2017 WNBA Draft: Team-by-Team Report Card with Final Grades

2017 WNBA Draft: Team-by-Team Report Card

NEW YORK - APRIL 13: Kelsey Plum poses for a photo with her draft card after being selected number one overall during the 2017 WNBA Draft on April 13, 2017 at the Samsung 837 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Michelle Farsi/NBAE via Getty Images) /

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NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 13: WNBA Legend. Sheryl Swoopes interviews Alexis Jones during the WNBA Draft on April 13, 2017 at Samsung 837 in New York, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Minnesota Lynx

PICKS

Round 1 Pick 12 Alexis Jones, PG, Baylor

Round 2 Pick 12 Lisa Berkani, G, France

Round 3 Pick 12 Tahlia Tupaea, G, Australia

A masterful job by Cheryl Reeve and Roger Griffith here. That Jones fell to 12 is a remarkable gift, and Jones can help the Lynx both immediately by spelling Lindsay Whalen and adding needed three-point shooting, while Reeve can groom her as the long-term replacement for Whalen. There aren’t many roster spots available in Minnesota, and the drafting of two 19-year-olds in Berkani and Tupaea who can be stashed overseas is the most efficient use of those assets. The Lynx, as usual, are playing four-dimensional chess, or five-dimensional Diplomacy, or whatever game it is that leads to WNBA titles every other year.

Grade: A

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