I’d slot McDonald at the top at this point. Kuier has still looked pretty raw offensively. Onyenwere took a step back her sophomore year just as we predicted she would. And Rupert only has a half-season or so of stats to judge her on – meanwhile, she didn’t crack the Aces' playoff rotation other than garbage time.
McDonald took a step forward, gave the Dream a good boost off the bench in most games, started a few other games and also didn’t look so out of place, and overall averaged over 10 ppg on over 40% shooting – the latter of which some veteran guards in this league can’t even always do (and i guess the former as well, to a degree). She takes it for me. At the very least, I wouldn’t dare to consider slotting her below her irl #3 spot in such a redraft.
Last Edit: Feb 15, 2023 20:16:29 GMT -5 by Deleted
Guirantes may still prove she was worthy of being drafted. Unfair to judge her harshly because LA was a shitshow.
i’m pretty sure i had her as a lottery pick in my final mock 🫣 damn that draft sure took weird turns when it wasn’t Dallas' turn to pick
i mean, we certainly have heard nary a peep on Gondrezick’s recent whereabouts, so all’s well that ends well i suppose (well, maybe not for Gondrezick 😬)
Last Edit: Feb 15, 2023 23:08:59 GMT -5 by Deleted
To bang my drum again: Trading for draft picks is a loser's game.
There are some NBA teams coming around to this point of view as well. You'd much rather trade for a player in the league who has shown what she can do against this level of competition than gamble on an unknown quantity. There are so many variables at the college level that separating the wheat from the chaff (has anyone ever seen chaff?) is incredibly difficult.
Financially it can make sense, of course, given the rookie contracts, but if you want to have a pretty good idea of what you're getting, go for a vet.
i generally agree with the sentiment (see Dallas' overall track record with trading for picks), though this draft was notable in how bad it was always gonna be – and still, how much worse it ended up being – so i wouldn’t necessarily call it the best example for that point
With Kuier and Rupert sitting out the season, there's 9 draftees on rosters currently with Gondrezick, Davis, Mack, Richards & Maya Caldwell having signed training camp contracts.