After a frenzied weekend of free agency activity, the Toronto Tempo almost have a fully formed inaugural team (all the players that are currently on the Tempo roster can be found here). The fact that they have the sixth pick in the WNBA rookie draft is simply a cherry on top!
Toronto does not have to overthink this. They should simply take the best talent available.
Here are the top 3 players who we think the Tempo should consider picking with the 6th pick and how they might fit with the current roster.
1. Kiki Rice
Recent NCAA National Champion, Kiki Rice, already has a very polished game. A 5’11” point guard, Rice has size, athleticism, poise, intelligence, and leadership. Her drives to the basket on fast breaks and in the half court are elite. She is unflappable with the ball in her hands and rarely turns the ball over. Over recent years, she has improved her shooting. On defense, she is an elite perimeter defender who can guard players bigger than her. What further separates Rice apart are her intangibles. If you’re not convinced, read Jack Moloney’s piece on Rice’s work ethic and leadership qualities and you will see that she will be a winning player in the W, maybe even on day one.
Fit with Tempo: Rice offers a clean fit. While she might come off the bench to start the season, she can be mentored by Julie Allemand, while commanding the second unit. Then, we can anticipate that Rice can take over the starting role by the end of the season.
2. Flau’jae Johnson
Flau’jae Johnson is an electric talent. She is dynamic offensively with an array of step back, pull up, and side-step jumpers, and drives to the basket. She is also an accomplished defender. Off the court, Flau’Jae trailblazes as a hip hop artist and fashion icon. Yes, these off-the-court accomplishments shouldn’t matter as much, but we just think that Torontonians would love Flau’Jae and Flau’Jae would love Toronto in return. The only knock on Flau’Jae is that her stats last season dipped from past seasons. We think she is still very much worth the pick.
Fit with the Tempo: There would be an immediate logjam with Flau’Jae and Sykes at the shooting guard position. Knowing Sandy Brondello’s preference for playing veterans, it would be shock if Flau’Jae would win that starting spot over Sykes. However, Flau’Jae could start the season as the team’s sixth player to provide instant offense off the bench with the potential of becoming a full-time starter.
3. Gianna Kneepkens
While best known as someone who can shoot the lights out from 3, Kneepkens should actually be billed as a 3-level scorer. Yes, she can shoot the 3, but she can also put the ball on the floor, get to a gap in the mid-range and shoot a fadeaway or a spinning one-legged shot. Kneepkens is a very creative and fearless scorer who was 0.7 field-goal percentage points shy of a 50-40-90 shooting season (49.3 FG%, 42.9 3PT%, 93.3 FT%).
On the defensive side, Kneepkens might have a hard time staying in front of quicker guards on defense, but she’s a good enough passer and cutter to contribute in areas beyond only shooting.
Fit with Tempo: similar to Flau’Jae, considering the money that has been devoted to Sykes and Mabrey, it would be hard to picture Kneepkens’ role other than coming off the bench to start the season. How her role evolves over the course of the season will be determined by how quickly her game develops to be able to contribute consistently.
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If you are a Toronto Tempo fan who is not sure how to feel about the results of the expansion draft, this analysis is for you!
In Short
The Tempo didn’t draft alongside expectations (what do you mean, Portland scooped Bridget Carlton?!). Whereas Portland drafted younger players with potential for upside (i.e. basketball slang for “long-term potential”), Toronto took a page out of Golden State Valkyries’ book and drafted more experienced players who will be ready and able to contribute on day one. They also drafted some players who we see are more high risk, high reward. However, the road to team building has just started. The Tempo will have the rookie draft on April 13 (where they will be able to find youth to balance out their roster), then free agency to shape this inaugural roster. If all players selected from the expansion draft make the team, look for Marina Mabrey to be our number 1 offensive option; Nyara Sabally to show pops of brilliance as our rim protector and pick and roller, and Lexi Held and Kitija Laksa to become unsung fan favourites by the end of the season.
Deep Dive
All in all, the Tempo did not draft alongside expectations. They didn’t go with the Canadian sentimental story and draft a bunch of Canadian players. They didn’t draft a bunch of Australian players to reunite them with coach Sandy Brondello. They also didn’t draft young upside players, which was the strategy that Portland actually took (and admittedly, the direction we had hoped the Tempo would take in our mock draft). Instead, Toronto took a page out of Golden States’ book and drafted more experienced players who can contribute on day one.
Take Mabrey, for example. Most fans were devastated (including us) that Bridget Carleton got scooped by Portland, but comparing them side-by-side, Mabrey is a superior talent who has performed like a borderline all-star, while Carleton has been considered a high-level starter in the W. Portland selected Carla Leite who just came off her rookie year showing flashes of brilliance with her passing and footwork. The Tempo selected Nyara Sabally who – when healthy – swung championship games two seasons ago for the New York Liberty.
The Tempo opted to select players to create a competent and competitive team in their first season.
This pick – and Monica’s quote – could signal to fans that the “tempo” for Toronto is going to be steady, methodical, and patient rather than an uptempo bombastic banger. Let’s see whether this was ultimately the right choice.
Quick Take on Each New Toronto Tempo
Julie Allemand – Allemand is a steady floor general. She is not flashy, but also not turnover prone. The great Sabreena Merchant summarized her role on the Tempo perfectly, “Allemand’s table-setting will also allow the Tempo to better evaluate the players around her.”
Marina Mabrey – Mabrey is a bonafide shot taker and maker who has the highest floor of all picks during the draft. She has been a borderline all star, but can also be a messy player (this actually happens A LOT. She is infamous for her crash outs). The other downside? She is prone to getting tunnel vision and forgetting to pass. There is a future where Tempo fans lose patience for Mabrey. Ultimately, she is very much a high risk, high reward player.
Nyara Sabally – Two seasons ago, Sabally showed signs of being an elite rim protector on defence and a high energy rim runner on offence. She was key in turning around the deciding game for the New York Liberty to become the 2024 WNBA champions. Unfortunately, Sabally was mostly injured last season and she has struggled to stay healthy throughout her career. The Tempo are taking a risk here and, if it pays off, we can see a pick-and-roll game between Allemand and Sabally as being potentially a go-to move for the Tempo.
Aaliyah Nye – Nye is one of the few young upside made picks by the Tempo. As a rookie last season, she was billed as a sniper from the 3-point line and showed some signs of being that for the Aces. We are surprised Vegas didn’t protect her. If she becomes that reliable 3-point shooter, this is an excellent pick.
Lexi Held – Held was one of those unknown players who came into Phoenix last season and made a consistent impact for a team who made it to the WNBA finals. Held is an off-ball guard who can pass and create for herself on offence, and is a feisty defender on the other side of the court.
Maria Conde – While Conde is not the most well known amongst WNBA fans, after the expansion draft, Eli Horowitz – Assistant General Manager of the Toronto Tempo – stated, “Maria Conde was really a target for us. We believe she’s one of the best players in all of Europe who’s never been in the WNBA.” This is very high praise and we will be looking forward to seeing more from her hopefully this season.
Maria Kliundikova – Kliundikova stepped into a bigger role for the Minnesota Lynx last season after Napheesa Collier was injured and she not only played huge crunch time minutes in big time games for a stacked Lynx squad, she was also not afraid to take big shots when she was on the floor during those games. She might be what Bill Simmons likes to call, the “irrational confident” player.
Adja Kane – Kane is a younger player from France who we are not sure will be coming over to the W this season, or if this was a “stash” pick by the Tempo. Regardless, she was initially drafted by New York, so you can assume Coach Sandy Brondello knows what the Tempo will be getting by selecting Kane.
Nikolina Milic – Similar to Conde, Milic is an experienced player with lots of international experience and not a lot of WNBA experience. We will have to see if she makes her way to the WNBA this season or if she continues to play overseas with her rights reserved by the Tempo.
Kitija Laksa – Laksa is a smart, unflappable, and well rounded player who has good size and makes an impact on both sides of the court. She could end up becoming a fan favourite for Tempo fans, especially the sickos.
Kristy Wallace – Wallace is a feisty guard and a tenacious defender. She also has lots of experience overseas and can provide stability on the bench.
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A terrific pick and roller, defender, and hustle rebounder. Sabally singlehandedly swung a championship game for the Liberty in 2024. She just needs to stay healthy.
She came into the league last season billed as one of the best 3-point shooters of the draft, but didn’t get as much playing time in Vegas down the stretch last season. She should benefit with more playing time.
A fearless player who stretches the floor and was notably impactful for an already stacked Lynx team. She has the ability and confidence to take and make big shots.
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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