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On Wednesday, the Washington Mystics announced that they traded the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 Draft to the Atlanta Dream for the No. 3 and No. 14 picks in the 2022 Draft. They also have the right to swap 2023 first round picks with the Dream, specifically a pick Atlanta acquired from the Los Angeles Sparks.
In the release, General Manager and Head Coach Mike Thibault said the following:
“We feel that this trade gives us the opportunity to have more options in both the 2022 and 2023 drafts. We are very comfortable with all three players that we have ranked as the possible top three picks in the draft. Whichever player comes to us will add to the depth of this year’s team and will have the chance to grow into a very important role over the next few years. We didn’t have any other picks in this draft and now we have #14 to try to find another good young player that can be a part of our future. I’m excited for the draft on Monday night and our fans should be excited too.”
According to Kareem Copeland of The Washington Post, the Mystics were not anticipating that their first round pick would crack the Top-seven in their rotation, and that they are comfortable with picking third in the draft.
Couple thoughts: Mystics were taking a different view of No. 1, believing that pick wasn’t cracking the top 7 rotation this season.
— Kareem Copeland (@kareemcopeland) April 6, 2022
Vote in the room was, if they do the deal, everyone comfortable with 1 of the 3? Answer was yes. #wnba https://t.co/UodffHfjyQ
The news concurs with our draft profile analysis of some of the top draft prospects, like Baylor forward NaLyssa Smith, since Thibault more or less acknowledged that Smith would not be a core player right away.
Let us know your thoughts of the trade in the comments below.
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