Golden State Valkyries Expansion Draft Speculation Series: Phoenix Mercury

The Phoenix Mercury entered the season with serious ambitions, hiring a head coach at a salary higher than had ever been paid to a coach before and then bringing in two stars in the primes of their careers and making a major trade. There were some hopes in the middle of the season that everything was coming together for them and that they would make a postseason push, but they continued to struggle to reach their promise and it was no surprise that they exited the playoffs with little fanfare. A big question for the offseason will be whether or not franchise cornerstone Diana Taurasi will retire or not and it is possible that she makes a final decision between the publication of this article and the expansion draft. Either way, the team should be able to protect all of their main players, leaving the Valkyries choosing from younger players who have mostly come off the bench.

Salary and contract status for 2025 from Her Hoop Stats as sourced by Richard Cohen:
https://herhoopstats.com/salary-cap-sheet/wnba/team/2024/phoenix-mercury-11eaecc7-357f-c1ca-b611-2362f5011b0b/

Hypothetical Protection Priority Order

1. Natasha Cloud ($200,000 guaranteed)
2. Kahleah Copper ($248,134 guaranteed)
3. Rebecca Allen ($160,000 guaranteed)
4. Sophie Cunningham ($100,000)
5. Natasha Mack (reserved)
6. Diana Taurasi (unrestricted free agent, pending retirement decision)
7. Celeste Taylor (reserved)
8. Mikiah Herbert Harrigan (reserved)
9. Charisma Osborne (reserved)
10. Amy Atwell (reserved)
11. Klara Lundquist (exclusive negotiating rights)
12. Monique Billings (unrestricted free agent)
Unprotectable: Brittney Griner (unrestricted free agent who has reached core limit)

Locks for Protection

Natasha Cloud was their main free agent acquisition in the offseason to solidify their starting point guard spot and will be an easy protection decision. The next big move that the team made was to trade for Kahleah Copper to start on the wing and she is also an easy protection decision. Between those moves was a trade for forward Rebecca Allen and her absence was felt by the end of the season. With a planned rest for the offseason, she should be ready to contribute again next season and will also be a clear protection choice.

Phoenix ended up extending Sophie Cunningham’s contract by one season and making salary cap moves for this season. She would not have been in serious contention to be picked as an unrestricted free agent, but given her importance to the team as a forward, they go from not needing to protect her to needing to use up one of the spots to keep her. Even if the Valkyries would not pick her for their team, they would be able to pick her with the plan of immediately trading her to another team.

Tough Team Decisions

As mentioned in our introduction, Diana Taurasi is still officially an unrestricted free agent for now and the Mercury would need to make a decision on her. Even with the longest career in league history, she has never played under the core designation so she could be selected and cored. The Valkyries seem unlikely to do that even if she is available, but it would also be silly for Phoenix to risk losing a player who has spent two decades with the team. If she does announce her retirement before the expansion draft, then there would be no reason to protect her.

After very little time in the league in her rookie season, Natasha Mack continued to develop in overseas leagues and made this roster out of training camp, playing every game this season as the backup center and starting when needed. She should be their first choice among the next set of options to take one of the protection spots. Celeste Taylor had her own whirlwind rookie season, playing with three different teams, including two different stints with this team. She showed signs that she can contribute as a backup guard and might be worth protecting with the last projected available spot.

Charisma Osborne opted to return for her final season of college play and ended up being drafted well below what had been predicted last year. She was waived at the end of the training camp, but returned the team only to get injured after two games and less than ten minutes on the court. It is hard to know if they have seen enough to hope that she comes back next season as a backup guard, but she is probably on the lower end of their priorities when it comes to considering protection spots. Mikiah Herbert Harrigan made it to the final roster after having been waived by two different teams during the previous two training camps and provided minutes off the bench as a backup forward. She is currently playing for Avenida in Spain and there is no indication that her contract ends before their season concludes. They are expected to play past the deadline for players subject to the league’s prioritization rules, which could mean that she is unable to play next season, changing her value both from a protection and from a drafting perspective.

Likely Left Unprotected

The team signed Australian sharpshooter Amy Atwell for the end of the season to give themselves another backcourt option and she got some minutes down the stretch without making much of an impression. Since her exclusive negotiating rights are unlikely to selected, there is no reason to consider protecting her. Swedish point guard Klara Lundquist and the Washington Mystics agreed to an unusual one year contract back in 2021 with both sides knowing that she would not be available that season and then went through the same exercise the next season. The team was at least able to use her rights as the minimum compensation needed to receive a salary dump, which is why they are held by Phoenix now. This upcoming season is likely to be her first full campaign in a top European league, so it is possible that she plays well enough for mutual WNBA interest, but if nothing else, her rights can still be used as a piece in a trade.

After being waived in training camp, Monique Billings spent some time in Dallas and then signed for the rest of the season with Phoenix. She continues to be a solid backup post player who can start sometimes as well, but is not exactly in contention for a core designation, so there is no real reason to protect her. Brittney Griner is likely to continue to be the team’s starting center after dispelling retirement rumors, but having already had the maximum core designations, she does not need to be protected as an unrestricted free agent.

The Valkyries Perspective

Assuming that Diana Taurasi announces her retirement before the protection deadline, Phoenix should not have too much difficulty in making their decisions, which would not likely leave the Valkyries with a particularly exciting choice. It would be nice to be able to pick Natasha Mack or Celeste Taylor, but if there end up being enough spots to protect both, then the decision would come down to the other three players with reserved status. Mikiah Herbert Harrigan’s questionable availability for next year might actually be beneficial in that the team might want to pick some players who they can postpone decisions on instead of having to cut players immediately before their first season. Charisma Osborne and Amy Atwell would be players who would be picked for training camp, getting their chances to prove themselves there for a spot on the final roster. This does not appear to be a team that would actively pursue a trade with Golden State, although they could make a small offer for additional protection.