knows it's building for the long term, not the short term. That's something WNBA teams aren't always great at recognizing, but Washington has taken the long view here. While much of the league will likely be jockeying for position in a crowded free agent market, only three Mystics are unrestricted free agents — Alysha Clark, Stefanie Dolson and Jade Melbourne. Young players are either under contract or, in the case of Shakira Austin, are restricted free agents.
Washington has some clear needs this offseason — a starting point guard and wing depth — and is set to have three first-round picks to work with: its own lottery pick, as well as the No. 9 pick from Seattle and the No. 11 pick from the Mystics.
Let's take a look at some potential prospects Washington should be scouting, all the way from the top of the board in case the team wins the lottery, down to late first-round options.
Olivia Miles, G, TCU
This is the perfect player for the Mystics to draft, but the team will almost certainly need to move up in the draft lottery to get her.
Miles is the best pure point guard in this class. There are questions about how her scoring will translate to the next level, but there should be no questions about how her playmaking will translate. She can make every pass and has an innate understanding of how space works on a basketball court. She can defend primary ball-handlers as well.
The big concern is that Miles was a pretty bad shooter for her first three years in college before something seemingly clicked last season, with Miles shooting 40.6 percent from deep, much better than her 22.6 percent mark in her previous season. Was that jump real? If it is, Miles might very quickly be one of the WNBA's best guards. If it wasn't real, then she'll still be a high-level point guard, but will need to be surrounded by shooters. Good thing the Mystics have her former college teammate, Sonia Citron!
Flau'Jae Johnson, G, LSU
Flau'Jae Johnson might be the best pure athlete in this draft class. She's got the speed and explosiveness to make big plays on both ends of the floor. She's also a very good shooter, connecting on 38.3 percent of her 3-point attempts last season. She's such a good shooter that Kim Mulkey — a coach who traditionally avoids the 3-ball — actually lets her shoot.
Johnson probably can't be a lead guard in the WNBA because she isn't a great playmaker. In fact, she averaged more turnovers than assists last season. She won't solve the point guard issue, but with her on the roster, Citron can play the three full-time and the Mystics would have two elite off-ball scorers.
Azzi Fudd, G, UConn
Like Johnson, Fudd is going to be more of an off-ball guard in the WNBA. She's a very good shooter who has some ability to create her own shot, but she tops out as a secondary ball-handler, leaving Washington still in search of a point guard solution.
If I'm the Mystics, I'm happy with drafting Fudd if that's how it shakes out, but her injury concerns are aplenty, and I'd probably rather draft Johnson for the athletic upside.
Kiki Rice, G, UCLA
UCLA is going to be weird to watch this season because the Bruins have two point guards, with Kiki Rice and Charlisse Leger-Walker. That should give Rice a chance to play off the ball more, which could be good for her development.
Rice is a great on-ball defender who can run an offense, but I do have concerns about her ability to create her own shot. However, if Rice falls to the range of Washington's second first-round pick, she's worth taking a shot on.
Gianna Kneepkens, G, UCLA
Gianna Kneepkens is a lights-out shooter. Last year at Utah, she connected on 44.8 percent of her 3-point attempts, and it wasn't like that was a product of low volume, as she attempted 6.8 3s per game.
Kneepkens is probably a net negative on defense at this point and offensively, she might be nothing more than a spot-up shooter at the next level. But if the Mystics can get a point guard with one of their first two first-round picks, then taking a shot at Kneepkens with the third of the team's picks and just letting her light it up off the bench is a solid plan.