The Golden State Valkyries Sign Migna Toure

The Golden State Valkyries made another signing on Monday, but it was a bit of a surprise in that it was not any of their draft picks. Their new player is Mamignan “Migna” Toure, a French guard who plays with fellow Valkyries player Chloe Bibby with Girona in the Spanish league. She has never had a WNBA opportunity, going undrafted as a 19 year-old in 2014 before she had begun to make an impact at the club level. The move brings the Valkyries up to 16 players on the roster even before taking the recent draft picks into account.

Career So Far

Toure was a talented young player who made appearances at every youth level for France, but did not make her breakthrough at the top division level until after she spent a season in the second division. Other than a brief spell in Belgium, she had played there every season since until this season. Waiting for her breakthrough on the senior national team level, she spent summers with the 3×3 team, earning a spot on France’s entry to the Tokyo Olympics. Since then, she has played extensively for the 5×5 team with 38 appearances, but was not in the Paris Olympics.

Availability

There was definitely a reaction of surprise in response to the announcement as Toure could miss all of training camp with Girona competing for a championship as the top seed in the playoffs. She could also be involved in France’s training camp, which officially opens two days after the WNBA season tips off, after she finishes club play. It is possible that this is an agreement for her to possibly be available in future seasons and that her contract will be suspended this season or that the team plans to have her available later, but is afraid that paperwork could delay her arrival, meaning that they want to start the process now given that they should have the cap space to carry her contract until she arrives. It is also a bit of a surprise that the team would sign a player in the back half of her prime with no experience in the league, but it would fit in with their vision of trying to find players who can compete now.

Signing Draft Picks

With training camp opening on Sunday, fans may be wondering about the signing process for the recent draft picks. It is not uncommon for a team to wait to have all contracts signed before submitting them to the league and it is still an open question what Juste Jocyte’s plans may be as her season could come to an end on Wednesday. The team has already welcomed Shyanne Sellers and Kaitlyn Chen to the Bay Area and posted those moments on social media so the expectation should be for their official signatures to be announced soon.