February 28, 2025
Locked On Women’s Basketball: WNBA draft picks are on the move
By The Next
Jackie Powell and Hunter Cruse break down a few recent trades and discuss how teams are changing their approach
Welcome back to another episode of Locked On Women’s Basketball. Your host Jackie Powell and her guest Hunter Cruse are discussing recent WNBA trades that will affect incoming rookies. In particular, the offseason moves that have sent first-round and even lottery picks away in favor of more established talent.
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According to Powell, there are just three first-round picks still assigned to their original team. Cruse said he believes this trend is largely due to the quick turnaround between the end of the NCAA season and the start of the WNBA season, and whether players like Olivia Miles will eventually declare.
“If you are LA and you’re at No. 2, you kind of have to pick someone at that point,” Cruse explained. “I guess they viewed it as ‘we can either keep this pick and hope that she will declare, but if she doesn’t then we’re in a tough spot.'”
Instead of waiting for her decision, the Los Angeles Sparks acquired two-time WNBA champion Kelsey Plum in a three-way trade. They also received the ninth overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft.
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Powell and Cruse also touched on how other factors like the new CBA, the option to core players and the strategy around expansion drafts also play in to the decision on who to choose.
“If you look at the championship winners across the history of the WNBA, basically every single team has had a top-two pick on their team,” Cruse said. “I think there’s going to be more lottery teams, but that, to me, makes the top picks even more valuable… If you get one of those picks, you can’t trade it.”
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Tune in to hear their full discussion and make sure you don’t miss Cruse’s Saturday podcasts where he looks at the top college and international prospects ahead of the WNBA Draft. Subscribe to the Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast to keep learning about the WNBA, women’s college basketball, basketball history and much more!
