The Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo stood at the center of the WNBA Expansion Draft held today. The franchises are set to enter the league this season. In preparation, the Fire chose 11 current players to populate their inaugural roster.
Former Iowa State forward Bridget Carleton topped the list for Portland. Jeremy Beren of The Sporting News gave the pick a nod, grading it as a B+ selection as part of his draft coverage:
The Fire, bringing WNBA basketball back to Portland for the first time since
2002, tipped off the expansion draft by selecting former Iowa State star Carleton with the top pick.
Carleton started 44 games for the league-best Minnesota Lynx last season. She shot better than 40 percent from the floor and 37.3 percent from 3-point range while playing outstanding defense. A solid, dependable player for Fire coach Alex Sarama to build around.
Here is the complete list of Portland’s picks, including former team and position:
- Minnesota Lynx Bridget Carleton F
- Golden State Valkyries Carla Leite G
- Dallas Wings Luisa Geiselsoder C
- Washington Mystics Emily Engstler F
- Atlanta Dream Maya Caldwell G
- Indiana Fever Chloe Bibby F
- Dallas Wings Haley Jones G
- Atlanta Dream (rights) Nyadiew Puoch F
- Los Angeles Sparks Sarah Ashlee Barker G
- Washington Mystics Sug Sutton G
- Seattle Storm Nika Muhl G
