Golden State Valkyries Expansion Draft Speculation Series: Las Vegas Aces

Las Vegas headed into the season having already won two championships in a row and expected to contend for their third. They never seemed to fully find their rhythm and did advance a round in the playoffs, but ultimately exited without much hope at defending their crown. The Valkyries hiring Natalie Nakase from the Aces after that certainly makes this an interesting team to evaluate from an expansion draft perspective as she will have an existing relationship with the players under consideration and opinions on who she would want to pick. While their stars are not likely to be available, this is definitely a team that could provide a valuable role player in this process.

Salary and contract status for 2025 from Her Hoop Stats as sourced by Richard Cohen:
https://herhoopstats.com/salary-cap-sheet/wnba/team/2024/las-vegas-aces-11eaecc7-3575-e2fe-b611-2362f5011b0b/

Hypothetical Protection Priority Order

1. A’ja Wilson ($200,000 guaranteed)
2. Jackie Young ($169,950 guaranteed)
3. Kelsey Plum (unrestricted free agent)
4. Chelsea Gray ($196,267 guaranteed)
5. Kate Martin ($68,595)
6. Elizabeth Kitley (draft rights)
7. Megan Gustafson ($96,820)
8. Kiah Stokes ($103,000)
9. Queen Egbo (reserved)
10. Tiffany Hayes (unrestricted free agent)
11. Alysha Clark (unrestricted free agent)
12. Sydney Colson (unrestricted free agent)
13. Kierstan Bell ($85,543 guaranteed, 4th year rookie scale)

Locks for Protection

Even though the Aces did not reach the lofty heights of their previous seasons, that was no fault of A’ja Wilson, who had an unbelievable individual season in the post, and the league MVP is not even on a maximum contract for next season as an easy pick. While the team has a clear set of four stars, Jackie Young is listed next as a versatile wing whose contract is well below the maximum and an easy protection pick.

Kelsey Plum is the one star who did not sign an extension through next season so she will be an unrestricted free agent, but the team will still be planning on protecting her for this process and then applying the core designation to their other starting guard later. Chelsea Gray was brought in to be the final piece of the puzzle for the team at the point guard spot after getting their other stars through the draft and she was critical to bringing them a championship. Her absence at the start of the season while recovering from injury certainly hurt the team and they will want to protect the Northern California native who was born in Hayward.

Tough Team Decisions

The major offseason move for the team was to sign Megan Gustafson to a two year contract as a free agent to give themselves additional offensive production from the post. Kiah Stokes was retained as a defensive-minded center who spent parts of the season starting and coming off the bench. She has a specialized role that would not interest most teams, but given that Natalie Nakase is familiar with how she is best utilized, they might feel that they would need to protect her if they want to retain her. Given that the team may want to make some changes to the back half of their rotation, both of these players could be left available with the expectation that one would be picked and the Aces could use that spot for a different player.

The drafted player who lasted the whole season in Las Vegas was Kate Martin, whose versatility earned her minutes early only for those chances to fall off later on even after returning from injury. The team is very much looking for the next set of young players that will be able to grow into role players and she certainly has the chance to do so if she continues with the team. At the end of the second round, the team drafted Elizabeth Kitley, who was drafted lower than she would have been otherwise as it was already known that she would miss the whole season due to injury. While she could enter the 2025 draft, that is a rather unlikely option and the time that she has spent with the team while recovering could mean that they want to protect her and give her a chance to make the roster next season.

Likely Left Unprotected

There are three unrestricted free agents on the team that will not need to be protected as they fall below the line for consideration to be picked for the purposes of having the core tag applied to them. Alysha Clark has been valuable to the team as a forward coming off the bench or starting, but could end up being the oldest player in the league next season even though she can clearly still contribute. Tiffany Hayes had planned on retiring from the league, but was lured back to join the team for a chance at a championship. She provided valuable help as a wing coming off the bench and could very well return, but not at that core level. Sydney Colson has contributed as a backup point guard when called upon and has been important to the Aces outside of games.

Las Vegas opted to bring in Queen Egbo to fill their final roster spot near the end of the season and give them another option at center. She has bounced around the league quite a bit after a promising rookie season and should also get her chances next season, but is unlikely to be considered for protection. Kierstan Bell had gotten some chances to come off the bench as a forward to start her career, but even while healthy, fell out of the rotation this season. Her option for next season was picked up so she has a guaranteed salary for the last year of her rookie contract, decreasing the need for them to consider protecting her.

The Valkyries Perspective

This will be one team where the input of Natalie Nakase will help the front office make a decision due to her familiarity with the players involved. Las Vegas has their own decision-making process to go through on their protection process when they try to retool the back half of their roster to return to championship contention. They could protect their veterans, leaving the Valkyries a choice among younger players like Kate Martin and Elizabeth Kitley. The Aces could also protect those two players, leaving Kiah Stokes and Megan Stokes available or protect a player from each category. If the Valkyries had hired someone else as head coach, Las Vegas might have been more readily able to offer a trade for additional protection or to attach an asset to guarantee that Kierstan Bell was selected so that her guaranteed salary could be removed from the cap and allow them to get flexibility elsewhere. Any trade negotiation will be a little tougher now as both sides would be trying to get the advantage on each other.