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Ohemaa Nyanin breaks silence on Valkyries’ controversial draft night trade
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- Ohemaa Nyanin breaks silence on Valkyries’ controversial draft night trade
Ohemaa Nyanin breaks silence on Valkyries' controversial draft night trade appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
OAKLAND – We finally have an official reason for the Golden State Valkyries controversial draft night trade, after general manager Ohemaa Nyanin declined to explain their reasoning in the immediate wake of the move.
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At the Valkyries' media day, Nyanin detailed the team's decision-making process in which Golden State traded the draft rights to LSU's Flau'Jae Johnson (No. 8 overall pick) to the Seattle Storm for TCU's Marta Suárez (No. 16 overall pick) and a 2028 second rounder.
"The decision-making around the draft had a lot to do with cap flexibility," Nyanin said. "We had the opportunity, or we thought we had the opportunity, to potentially sign another athlete."
Per the new CBA, first-round picks now receive fully guaranteed contracts, with salaries being determined by draft slot. Had the Valkyries kept Johnson, or just selected another prospect with the eighth overall pick, they would have owed her $309,622 this year for a total of $1,386,092 over four years.
That's not the worst cap hit in the world, by any means. However, it would have disr an opportunity to sign another player, according to Nyanin. And Nyanin also expressed that long-term flexibility was also a key priority, which also would have been affected if they had kept the four-year contract that comes with the eighth overall pick.
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"My job, very specifically, is to make sure that we maintain an understanding of what's happening today and then what could happen in the future. And so the flexibility, that is needed to be able to withstand whatever could happen in the future."
Why the Valkyries waived Marta Suárez
Intertwined in the questions of whether or not the Valkyries should have kept Johnson and the eighth overall pick, is it better to prioritize long-term flexibility over young talent, and who won the trade, is the fact that Golden State waived Suárez this past weekend.
Later in her press conference, Nyanin explained the reason why they opted to cut Suárez has to do with understanding the new CBA .
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"There are a lot of things that we need to take into consideration when it comes to the status of an athlete, where it comes to their years of experience, etc. And I think that there's more to come. There's a lot more to think through in the next 48 hours."
The Valkyries can still sign Suárez to a developmental spot if they value her skillset, but reaccessing the trade now– they essentially gave up the eighth overall pick for a player they didn't deem good enough to make the roster, a future second-rounder, and marginal gains to their salary cap flexibility.
In those terms, objectively, it's clear the Valkyries did not get much liquid value in the short-term.
Ohemaa Nyanin's team-building philosophy
David Gonzales-Imagn Images
But regardless of the intricacies of value and cap flexibility, the Valkyries remain steadfast in their team-building philosophy, a philosophy with the goal of winning a championship in the next couple of years.
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And based on their free agency, in which they brought back ten players from last season, and how coach Natalie Nakase's emphasis on "connectivity" and "fit" being the number one priority in roster decisions, it's clear the Valkyries are taking a continuity-based approach to assembling their team .
"It worked last season," Nyanin said with conviction and a smile when asked why they prioritized factors like connectivity and fit above all else.
"A lot of people saw when they looked at our roster [last year] initially was individuals with different experiences, and how could they win games? And having won games last season, that was the one thing that we identified– that our athletes were connected."
"They were competitive. They wanted to buy into the system, and they wanted to excel. And so, it's very important for us."
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With teams needing to submit their final roster on May 7th by 2 pm, this is the philosophy that will guide the Valkyries final decisions.
Time will tell if this team-building style will be what gets Golden State to the promised land. But if one thing is certain, it's that the Nyanin and the Valkyries have a vision, they have a roadmap, and they remain steadfast in executing it.
"The timeline is right front and center," Nyanin said. "Right? To win a championship in five years… is exactly what I'm here to do."
Related: Valkyries' Natalie Nakase breaks silence on 'tough' roster cuts
