To save you some time, here is a roundup of the latest mock expansion drafts! (For sickos like us, we highly recommend you to check out each of these pieces to hear why each player was picked.)
Please Note: these mock expansion drafts were released before the Tempo acquired the 26th pick in the upcoming rookie draft from the Chicago Sky in exchange for not selecting any players from Chicago in the expansion draft.
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After months of agonizing wait, WNBA fans can finally breathe a sigh of relief. A new CBA is in place and we have ourselves a WNBA season!
Now, get ready for an absolute sprint to the inaugural Toronto Tempo season – starting with the expansion draft which takes place THIS Friday, April 3, at 3:30 PM (EST).
For folks needing to catch up on all the updates to prepare for the expansion draft this Friday, we got you!
Here are the rules of the draft:
Last Friday, Tempo won the coin toss to determine the order of the expansion draft and rookie draft. The Tempo opted to select second in the expansion draft, but will draft 6th (ahead of Portland who will draft 7th) in the upcoming rookie draft.
The draft will have two rounds with six picks each round. Toronto picks second in the first round (i.e. they get picks 2, 4, 6, etc.), then they start the second round with the 13th pick.
All existing WNBA teams can protect 5 players who cannot be selected by Toronto/Portland
Existing teams cannot lose more than two existing players in the expansion draft.
Note: one of Toronto or Portland could select two players from one team. In this case, the other expansion team can select no players from this existing team.
Toronto and/or Portland can also choose to select no players from any existing team.
Toronto/Portland can select only one unrestricted free agent in the expansion draft.
Interestingly, however, even if a player can no longer be designated as a “Core Player”, they are still eligible to be selected in this draft. This is different from the Valkyries’ expansion draft where this type of player was ineligible to be drafted.
For example, while extremely unlikely, if Breanna Stewart (who has been cored twice) is not protected by New York, she COULD be selected by Toronto.
This adds a wrinkle where existing teams do need to protect these players to ensure Toronto or Portland does not make this type of hail mary move.
Importantly, this rule opens up possibilities for Toronto or Portland to be able to get more established rotation players through the draft.
Trades are allowed. Toronto/Portland can select a player and trade them to a team other than their previous team, or they can make an agreement with an existing team to select or not select a player.
So, who will the Toronto Tempo select?
There has already been some excellent mock expansion drafts released by experts who cover the W, including:
To save you some time, we have rounded up all their picks below (and threw ours in there for fun).
(Editor’s Note: The Athletic, Raptors HQ, and Bleacher Report mock expansion drafts took place before the writers knew about all of the expansion draft rules.)
Will any of these players make the inaugural Toronto Tempo roster? We will find out this Friday!
Stay tuned on tempo.basketball! We will be posting our reactions to the actual expansion draft results!
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Atlanta Dream
Chicago Sky
Connecticut Sun
Dallas Wings
Golden State Valkyries
Indiana Fever
Las Vegas Aces
LA Sparks
Minnesota Lynx
New York Liberty
Phoenix Mercury
Seattle Storm
Washington Mystics
