After what felt like three years of Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations, a deal was struck on March 18 between the WNBA and the players’ union, clearing the way for the offseason to begin.
This week, the start of what will be a jam-packed month across the league begins as we try to fit a full offseason into roughly three weeks before preseason action begins April 25. The first event to take place is the 2026 Expansion Draft on April 3, where the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo will select
players from existing WNBA teams starting at 2:30PM CT on ESPN.
After a coin toss decided who would select first in the Expansion Draft, Portland will select first, followed by Toronto in a snake-style draft. Each of the existing 13 teams will be able to protect up to five players, though they can choose to protect less than five if they wish. The Fire and Tempo will then choose from the available pool of unprotected players.
Make sense? Okay, good.
Leading up to the Expansion Draft, our team at Canis Hoopus got together to predict who the Minnesota Lynx might protect in the draft and offer why they think the team will go that route. Let’s dive in!
Mitchell Hansen’s Predictions
- Napheesa Collier
- Kayla McBride
- Alanna Smith
- Courtney Williams
- DiJonai Carrington
Why Those Five?
To me, the first four are guarantees, that being Napheesa Collier, Kayla McBride, Alanna Smith and Courtney Williams. Those four aren’t going anywhere, and the Lynx will protect them to ensure that.
The fifth player, that’s where it is a little up in the air, in my opinion. I could have gone a few different routes with the prediction of that fifth player.
One option was Bridget Carleton, who has been in a starting role for the last few years and has become a mainstay in the Lynx rotation over her seven-year career. However, I do think Carleton is a prime candidate to go play in her home country and represent Toronto on Canada’s first WNBA team.
Another option was Jessica Shepard, who had a great year in Minnesota in 2025 after taking the 2024 season off. But I ultimately think she will look for a bigger opportunity elsewhere in 2026, so the Lynx wouldn’t protect a player who would potentially leave in free agency anyway.
A few other options I considered were Natisha Hiedeman and Ola Kosu, both of which showed production off the bench in 2025. Hiedeman had her best season in a Lynx uniform last summer, and the combination of her and Williams at the point has become a nice pairing. When it comes to Kosu, she is a young talent that the Lynx might want to protect to ensure she is in Minnesota for years to come. Kosu has the ability to continue to develop and not rush into anything, and she’s shown some promise early on in her WNBA career (and overseas).
But ultimately, I landed on DiJonai Carrington as the player Minnesota protects with that fifth protection. Carrington’s time in Minnesota was cut short due to injuries last summer after she was traded from Dallas at the trade deadline, but her time on the floor in a Lynx uniform showed why Cheryl Reeve and company acquired her via trade. Carrington is a Reeve-type of player, and Minnesota traded for her for a reason. Along with that, Carrington seemed to genuinely enjoy being with the Lynx in 2025. Minnesota should want Carrington back in 2026, and I think she would entertain the idea unless she was left unprotected and potentially picked in the Expansion Draft — which I don’t think will happen.
Leo Sun’s Predictions
- Napheesa Collier
- Kayla McBride
- Alanna Smith
- Bridget Carleton
- Dorka Juhász
Why Those Five?
Unlike Mitchell, I feel like there are only three unassailable players who will be protected. Collier, McBride, and Smith are integral pieces to the Lynx core despite a lackluster postseason performance from the latter. Smith is (one of) the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and will need to shoulder a heavier workload with Phee recovering from her double ankle surgeries this season, so you can lock her in.
I was leaning towards adding Courtney Williams to that core as well, but I too wouldn’t bank on protecting Hiedeman. As such, breaking up the StudBudz seems sacrilegious so if one isn’t making it, then the other shouldn’t either. I’m sort of playing devil’s advocate here, but let’s say the Lynx left those two unprotected.
What’s interesting about this process is that the expansion draft happens first, then free agency, then the draft. If I were President of Basketball Operations Cheryl Reeve or General Manager Clare Duwelius, I would be focusing on protecting the players that will be of the most worth to the team.
So who are those remaining players?
Mitchell made a great case for Dijonai Carrington, but I tend to believe that Reeve puts more value on familiarity and reliability. Carrington’s playstyle has predictably led to many missed games each season. Meanwhile, there is a player they can protect who rarely misses games and is currently sixth all-time in games played for the Minnesota Lynx. The five players in front of her all have their jerseys hanging in the rafters. The player I’m talking about is Bridget Carleton.
BC has been the ultimate role player for the Lynx. Need a three-point threat? A tough point-of-attack defender to corral perimeter players? How about a pesky post defender who mucks it up despite the size disadvantage? Last second grenade situation where someone has to generate their own shot? Carleton will step up to any challenge. I would be shocked if the eight-year vet is left unprotected by Reeve.
Those four protected players will be an average 30.8 years old when the 2026 postseason begins. At some point, there has to be some value to younger players. This is why I believe Dorka Juhász will be the final one protected. Dorka won’t turn 27 until December. If you haven’t been following Mitchell’s terrific offseason coverage, she has been playing well overseas after sitting out the 2025 WNBA season. Jessica Shepard is a handful of years older (30 by postseason) and is a non-threat from perimeter, despite being a strong rebounder and playmaker for her position.
No matter what happens in the Expansion Draft, the Lynx will likely look much different this upcoming year. Next up will be WNBA free agency in the ensuing week where over 70% of current WNBA players are free agents. Will Minnesota land any big fish? Our team will keep you up to date as the season looms large.
Benny Hughes’ Predictions
- Napheesa Collier
- Kayla McBride
- Alanna Smith
- Courtney Williams
- Dorka Juhász
Why those 5?
I am splitting the difference between Leo and Mitchell here and going to go with a slightly different five. I agree with Mitchell in the fact. that I think there are four no brainers when it comes to who the Lynx are going to protect: Napheesa Collier, Kayla McBride, Alanna Smith and Courtney Williams. Napheesa Collier and Kayla McBride for obvious skill and legacy reasons, Alanna Smith coming off of her co-defensive player of the year campaign and Courtney Williams engineering the offense from the perimeter.
Outside of the skill reasons that Smith and Williams bring to the table, if I were a new GM attempting to build an expansion team a combo guard who can create off the bounce and a defensive stalwart who can protect the paint would be at the top of my list.
The reason that Dorka Juhász snags the last spot on this list is because of a key clause in the expansion draft ruleset.
The WNBA states that “Only one of the players selected by Portland and only one of the players selected by Toronto in the Expansion Draft may be a “Potential Unrestricted Free Agent.” A ‘potential unrestricted free agent’ is a player who has:
- Five years of WNBA service
- Is not under contract for the upcoming season
Because of the CBA negotiations, most WNBA players timed their contracts to be free agents before this season. Because of that, I am banking on the fact that the likes of Bridget Carleton, Dijonai Carrington and Natisha Hiedeman will not be that one player that they select as they all meet those requirements. While that may be a bet some are uncomfortable making and this is the riskiest approach laid out I think that there is a logical way you can get to this point. I do, however, agree with Leo in that it does feel sacrilegious to break up the StudBudz, the timely shotmaking by Bridget Carleton is awesome to watch and the defensive intensity of Dijonai Carrington would be tough to replicate.
This rule makes it a choice between Ola Kosu and Dorka Juhász, as they are the only ones under contract for next season. I opted for Juhász as she has shown flashes in the WNBA and has been playing extremely well overseas over the past year.
