Golden State Valkyries Expansion Draft Speculation Series: Washington Mystics

After a rough offseason, the Mystics were expecting a bit of a rebuild, but injuries had the team performing even below those expectations. At the end of the season, they had enough health and momentum to make a run at the playoffs, but came up short. Aside from a few locks and some players who definitely will not be protected, they have a lot of choices to make and will have to decide how much they want to prioritize veterans who still have value compared to younger players with untapped potential. The Valkyries will be waiting to see who gets left unprotected, but they should be able to make a choice that they are happy with from this group.

Salary and contract status for 2025 from Her Hoop Stats as sourced by Richard Cohen:
https://herhoopstats.com/salary-cap-sheet/wnba/team/2024/washington-mystics-11eaecc7-3568-d154-b611-2362f5011b0b

Hypothetical Protection Priority Order

1. Ariel Atkins ($200,000 guaranteed)
2. Brittney Sykes ($195,000 guaranteed)
3. Shakira Austin ($91,981 guaranteed, 4th year rookie scale)
4. Aaliyah Edwards ($74,909, 2nd year rookie scale)
5. Jade Melbourne ($66,710, 3rd year rookie scale)
6. Emily Engstler (reserved)
7. Sika Kone ($66,710, 3rd year rookie scale)
8. Stefanie Dolson ($170,000 guaranteed)
9. Karlie Samuelson ($118,450 guaranteed)
10. Elena Delle Donne (unrestricted free agent)
11. Julie Vanloo (reserved)
12. Li Meng (reserved)
13. Sug Sutton (reserved)
14. Bernadett Hatar (reserved)
15. Shatori Walker-Kimbrough (unrestricted free agent)

Locks for Protection

The two veteran players who would appear to be locks for protection are their starting wings, Ariel Atkins and Brittney Sykes, who are both on guaranteed contracts for next season. Atkins is in the prime of her career and did her best for the team in a difficult season. Sykes missing half of the season hurt the team immensely. Even if the team is planning a full rebuild, they would want to keep and later trade either player rather than risk losing them in this process.

Shakira Austin is heading into the final season of her rookie contract and missed significant portions of the last two seasons with injury, but it seems unlikely that the team would give up on a player that they are hoping will continue to be their starting center. Aaliyah Edwards was their first draft pick this year and she had a solid rookie campaign in the post so they will want to keep her around to see her continued development.

Tough Team Decisions

A trio of young players emerged over the course of the season and will be among the players that will get some consideration for the final protection spots. Emily Engstler made the roster out of training camp and had some strong performances as a forward during the team’s end of season run and is still reserved, meaning she could be retained at the minimum salary. The Mystics traded a late draft pick before the season for Jade Melbourne when it became clear that Seattle did not have roster space for her and she slotted in as a combo guard off the bench even though she has still not showed signs of a complete transition to point guard at the highest levels. Sika Kone was traded for using an expiring contract at the deadline and she was solid in the post. Both Melbourne and Kone are entering the third seasons of their rookie contracts, but because of the disparity in draft rules for international picks, they are younger than some of the players who will be selected in the upcoming draft so they should have plenty of room for development. With two more early draft picks, the Mystics will be adding more young players so keeping other promising prospects around could help them figure out the rebuilding process.

The team brought in a pair of veterans in the offseason who have guaranteed contracts for the upcoming season at slightly lower numbers than this past season. Stefanie Dolson returned to the team where she started her career and ended up being a mainstay in the post. Karlie Samuelson offered significant versatility to the team after establishing herself in the league the previous season. The team would likely want to keep both players, but will also want to hang on to as much younger talent as possible. Both could end up unprotected with the hope that the Valkyries would prefer flexibility over guaranteed contracts and avoid picking them, allowing them to return.

One of the main issues with the team’s offseason started with applying the core designation to Elena Delle Donne. She wanted to leave the team and had the leverage that not every player in her situation does, being willing to sit out the entire season. The Mystics did consider trading her, but the desired designations had little of value to offer in exchange and she did not play, also leaving an open question of whether she plans to retire or not. Unlike many coreable free agents, she is clearly a max level player if she is healthy, but there is still no certainty regarding her future.

Likely Left Unprotected

Julie Vanloo played in the WNBA for the first time this year after a long history in Europe and provided some much-needed energy and enthusiasm as a point guard, but she will be 32 by the time next season rolls around and would not contribute to the goal of rebuilding. Li Meng played in the WNBA for the first time last year and figures to still be able to provide scoring off the bench as a wing, but her age and unknown availability in any given year depending on the plans of the China’s national team will probably also leave her outside of protection consideration. The rights to towering center Bernadett Hatar were traded to the Mystics before the season, but there is no guarantee that she plays in the league again or would be able to contribute so she will not be protected.

The team took on the contract of Sug Sutton as part of a salary dump at the trade deadline. She got some chances down the stretch, but is probably lower in priority to keep than some of their other younger players. Shatori Walker-Kimbrough has proven to be a versatile option since she joined the team, but as an unrestricted free agent who is not at a core-player level, she can be safely left unprotected and still return to the team if both sides wish to continue.

The Valkyries Perspective

No matter which direction that the Mystics take, there should be players left unprotected that the Valkyries should be excited to pick. Their ultimate strategy may depend on who all of the other teams leave unprotected so that they can decide on how many more established veterans that they will choose compared to younger prospects as there will be some of each on the list from this team. The young internationals Jade Melbourne and Sika Kone could be interesting choices if left unprotected due to how much room they still have to grow into their roles while already having experience in the league. The Valkyries will have to decide how much of the salary cap they want to commit before considering veterans on guaranteed contracts like Stefanie Dolson or Karlie Samuelson.