So who was your highest mock pick that went undrafted?
I had Selena Lott at #21.
God, that's right, she did go undrafted.
The good news is, she and anyone else who went undrafted can go back to school next school year if they didn't sign with an agent. Tiana Mangakahia at least got signed to a tcc by Phoenix (no surprise).
So does this make Chennedy Carter now a SG? And how does McDonald get minutes this year in a crowded Atlanta perimeter? Still, McDonald and Carter will be a fun backcourt pairing for the Dream in years to come. Carrera is a good deferral choice, albeit somewhat early on in the Draft. Pulliam is a throwaway SG who can sort of defend but can’t shoot, and unless Atlanta thinks McDonald will be the kind of 3PT shooter in the pros as she was in this past NCAA Tournament, the Dream seemingly got worse as a team when it comes to 3PT-shooting ability.
Grade: C+
Chicago: 8. Shyla Heal, CG, Australia 16. Natasha Mack, C/F, Oklahoma State
The picks themselves are great. The fit with the team that picked them is… a little odd. Unless Heal comes over this year, the Sky did not address their need for a backup PG in 2021 through the Draft – though they signed people on tcc’s earlier in free agency that could fill in fine. Apparently there are rumors that Gabby Williams is being shopped around – if she gets traded, might that clear up room to keep one of those PGs? And what of Mack? Fabulous pick with clear upside, but there doesn’t appear to be any room for her, both in roster space and within the pre-existing personnel, unless someone gets traded/waived. Weird scenario.
Grade: B+
Connecticut: 20. DiJonai Carrington, SG, Baylor 21. Micaela Kelly, CG, Central Michigan 30. Aleah Goodman, CG, Oregon State
Good picks for Connecticut. Too bad they’re about $1000 short from being able to keep both Kelly and Carrington. That’s good news for Goodman, who might be a better fit for Connecticut than either of the 2nd-rounders with her elite outside shooting ability. And even while none of these players may make the team, Connecticut needed some guard depth, including some good shooting – and they got it.
Grade: A-
Dallas: 1. Charli Collier, C/F, Texas 2. Awak Kuier, F 5. Chelsea Dungee, G/F, Arkansas 13. Dana Evans, CG, Louisville
Dallas won the night in every way possible. They addressed their holes at all forward positions, and got a great-value pick in Evans. If Kuier shows up in 2021, her presence will make things interesting for their current fringe forwards. Evans has the talent to steal a spot as well. Way to go, Wings!
Baptiste and Caldwell are throwaway picks. Perry and Thompson will be competing against each other for a spot that may not even exist, so good luck to them. And on the surface, Chagas is the only deferral pick here, so that’s disappointing. Now, to the 1st-rounders: What is Catchings thinking here? Gondrezick is no lottery talent. She’s pretty good at scoring, shooting, distributing, and defending; however, she’s not elite at any one of those facets. Also, where does she slot in with regards to Indiana’s current personnel? Starting SG? Nope, that’s Kelsey Mitchell’s turf, as far as we know. Starting PG? Danielle Robinson and a host of others are already there, and Julie Allemand presumably will be back next season, so even if Gondrezick starts there this year, she may not start there next year if Allemand can outplay her (very possible). And then there’s the trade to convert Kennedy Burke into Wilson. Why Indiana thought it was a good idea to get younger and a little shorter, I have no clue. That said, they turned a former 2nd-round pick that they didn’t even originally draft into a 1st-round pick – one of their few savvy moves, even if it literally could’ve been for a better player than Aaliyah Wilson. This + the drafting of Chagas prevents this from being an F.
Grade: D-
Las Vegas: 12. Iliana Rupert, C, France 14. Destiny Slocum, PG, Arkansas 36. Kionna Jeter, SG, Towson
Rupert would be a fantastic pick for Vegas if she were showing up this season. Any season, really. No evidence of that, though, even as they need some post depth. Slocum no doubt is here partially because Kelsey Plum recommended both Arkansas products in this Draft when Plum was a grad assistant at Arkansas this past school year. Slocum is a great pick here in the 2nd Round, but it doesn’t appear that Vegas needed another PG. Jeter is undersized, but with her prolific scoring ability, she may have the chutzpah that Laimbeer is looking for. This is another team where the picks aren’t bad in & of itself, but the fit with the team picking them is… a little interesting.
Grade: B
Los Angeles: 7. Jasmine Walker, F, Alabama 10. Stephanie Watts, G/F, North Carolina 22. Arella Guirantes, G/F, Rutgers 28. Ivana Raca, F, Wake Forest 34. Aina Ayuso, CG, Spain
Does drafting Walker, a true stretch-4, mean that Maria Vadeeva is skipping the 2021 season? That was my first thought, and how this pick (and the trade to get it) could make sense. Assuming Amanda Zahui B. will be used more as a traditional post player here than she was in New York (always taking outside shots & all), LA didn’t have a stretch-4, so they went out & got one. Watts is a terrible pick at 10, but then, Guirantes is a fabulous pick at 22. Just pretend they’re switched around, maybe? One mustn’t do that for grading purposes, but perhaps it's doable in practice. Still, even with both of them playing the same positions, neither one really seems very likely to make the team at this point. Raca is a throwaway pick unless she goes back to her home country of Serbia and stays there this coming summer to be a deferral pick. Ayuso for those unfamiliar with her played at Oregon briefly, but turned pro not long after, so she is almost certainly a deferral pick.
Grade: C
Minnesota: 9. Rennia Davis, F/G, Tennessee
I mean, Davis is a good-value pick here. It’s just that Minnesota didn’t really need a back-up SG/SF/PF. They needed either a back-up PG or a back-up C, both of whom were still available at this point in time. Still, BPA is BPA.
“It’s just that Minnesota didn’t really need a back-up SG/SF/PF.” Same went for New York, and they had many more picks than Minnesota to address their other needs, and yet…? This is the 2nd-consecutive Draft where they got a gluttony of true wing players who have a very little chance of successfully operating at the PF spot. They could’ve used a post player or even a backup-PG (for the last time: Richards is not a PG), but they didn’t seem to address that at all. Fauthoux is probably their most logical pick, and she probably won’t show up until at least 2022 if not even later.
Grade: D-
Phoenix: 32. Ciera Johnson, C, Texas A&M
Boring pick, boring Draft for the Mercury. There weren’t a whole lot of better players out there, and yet, they still could’ve done better than Johnson, who just doesn’t seem to have the skills or conditioning to succeed at this level. They did sign Tiana Mangakahia to a tcc, which is a kind sentiment.
The Storm turned their 1st-round pick into Kennedy Burke, which… uhh… did we need another SF? I’d almost rather have kept Aaliyah Wilson. It’s a weird move. It looks like Burke and Katie Lou Samuelson will be competing against each other for the open starting SF spot. It’ll be great for whoever wins that battle, but I don’t like how someone will end up losing that battle – and unfortunately, it’d be better off if that someone is Burke, considering we gave up much more to get Samuelson than Burke. As for our Draft picks that we kept: Williams is a good-value pick, but with Burke coming on board, her chances of beating someone out for a spot has decreased. Jones is an undersized PF with a good motor and a knack for rebounding, but we’ve drafted those kinds of players before – to no avail. Finally, it really should’ve been a deferral pick instead of Kucowski at 35, so her selection is pretty disappointing.
Grade: C-
Washington: None
A little surprising that the Mystics didn't trade into the Draft at any one point. But then, as the other 11 teams would go on to prove, this Draft all along was gonna be flaming hot garbage.
Grade: N/A
Last Edit: Apr 15, 2021 22:55:07 GMT -5 by Deleted
Available to get drafted this year but did not, has not signed a training camp contract with a team yet and could still return to school: Gabby Connally, 5'6 PG (Georgia)
Thank you stormeo and toad! I probably could have put in some effort lol but I’m tired and puppy sitting and been awake in and out since 4am 😂 I hope Connally returns! I was rooting for Georgia!
Be kind to yourself, the way you expect others to be kind to you.
Thank you stormeo and toad! I probably could have put in some effort lol but I’m tired and puppy sitting and been awake in and out since 4am 😂 I hope Connally returns! I was rooting for Georgia!
No problem! Also, for future reference, I organized & moved the entire list to the 2022 Draft thread. It made more sense to keep it & update it there, now that this thread is about to fade into obscurity. I certainly don't want to remember this Draft! Lmao
Last Edit: Apr 18, 2021 12:03:52 GMT -5 by Deleted
With Aaliyah Wilson's appearance for the Fever tonight, more than half the draftees from this year's draft have appeared. That's nine straight seasons that most of the draftees have played the year they were drafted. The last time we didn't get that was 2012, when exactly half (18/36) appeared. The only years where most draftees didn't appear as rookies were 2002 (the last year of the four round draft) and 2003 (when the league contracted by three teams). 2003 had enough show up in later seasons to push it over 50%, 2002 not so much.
I can't believe these rookies suck worse than 2017's did. We all knew this was a weak Draft, but damn near the weakest? It's shocking. Several of these players showed enough flash in college to where I would've thought someone would be having a solid year by now. Didn't even have to be a great year, just a good year. But no. It's pathetic, cuz you just know half the rookies that have already appeared will surely find themselves out of the League by 2023 (or sooner).
The fact that it's going to be difficult putting together just the All-Rookie team proves how weak this draft is.
The #2 & #5 picks are riding the bench in Dallas while the #4 rides the bench in Indiana. The #8 & #10 picks have both been waived. The #7 & #9 picks are out for the season with an injury. The #12 pick may never show up.
I don't foresee any of the second round picks on a roster next year.
The Fever's Hatar likely gets on due to her minutes and decent numbers. She's currently third in minutes per game, ppg and rpg for rookies. They'll likely pick the fifth player out of a hat or just make the Fever feel special and add Gondrezick.
Last Edit: Jun 25, 2021 12:54:53 GMT -5 by toad455
Right now, here's the current status of the 2021 draftees:
1. Charli Collier - limited minutes in Dallas 2. Awak Kuier - possible rotation player w/Dallas 3. Aari McDonald - backup PG in Atlanta 4. Kyrse Gondrezick - waived in camp in 2022 5. Chelsea Dungee - waived prior to 2022 season 6. Michaela Onyenwere - recently traded to Phoenix 7. Jasmine Walker - recently waived by Connecticut 8. Shyla Heal - traded midseason and waived in 2021, not returned to WNBA 9. Rennia Davis - training camp contract w/Indiana 10. Stephanie Watts - training camp contract w/Minnesota 11. Aaliyah Wilson - waived prior to 2022 season 12. Iliana Rupert - recently waived by Las Vegas and claimed by Atlanta
13. Dana Evans - backup PG in Chicago 14. Destiny Slocum - not signed for 2023 15. Raquel Carrera - rights owned by New York 16. Natasha Mack - not signed for 2023 17. Didi Richards - rookie contract with New York 18. Kiana Williams - training camp contract w/Minnesota 19. Unique Thompson - not signed for 2023 20. DiJonia Carrington - rotation player for Connecticut 21. Micheala Kelly - not signed for 2023 22. Arella Guirantes - training camp contract w/Seattle
Other picks 26. Chelsea Perry - training camp contract w/Indiana 33. Maya Caldwell - signed with Indiana for 2023
Other than McDonald showing good stuff last season, New York’s overall draft aging the best, and Caldwell surpassing the “throwaway pick” label I gave her at the time (lol good on her for showing me!), this draft really has continued to be a shit sandwich.
I really hope Guirantes makes the Storm’s roster this year though! (Knowing my luck when it comes to endorsing certain fringe players, probably not. 🤡)