Just like any other sport, the lead up to the WNBA Draft is always a time of mystery and intrigue. A day before the draft came word of a massive trade.
The Minnesota Lynx and the Chicago Sky hooked up on a multi-faceted deal, with news breaking Sunday morning. The two WNBA playoff teams from last season have flip-flopped picks in the first round as part of a larger trade.
Chicago gave its No. 8 pick — one of two it owns in the first round — to Minnesota for the No. 7. Additionally, the Sky are sending forward Sika Kone, a 2025 second-rounder, and the rights to pick swap first-rounders in 2026. In return, the Lynx are sending forward Nikolina Milic to the Windy City.
Trade Alters WNBA Draft Order
While the trade involves picks in the lower-middle part of the first round, it remains of great consequence. While it doesn’t change that Iowa Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark is still a lead-pipe lock to go to the Indiana Fever at No. 1, it may change where one of her main rivals ends up playing professionally.
LSU Tigers forward Angel Reese has been widely speculated to go at either pick 7 or 8. Many prognosticators figure Reese will fit in well with Chicago. However, Minnesota, with no pressing positions to fill, was seen as on the fence about possibly taking Reese one selection before the Sky make their second pick of the opening round.
The trade now likely makes Reese completely available for Chicago if they so choose at No. 7. Much speculation now resides in whether the Lynx will take a top collegiate player in what is acknowledged as a deep WNBA Draft, or possibly look overseas.
One player the Lynx are seen as preferring is Australian basketball forward Nyadiew Puoch. The 6-foot-3 19-year-old is expected to go in the middle to end of the first round. For the Australian National Team, she averages 11.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game.
For the Southside Flyers of the Australian professional league, she averages 6.2 points, and 3.6 rebounds per contest as a raw, but talented player that may take some time to develop in the WNBA.
The Lynx also reportedly have an eye on 19-year-old Australian guard Isobel Borlase, who plays for the Adelaide Lightning. Borlase may not immediately come to the WNBA, but Minnesota could move to lock up her rights all the same.
Chicago Sky to be Busy on WNBA Draft Night
The picks will come fast and furious off the board at the WNBA Draft. The draft begins at 7:30 p.m. ET Monday night. After Clark goes No. 1 — as long as the apocalypse does not begin — it’s a crapshoot at who will go where.
ESPN remains steadfast that Stanford Cardinal forward Cameron Brink will go second to the Los Angeles Sparks, leaving a bevy of opportunities for the Sky at No. 3. ESPN is banking that the Sky will go with bruising South Carolina Gamecocks center Kamilla Cardoso at No. 3.
Pairing Cardoso with Reese at No. 7 would give the Sky a prospectively formidable frontcourt as the team builds in a new direction after the February trade that sent leading scorer Kahleah Copper to the Phoenix Mercury for the third pick in Monday’s draft.
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Tom Carothers is a sportswriter with more than 20 years of experience covering sports at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels. Still longing for the return of his Minnesota North Stars, he has a high pain tolerance as a big fan of the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Browns, and Tottenham Hotspur.
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