Disclaimer:This piece was written before the seismic news broke that the Toronto Tempo has hired Sandy Brondello (!!!) to become the team’s inaugural head coach.
How much will this hire change the Tempo’s priorities for the expansion draft? Check back as we will discuss this in an upcoming piece!
The 2025 WNBA season is over, which means the upcoming expansion draft for the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire is (hopefully!) on the horizon. Since our first Mock Expansion Draft, how the season went has shifted the players whose stock went up for their teams and players whose stock went down and might become available for the upcoming expansion draft, so let’s update the Toronto Tempo mock expansion draft.
Most importantly, there is the ongoing CBA negotiation and the outcomes of those negotiations, including when the new agreement is signed and the details of that new CBA, could drastically affect the outcome of the Tempo’s expansion draft.
Added to that, 80% of the league (at the moment, only players on rookie scale contracts, Lexie brown and Kehlani Brown—- will be on a contract in 2026) will be free agents. This could end up being a complete reset of the WNBA universe as we know it.
Unfortunately, this just means a lot of uncertainty for Tempo and Portland Fire fans.
At the WNBA All Star weekend, Commissioner Cathy Engelbert did reaffirm that CBA negotiations will dictate how the next year goes but that there is a possibility that the draft will go similar to the Valkyries draft. I still have faith that perhaps we might still be able to have a normal expansion draft, rather than having the Tempo and Fire draft from 20% of the league, which would make for terrible content.
One way the new CBA could pave the way for this more traditional draft to take place for Toronto and Portland is to include a one-time exception where they do away with the cap on the number of players about to become unrestricted free agents that the Tempo and Fire can negotiate with for their expansion draft.
The other key element of the expansion draft is which players teams will protect. Using the Valkyries’ draft as a guide, teams can protect six players on their roster.
Here’s who we think each team will protect:
 Atlanta Dream | Brionna Jones, Rhyne Howard, Allisha Gray, Te’Hina PaoPao, Jordin Canada, Naz Hilmon |
 Chicago Sky | Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso, Ariel Atkins, Ajsa Sivka, Haley Van Lith, Elizabeth Williams |
 Connecticut Sun | Marina Mabrey, Saniya Rivers, Leila Lacan, Olivia Nelson Ododa, Aneesa Morrow, Aliyah Edwards |
 Dallas Wings | Paige Bueckers, Diamond Miller, Aziaha James, Maddy Siegrist, J.J. Quinnerly, Arike Ogunbowale |
 Golden State Valkyries | Kayla Thornton, Veronica Burton, Janelle Salaun, Carla Leite, Justė Jocytė, Kate Martin |
 Indiana Fever | Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, Lexie Hull, Kelsey Mitchell, Sophie Cunningham, Natasha Howard |
 Las Vegas Aces | A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young, Aliyah Nye, Jewell Loyd, Nalyssa Smith |
 LA Sparks | Kelsey Plum, Derica Hamby, Azure Stevens, Cam Brink, Rickea Jackson, Rae Burrell |
 Minnesota Lynx | Napheesa Collier, Kayla McBride, Courtney Williams, Alanna Smith, Jessica Shepherd, Dijonai Carrington |
 New York Liberty | Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, Jonquel Jones, Leonie Fiebich, Natasha Cloud, Emma Meesseman |
 Phoenix Mercury | Alyssa Thomas, Satou Sabally, Kahleah Copper, Monique Akoa Makani, Natasha Mack, Lexi Held |
 Seattle Storm | Nneka Ogwumike, Skyler Diggins, Gabby Williams, Dominique Malonga, Ezi Macbegor, Brittany Sykes |
 Washington Mystics | Shakira Austin, Kiki Iriafen, Sonia Citron, Jacy Sheldon, Georgia Amoore, Lucy Olsen |
Here is the Mock Expansion Draft 2.0
Pick #1 – Betnijah Laney-Hamilton from the New York Liberty
We are doubling down on Laney-Hamilton. While this season had not gone as planned and the team is now more in flux thanks to Johnathan Kolb’s presser, The Liberty have too many star veterans who they want and should keep in order to keep this championship window open. One good player has to go. We are sure they will be sad to lose BLH but with her injury history and salary, it makes her an easier target. Make no mistake though. BLH is a two-way player with a killer midrange shot while being ferocious on defence. The Tempo have a huge opportunity here to land BLH and make her our #1 option right from the jump.
Pick #2 – Jordan Horston from the Seattle Storm
The Storm could also be a team in flux after a first round exit, but recent moves in the 2025 season hinted that the team was still committed to veterans (see Brittany Sykes trade). This gives Toronto a golden opportunity to draft Jordan Horston. Horston has been injured this season, but just look at her previous seasons and you will see that Horston is an athletic forward with great size, speed, and skill on the drive and in open space. She still has a ton of potential to develop. Horston could end up being starter material for years to come.
Pick #3 – Kia Nurse from the Chicago Sky
Some might have watched this season and conclude that Kia’s game is on the downward trend. While that could be the case, having Nurse play for the inaugural tempo team is bigger than basketball. It represents a cultural moment and a celebration of the past, present, and future of Canadian women’s basketball. It also assures that Canadians that aren’t already WNBA fans will pay attention to the Tempo’s first couple of years before fans will fall in love with the other amazing talent (like BLH and Jordan Horston) on the team.
Pick #4 – Jade Melbourne from Washington Mystics
As mentioned in Mock Expansion Draft 1.0, if this team wants to play up tempo, there is no better point guard that fits this style than Jade Melbourne. She is speedy (real speedy) and never stops running. She’s great at getting downhill and attacking the defence, and her 3-point shot is in development. Her minutes were up and down for the Mystics this season, so there is an opportunity here for the Tempo to invest in her as our inaugural starting PG.
Pick #5 – Li Yueru from the Dallas Wings
With how well Yueru played this season, Dallas should seriously consider protecting her but their brilliant pivot to going all in with their young talent and having so much young talent, they cannot protect them all. In Yueru, the Tempo are getting a stretch center with great shooting touch, who is a brick wall on defence and can offer some rim protection, offensive and defensive rebounding, and some post play too.
Pick #6 – Laeticia Amihere from the Golden State Valkyries
Amihere has shown a lot of promise with her minutes as a Valkyrie, which makes me wonder why they cut her in the first place. For the Tempo, this would be a homecoming for Amihere. Whereas bringing Kia to Canada represents a celebration of growth and history of Canadian women’s basketball, Laeticia Amihere represents the future. Her dynamic energy, athleticism, and hustle will make her an instant fan favourite. Tempo fans can also look forward to more development. With more polish and consistency, Amihere’s game could really start to make noise.
Pick # 7 – Sarah Ashlee Barker from the LA Sparks
While her minutes on the Sparks have dwindled as the season has gone on, We are doubling down on SAB. From what I saw early in the season, she already has a knack for hustle plays and with more experience, can become a reliable energy 3-and-D player. Her 3’s aren’t falling yet. I think that, with more time and experience, they will.
Pick #8 – Kitija Laksa from the Phoenix Mercury
With apologies to Phoenix, our Mock Expansion Draft 1.0 did not foresee the masterful job that Nick U’Ren did to assemble this winning team with so much – at the time – unknown talent. One such talent is Laksa. While she is older, she is a two-way wing who does a bit of everything on defence and offence. She is a calming presence and has a knack for meeting the moment and contributing whatever her team asks of her.
Pick #9 – Maya Caldwell from the Atlanta Dream
With our beloved Naz Hilmon pick from 1.0 off the board, the Tempo could still draft an exceptionally overlooked player in Maya Caldwell. Caldwell is a tenacious hustle perimeter defender that also needs to further develop her shot. But even without, she brings energy, quick feet, and hustle each and every play.
Pick #10 – Aari McDonald from the Indiana Fever
Even though she bounced around this season, on every team she landed a contract on, McDonald was a net positive on the floor, thanks to her quickness, decision-making, and defence. She showed that she deserves a spot on a team and the Tempo can be that team. She and Melbourne could compete for that starting PG spot.
Pick #11 – Rayah Marshall from the Connecticut Sun
Rayah Marshall hasn’t seen a lot of minutes this season. This is a bet on her being a young big with good size and length. In the minutes she has played, Marshall has shown to be a solid defensive presence already. The Tempo can slot her in at backup center and being on an expansion team can give her time and experience to develop.
Pick #12 – Bridget Carleton from the Minnesota Lynx
We saved this one for last because we really tried to avoid drafting so many Canadians for the inaugural Tempo squad. It just seemed too cliche. But, Carlton has seen her stats drop off this season – both in terms of points and 3 point percentage, which was the superpower she brought to the Lynx. The Lynx have at least 8 players they should want to protect and if Carlton doesn’t make the cut, it would make all the sense in the world to bring her services to her home country. Having the inaugural squad have 3 Canadians also isn’t the worst thing in the world!
As weird as this sounds, We still do not have a player from the champs interesting enough for the Tempo to draft.
Our Mock Expansion Draft 3.0 will drop once we have more clarity on the future of the league and how it will impact the expansion draft.