RebKell's Junkie Boards

[Rock Hard]

My fellow Chicago fan did a good job with the draft picks that were selected. As I have stated before my personal choice would be to draft Mack in the first round. I know that in reality Mack will likely be gone before the Sky can draft her. I can live with the Sky drafting several guards and let those guards compete for that backup point guard position.

_________________
You can win, as long as you keep your head to the SKY! Be OPTIMISTIC!

[myrtle]

[Stormeo]

Commissioner Stormeo's Draft Grades
And I won't be giving anyone any Fs or even Ds this year, especially since I'm the Commish and it would simply be bad optics for any League official to harshly criticize any of my teams!

Atlanta
3. Rennia Davis, F/G
15. Aaliyah Wilson, G/F
27. Janelle Bailey, C/F

The Dream opt to go with size and rebounding with their lottery pick. Whether Davis can become a plus defender remains to be seen, but she has the tools to be one. Too, if the Dream ever need to go with a smaller lineup, Davis can be used at the 4 (that role belonged to Shekinna Stricklen last season, but she never really thrived in it). Minutes may still be surprisingly hard to come by, but Davis' player profile offers the team something they don't have, which will work in her favor. It may come down to her ability to knock down outside shots though, which is not yet consistent. Wilson and Bailey are decent picks, but they'd more or less be trying out this season for camp invites next season. A deferral pick probably would've been more useful with one of those picks.

Grade: B+

Chicago
8. Kiana Williams, CG
16. Unique Thompson, F/C

Williams is that two-way energy guard Chicago was looking for, especially with McDonald off the board one pick earlier. Williams might also be good enough to where she could be trying out for the next few years to eventually take Courtney Vandersloot's spot as the starting PG (or as soon as next year, if Slooty signs elsewhere). Thompson is a good pick that might fit in well offensively, and if she impresses during training camp, the Sky may have enough cap money after the Olympics to sign her onto the regular roster.

Grade: A-

Connecticut
20. Stephanie Watts, G/F
21. Destiny Slocum, PG
30. Jenn Wirth, F/C

The good news is that even as they're second-round picks, Watts and Slocum will both be able to compete for a spot on this Sun team this season due to the arrangement of the Sun's bench (as it’s very cheap and thus inexperienced out of necessity). The bad news is, the two picks will most likely be competing against each other for a single spot, based on how the Sun's cap situation is laid out. Still, the Sun needed shooters on the perimeter, and they went out and got 'em. Watts is a better shooter than her numbers suggest (and a decent overall player), and Slocum always had range in her wheelhouse, so it'll probably come down to how either one fits positionally with the rest of the team. Wirth is a kind pick-up with sound fundamentals as a player, and maybe – just maybe – has an outside chance at leaving an impression, again due to the Sun's weak bench.

Grade: B+

Dallas
1. Awak Kuier, F
2. Charli Collier, C/F
5. Chelsea Dungee, G/F
7. Aari McDonald, PG
13. Chelsey Perry, F

Dallas had many high picks, and therefore many opportunities to perhaps overthink things & totally whiff on a pick or two – but they did not. Kuier is their future talent (it would work out nicely for Dallas’ roster if she were to stay home in Finland until at least 2022). This year, Collier, Dungee, and McDonald should be a nice well-rounded trio for them. Collier likely starts from Day 1 out of necessity, while Dungee and McDonald will most likely be great energy-bringers off the bench. Perry, meanwhile, might just make the team herself – particularly if other post returners such as Bella Alarie & Megan Gustafson don't fit new coach Vickie Johnson's style very well. Perry should have the edge in outside shooting (shot over 40% from distance on a few attempts per game last season) over those two, so that camp battle will be interesting.

Grade: A

Indiana
4. Arella Guirantes, G/F
19. DiDi Richards, F/G
24. Micaela Kelly, CG
26. N'dea Jones, PF
31. Maxuella Lisowa Mbaka, F/G
33. Tiana Mangakahia, PG

All in all, Indiana did a fabulous job particularly in the latter-half of the Draft at getting talent at good spots. Guirantes is a do-it-all guard that the team hasn't really had since Shenise Johnson was on the roster (and healthy). Richards can compete for a SF spot (which is a weaker positional group for Indiana) by being the best defender, and as a bonus, she can also be an emergency PG if needed. Kelly will have to do her best Erica Wheeler impression if she wants to have any chance at making the team, but with her fiery ability to score at will, she's got it in her. Mangakahia meanwhile will have to do her best Julie Allemand impression to make the team, but if she can fully demonstrate her ability to balance shooting and passing, she could make things interesting in the battle for a backup PG spot. Jones is a PF with a plays-bigger-than-her-size profile that Indiana doesn't currently have – and while she almost certainly doesn't make the team this year, next year could be a possibility. And the Belgian, Lisowa Mbaka, while she isn't the best international talent who was still available, could very well have been taken to further the Fever's relationship with fellow Belgian Allemand. So it was a savvy use of a pick.

Grade: A

Las Vegas
12. Jasmine Walker, F
14. Iliana Rupert, C
36. Marine Fauthoux, PG

Vegas made themselves very interesting by selecting not one, but two highly regarded French teenagers at higher-demand positions. Walker as a frontcourt player could be just the 3PT shooter Vegas needs to fully gain control of the #1 seed (which they're already projected to get). If Walker can become a clone of Dearica Hamby (which is possible, seeing as Hamby is almost certainly going to mentor her here), look out. And after all this, Vegas still has enough roster flexibility to where they can be one of the few teams that watches the waiver wire with true purpose.

Grade: A+

Los Angeles
10. Michaela Onyenwere, SF
22. Selena Lott, CG
28. Ciera Johnson, C
34. Destinee Walker, SG

Boy, oh, boy – I'm sorry to these players for getting drafted here. Not because it's LA ( ), but because there are already so few spots. There’s a chance none of them make the team, so it was a little disappointing to not see LA take at least one potential deferral pick. Still, SF has always been a wonky position for the Sparks, so Onyenwere certainly has a shot here – even though they already have a few players competing for a spot (maybe two). Lott may actually have a better chance at sticking here as a 3rd-string PG than Onyenwere, seeing as she's basically a PG with both G/F size and a defensive ability that sets her apart from LA's current ball-handlers. Johnson could make the team at first if Vadeeva doesn't show up and there's an untimely injury to a post player, but that's about it. And I'm not sure what Walker will be able to show in camp, seeing as she's a player that does everything well but nothing in particular super well.

Grade: C+

Minnesota
9. Dana Evans, CG

The Lynx got great talent to fall to them at #9. And there is certainly a need at backup-PG right now, especially if one thinks of Rachel Banham and Lexie Brown more as SGs. All in all, they did pretty darn good with their one pick.

Grade: A

New York
6. Natasha Mack, C/F
17. Kysre Gondrezick, CG
25. Raquel Carrera, F/C
29. Kendra Chéry, SF

I love these picks for New York. They need a little more help in the post, and if Mack impresses in camp, she could be the starter at C from Day 1 and never(?) look back. Gondrezick is a guard with a scorer's mentality, and though her chance of making the team is low, she has the type of profile any WNBA team would be interested in. If she doesn’t make the roster this season, she could certainly make it next season if she plays her cards right. Carrera and Chéry being European teenagers are savvy deferral picks, though one may have to start questioning at some point how many players' rights a team is allowed to carry (New York is certainly approaching whatever limit exists, if they aren't already there).

Grade: A

Phoenix
32. Shyla Heal, CG

Phoenix didn't need a player who could show up this year, and thus, they didn't get one. Heal had a bit of a surprising slip all the way down to this spot – perfect for an Australian-flavored Phoenix team. Was it luck? Yes. But did they still pick correctly? Also yes. The young jitterbug guard Heal is someone Australia (if not the States as well) will hear about for many years to come.

Grade: A

Seattle
11. DiJonai Carrington, SG
18. Aleah Goodman, CG
23. Laura Meldere, PF
35. Tyra Whitehead, F/C

The Storm opted to get a little bit of everything here. Carrington is a great defense-oriented guard who is really more of a two-way player than people give her credit for. Goodman is an elite shooter who can play on or off the ball. That said, neither player has a great chance at making the team, but they both bring some intriguing skillsets to the team. The Latvian Meldere is an interesting choice for an international deferral pick, seeing as the Storm's other Latvian player Kitija Laksa hasn't exactly nailed down a roster spot yet. If she does though, that could be an interesting pairing in the future. Finally, Whitehead has a small chance at extending her tryout into the regular season, but only if Ezi Magbegor opts to stay in Australia before the Olympics.

Grade: A-

Washington
None

Grade: N/A


* * *

I can genuinely say that no one did a bad job (or at least appeared to try to sabotage their own team LOL), and I have a feeling that for the second-consecutive year, we'll end up seeing a more reasonable Rebkell fantasy draft than the real life Draft.

Thanks everyone for letting me be your stand-in Commish!

[bbsamjj]

Incredible analysis Stormeo (and not just because you gave my picks an "A" grade ; )

Congrats to all for a great draft. Very curious to see how it all plays out Thursday.

[pilight]

Looking at those grades makes me think this was a very easy class

_________________
I'm a lonely frog
I ain't got a home

[okstateguy]

I toyed with drafting Jasmine Walker instead of Onyenwere. I agree that Lott was probably the best pick for the team in the draft. D. Walker could've been a deferral pick, and maybe even Johnson if Walker would've been drafted.

I'm actually really intrigued to see how the Sparks handle this draft.

_________________
okstateguy

[J-Spoon]

Overall I have 12ish players making rosters and they pretty much all showed up in the first round

It is still going to be hard for most of these players to make final rosters. There are always some curve balls

team breakdowns post draft (with a little tweaking and guess work)

Dallas
Harris/Jefferson
Ogunbowale/Dungee/McDonald or Mabrey
Gray/Thorton
Sabally/Collier/Alarie
Harrison/Kuier

that is 13 with Gustafson and 2nd round pick Perry already cut with still one to go

Atl
Carter/Sims
C. Williams/SWK
Hayes/Davis/Strickland
Hawkins/Billings
Ch. Parker/E. Will

Atl can only go 11 so K. Brown and 2nd and 3rd round pick cut

Indy
D-Rob/L. Allen
K. Mitchell/Guirantes
T. Mitchell/Vivians/Burke
Breland/Cox
Lavender/McCowan

with Richards, N. Jones and Doyle fighting for the last spot

NY (assuming Johannes and Han don't show and Durr gets opt out and R. Allen is signed. That is a lot of assumptions)
Ionescu/Clarendon
Jones/Whitcomb
Laney/Odom/Willoughby
Howard/Allen
Stokes/Mack

one spot left for Shook, Holmes or Gonrezick

Chi
Sloot/K. Williams
Copper/Quigley
Deshields/G. Williams
Ndour/Stevens/Hebard
Parker/Dolson

That seems like it unless there is a trade

Minny
Dangerfield/Evans or Harper
McBride/Brown/Banham
Powers/Carelton
Collier/Dantas/Shepard
Fowles/Achonwa

solid 12 (technically 13) only problem I don't think Minny can afford 12 so one (technically 2) need to go

LA
Wheeler/Cooper
Toliver/Agustus
Sykes/Weiss
N. Ogwumike/Zahui B
C. Ogwumike/Anigwe

1 or 2 spots (I alway forget what LA can afford) for Vadeeva if she shows up (that could be it) and then Holmes, TRP, Onyenwere, Lott, and Johnson maybe (if no Vadeeva) LA is hard to figure out and as Stormeo says a rough landing spot for a draftee

Seattle
Bird/Canada
Loyd/Prince
KLS/Talbot
Dupree/Magbegor
Stewart/Russell

two spots left for T. Young, Carrington, Gorecki, Goodman, Whitehead, Laksa so two draftees could make it or zero draftees could make it

LV
Gray
Plum/Williams
McCoughtry/J. Young
Wilson/Hamby/Walker
Cambage/Park or Cannon

could just keep the 11 above and have Plum, Young and Williams fill out the back up PG spot or cut one post and pick up a back PG or wing on the wire

Conn
J. Thomas/Heideman
January/Watt or Slocum
Bonner/K. Charles
B. Jones/Mompremier/(A. Thomas)
J. Jones/Bersch

Conn can only go with 11 including A. Thomas and can only afford one second round pick Lott or Slocum would be OK but this is why I could see Conn swapping future 2nd round pick for 13 and hoping someone like Carrington or Onyenwere falls to the 2nd round

PX
Diggins-Smith-Smith/Peddy or (Heal)
DT/Peddy
Nurse/Cunningham
Turner/Smith/Walker
Griner/Vaughn

Heal doesn't need to show but I could see her challenge Peddy for the last spot if she does.

Washington
Cloud/FLB. Mitchell
Atkins/Lesley
Zellous/McCall
EDD/MHA/(Meeseman)
Charles/Plaisance

they have Sutton, S. Johnson, Kang and Agnew I believe as 11th spot options. This is also why I could see them trade into the 1st round with Dallas for a future pick, Clark has left a big hole and Meesseman might not even show until post Olympics and this pretty much forced EDD to play some 3 spot or go with a 3 guard line up trading up for a post like Mack (The new Sanders) or Walker or a wing like Davis, Onyenwere, Carrington or Guirantes would give them a lot more flexibility. (For got Zellous so never mind)

Based on this draft I have 10-13 players surviving to final rosters variables really hinge on what Indy, Seattle and LV do and possible trades or waiver wire pick ups for 1st rounders who might be cut

[mavcarter]

[Stormeo]

[myrtle]

[bbsamjj]

Would love to see your grades @plight

[root_thing]

[Milks26]

This was fun. Great job Stormeo

_________________
~College WBB & the "W' need other tv networks covering the important stuff...Espn is beyond tired~

[lynxmania]

[Stormeo]

[Stormeo]

[myrtle]

I would think with any of these potential deferrals you would want to have an indepth conversation ahead of time so you know what the player is thinking...and vice versa. Of course they can change their mind repeatedly a la Cambage but at least you have an idea what to expect. I don't think these picks come totally out of left field. OTOH it is the WNBA, so maybe they do.

Re: Torrens. Yes that was tragic IMO that she never chose to show up. Coulda woulda shoulda...

[Richyyy]

Being able to pile up the rights to player after player, year after year, is almost the exact opposite of what I said. But hey ho...

_________________
Independent WNBA coverage: http://www.wnbalien.com/

[root_thing]

Realistically, I think a team would want to pare useless rights on their own after a while. I don't expect NY to keep hanging on to Olcay Cakir now that her rookie contract is over. Raincock-Ekunwe turns 30 in August. How long do they want to drag on with an over-30 deep bench player? So to me, the new deferrals are replacements. And in the end, we're talking about 3rd Round picks. I don't think there are high expectations they will succeed. History shows that the majority of these players won't develop sufficiently. But if you know with near certainty that lower level college players are not going to make your roster this year, why not use those picks for a deferral? Otherwise, this is another argument for not having a 3rd Round.

_________________
You can always do something else.

[Randy]

[Stormeo]

2014 Draft
CORRECT CHOICES IN ROUND (REGARDLESS OF POSITION)
1st Round = 12/12 | 100%
2nd Round = 8/12 | 67%
3rd Round = 2/12 | 17%

CORRECT CHOICES AND CORRECT POSITIONS
2/36 | 6%
[Chiney Ogwumike (1st) and Tricia Liston (12th)]

CORRECT CHOICE BUT INCORRECT ROUND
5/36 | 14%

OVERALL REBKELLIANS PICKED:
27/36 Draftees | 75%


2015 Draft
CORRECT CHOICES IN ROUND (REGARDLESS OF POSITION)
1st Round = 10/12 | 83%
2nd Round = 7/12 | 58%
3rd Round = 1/12 | 8%

CORRECT CHOICES AND CORRECT POSITIONS
4/36 | 11%
[Jewell Loyd (1st), Amanda Zahui B (2nd), Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (3rd), and Elizabeth Williams 4th)]

CORRECT CHOICE BUT INCORRECT ROUND
13/36 | 36%

OVERALL REBKELLIANS PICKED:
30/36 Draftees | 83%


2018 Draft
CORRECT CHOICES IN ROUND (REGARDLESS OF POSITION)
1st Round = 11/12 | 92%
2nd Round = 9/12 | 75%
3rd Round = 4/12 | 33%

CORRECT CHOICES AND CORRECT POSITIONS
3/36 | 8%
[A'ja Wilson (1st), Kia Nurse (10th) and Raisa Masina (21st)]

CORRECT CHOICE BUT INCORRECT ROUND
5/36 | 14%

OVERALL REBKELLIANS PICKED:
29/36 Draftees | 81%


2019 Draft
CORRECT CHOICES IN ROUND (REGARDLESS OF POSITION)
1st Round = 10/12 | 83%
2nd Round = 7/12 | 58%
3rd Round = 1/12 | 8%

CORRECT CHOICES AND CORRECT POSITIONS
2/36 | 6%
[Chloe Jackson (15th) and Kennedy Burke (22nd)]

CORRECT CHOICE BUT INCORRECT ROUND
13/36 | 36%

OVERALL REBKELLIANS PICKED:
30/36 Draftees | 83%


2020 Draft
CORRECT CHOICES IN ROUND (REGARDLESS OF POSITION)
1st Round = 8/12 | 67%
2nd Round = 5/12 | 42%
3rd Round = 2/12 | 17%

CORRECT CHOICES AND CORRECT POSITIONS
6/36 | 17%
[Sabrina Ionescu (1st), Satou Sabally (2nd), Lauren Cox (3rd), Chennedy Carter (4th), Tyasha Harris (7th), and Haley Gorecki (31st)]

CORRECT CHOICE BUT INCORRECT ROUND
12/36 | 33%

OVERALL REBKELLIANS PICKED:
27/36 Draftees | 75%


2021 Draft
CORRECT CHOICES IN ROUND (REGARDLESS OF POSITION)
1st Round = 7/12 | 58%
2nd Round = 4/12 | 33%
3rd Round = 2/12 | 17%

CORRECT CHOICES AND CORRECT POSITIONS
1/36 | 17%
[Chelsea Dungee (5th)]

CORRECT CHOICE BUT INCORRECT ROUND
14/36 | 39%

OVERALL REBKELLIANS PICKED:
27/36 Draftees | 75%

[singinerd54]

[lynxmania]

[Stormeo]

[lynxmania]