After turning in the most successful expansion season in WNBA history, the Golden State Valkyries proved they deserve the benefit of the doubt.
And yet, they also make it irresistible to doubt their decisions.
On Saturday, Golden State made a group of training camp cuts that included Marta Suárez, the No. 16 overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft whom the Valkyries acquired from the Seattle Storm in exchange for No. 8 overall-pick Flau’jae Johnson. Golden State also received a 2028 second-round pick in the trade.
Last year, the Valkyries were subjected to significant scrutiny after they waived Shyanne Sellers, selected No. 17 overall in the 2025 draft, before their first preseason game. They subsequently were criticized for cutting Kaitlyn Chen, drafted No. 30 overall last year, before later re-signing her to replace Julie Vanloo, whom they controversially waived as she returned from winning EuroBasket Women gold with Belgium.
It’s all a bit messy. And while on-court victories matter more than off-court ones, better pubic relations messaging and massaging by the organization could alleviate some of the perceived “controversy” of their decision making.
But, here we are again.
Yes, it’s relatively normal for a WNBA team to cut a second-round pick. It’s less explicable when an organization seemed to signal that they were “hella’ invested in Suárez. In contrast to the Sellers pick, when the Maryland product somewhat surprisingly slid to No. 17, Golden State appeared to intentionally target Suárez as an undervalued prospect.
On draft night, general manager Ohemaa Nyanin effusively praised Suárez as “fierce” and “fearless,” while also emphasizing her “very high basketball IQ” and “off the charts” character.
Reporting from around team has speculated that the organization intends to re-sign Suárez to a developmental contract, although she must clear waivers in order for Golden State to do so. If another team snaps her up, she’s a goner. That seems like a huge risk!
Two years from now, it also would not be surprising if the prospect Golden State drafts with the additional second-round pick they received from Seattle does not make the final roster.
If that materializes, and if another team, in fact, signs Suárez, the Valkyries will have fumbled away a potential future star in Flau’jae for…nothing.
Under the new WNBA CBA, the shrewd management of assets seems likely to become more important than ever.
The old WNBA, where it was somewhat normal for even lottery picks to be cut, is gone. Effectively punting on a top-10 pick for a pair of second rounders is insane—and that would be the case even if Johnson was a bust, and not a magnetic personality who just scored 20 points in her second WNBA preseason game.
Sure, maybe all this transactional churn will work out for Golden State, just as it did last season. But “WOAH,” that’s hard to imagine at this moment.
