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The WNBA remains caught up in the unceasing CBA negotiations, but attention must be divided to focus on its upcoming expansion draft. The two new franchises — Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire — will be selecting players to bring on board. With the offseason in full swing, anticipation is rising for the upcoming draft, leaving fans wondering how their team will look.
Although watching the WNBA undergo expansion is exciting for fans and the league as a whole, as it shows growth and promise, it inevitably creates a high level of chaos and perhaps some anxiety. Ahead of the event, predictions are on the rise to try to determine which players will stay, and who will find new homes with the Tempo and Fire.
Kevin Pelton of ESPN recently fleshed out a mock expansion draft, which details the players he expects to be protected and unprotected. If his projection comes to fruition, things could get interesting for the Sun very quickly. Here’s how he expects the draft to unfold.
According to Pelton, the five Sun players who could be protected include Aaliyah Edwards, Leïla Lacan, Marina Mabrey (unrestricted free agent), Aneesah Morrow and Saniya Rivers. Fortunately, this list checks off the trio of rookies who were incredibly productive on the court during their 2025 campaign.
Each franchise will be allowed to protect five players, and considering the immense talent on each team, protecting only five feels rather limiting.
As for the unprotected players, that list is more extensive, including Lindsay Allen (unrestricted free agent), Bria Hartley (unrestricted free agent), Rayah Marshall, Nikolina Milić (reserved free agent), Olivia Nelson-Ododa (restricted free agent), Haley Peters (restricted free agent) and Mamignan Touré (reserved free agent). The only ineligible player would be Tina Charles.
“The decisions for the Sun should be relatively straightforward. Connecticut has four former first-round picks on rookie contracts, all of them key to the franchise’s future,” Pelton noted. Of course, there are plenty of variables that will impact how the expansion draft plays out, but this looks like it would be a realistic starting point.
The WNBA offseason never fails to shake things up, and it’s not any different this year. There’s ample time between now and the regular season, but that time will fly by. Between the expansion draft and ongoing negotiations, this has been a bustling time for the WNBA, and there’s still plenty of work left to be done.
