2018 WNBA Draft Diary: Pick-by-pick updates, analysis, news
By Ben Dull
Round 2, Pick 1 (13th overall)
Las Vegas Aces — Jaime Nared, F, Tennessee
With the first pick in the second round, the Aces managed to nab a versatile forward in Jaime Nared out of Tennessee. Nared has been a 15+ point scorer each of the last two seasons for the Lady Vols. Though she was not tremendously efficient, she got to the free throw line often and lowered her turnover rate significantly since her sophomore season (from 15.4% down to 10.1%) per HerHoopStats.
Nared is a versatile forward at 6’2 with some playmaking and pick and roll chops. Like Victoria Vivians, she played primarily at the four spot this past season. Nared is not a pedal to the floor type of player. When operating on the perimeter, she would often call for a screen and simply wait for her defender to move, in turn showing her where to attack. Finishing at the rim always gets tougher at the pro level.
We’ll have to wait and see if Nared will be able to get there as often to truly be successful. In a much different role, her spot up numbers may perk up some, which would help her chances of sticking immediately with the Aces. Tennessee was prone to prolonged scoring droughts that would often doom them against top-tier opponents. Teams sent multiple defenders to sit in the lap of Mercedes Russell, and Nared often had defenders sitting in the gaps waiting to help onto her.
The game will be much different for Nared at the next level. The cards may be in her favor with her first pro team, though. If the Aces have one role to fill this offseason, it’s on the wing behind Tamera Young, the projected starer at the three spot.
Round 2, Pick 2 (14th overall)
Indiana Fever — Stephanie Mavunga, F/C, Ohio State
After selecting two premier talented scoring guards in the first round, the Fever added some grit and rebounding on the inside early in the second. Stephanie Mavunga has averaged nearly five offensive boards per game in each of the last two seasons for the Buckeyes. Mavunga brings obvious familiarity with college teammate Kelsey Mitchell, the second overall pick in Thursday’s draft.
It isn’t hard to envision Mavunga’s place on this team — setting ball screens in a pick and roll heavy attack, then bolting to the rim to secure offensive rebounds. The kicker for nearly all second or third round pick: There just aren’t enough roster spots to go around. Mavunga will have a harder time doing what she did in college to that extent against bigger, faster and stronger bigs. Indiana is already loaded up front. The group of forwards/centers is headlined by Natalie Achonwa, All-Star Candice Dupree and the recently acquired Kayla Alexander. They also return second year forward Erica McCall, longtime stalwart Erlana Larkins and Jennifer Hamson.
Round 2, Pick 3 (15th overall)
Atlanta Dream — Monique Billings, F, UCLA
Projected as a first round pick in many mock drafts, the Dream ought to come away beaming after being able to select Monique Billings early in the second round. The only big hole in Billings’ game may be her slight frame which would make it tough for her to box out true centers at the next level. Landing an athletic, mobile player that can play right away as a four is a big win at this point in the draft. New Dream power forward Jessica Breland will be a great player for Billings to learn from. Expect Billings to push reserve forward Damiris Dantas right away for the available minutes off the bench.
Round 2, Pick 4 (16th overall)
Atlanta Dream — Kristy Wallace, G, Baylor
The previous pick by Atlanta will have a much bigger impact on the near term. The selection of Wallace is more about the future. Wallace suffered a torn ACL late in the season, meaning she’ll be forced to miss the upcoming WNBA season. Atlanta will retain the rights of the lead guard out of Baylor and potentially bring her to camp in 2019. Wallace averaged 12.9 points and 5.3 assists and shot 37% or better from three in all four of her seasons with the Bears.
Round 2, Pick 5 (17th overall)
Minnesota Lynx — Ji-Su Park, C, South Korea
Before the draft had ended, we found out that the right to Park had been dealt by the Lynx to the Las Vegas Aces. The Aces also received the rights to Kahlia Lawrence of Mercer in the deal in exchange for the rights to Gonzaga’s Jill Barta and a 2019 second round pick. Park, 19, is a 6’5 center from South Korea. Footage and media coverage of the young center is tough to come by online for now. FIBA does have a 90 second highlight mix on their YouTube channel of her performance in the 2017 FIBA Women’s Asia Cup. She went for 19 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks to lead South Korea to a quarterfinal win over New Zealand:
Round 2, Pick 6 (18th overall)
Dallas Wings — Loryn Goodwin, G, Oklahoma State
Several mock drafts had the Wings selecting Lexie Brown out of Duke to give them another capable lead guard behind Skylar Diggins-Smith. Azura Stevens’ decision to enter the draft didn’t slide anyone down a spot to unexpectedly be available to the Wings at No. 6. Rather, Dallas found themselves on the clock with Stevens still available. No matter, as the Wings still managed to land a capable scorer at the point in Goodwin. She’s a smooth operator in the pick and roll with some nifty tricks in her bag to manipulate defenses into bending just as she wants them to — look no further than her performance in the NCAA Tournament against No. 1 seed Mississippi State.
Oklahoma State took command of the game early on in the Bulldogs’ building. Had freshman Braxtin Miller not gone down temporarily with a knee injury, many of the Oklahoma State faithful may feel they would have pushed Mississippi State to the brink. Oh, and Goodwin is a lefty, so it’s only fitting for her to end up in a training camp with fellow southpaws Skylar Diggins-Smith and Allisha Gray.
Round 2, Pick 7 (19th overall)
Washington Mystics — Myisha Hines-Allen, F, Louisville
Aces head coach Bill Laimbeer noted on a conference call last week that Hines-Allen could be an intriguing player if she rounds out her game to play more as a three. She played closer to the basket and operated primarily from the elbows throughout her college career. Hines-Allen regularly set herself apart from most of the field in the NCAA Tournament with her athleticism. She regularly found a way to come up with deflections, block shots, and pull down rebounds in traffic to make extra plays for her team on the margins. At 6’2, her size would not ever be an issue is she’s able to become a more confident ball-handler and a respectable outside shooter on open catch and shoot tries.
Round 2, Pick 8 (20th overall)
Phoenix Mercury — Tyler Scaife, G, Rutgers
Scaife has long been mentioned as a player that could hear her name called in the second round. Those hopes were realized Thursday by the Mercury. Scaife was a reliable and dangerous scoring guard for Rutgers. She didn’t shoot the three particularly well or all that often. She shot a hair under 48% on two-pointers as a senior, down from 52.9% as a junior. The good: She rarely turned the ball over (9.2% turnover rate, placing her in the 93rd percentile) despite having to carry a large load offensively (34.9% usage rate, ninth highest in the country) per HerHoopStats.
Round 2, Pick 9 (21st overall)
Phoenix Mercury — Raisa Musina, F, Russia
Musina, 20, is a 6’4 forward with nice shooting touch. She has starred in the frontcourt for the Russian national team alongside Maria Vadeeva. She averaged 16.7 points, 12.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists in Russia’s run through the 2017 FIBA U19 World Cup. In the championship game victory over Team USA, Musina went for 33 points (11-17 FG, 9-13 3PT), 11 rebounds and seven assists. This may just be a draft-and-stash for the Mercury, who have 11 players under contract and drafted Marie Gulich 12th overall. But if Musina is ready to come over and expresses a desire to play in the WNBA right away, the Mercury would be wise to accommodate her. Musina’s shooting ability at her size could add a new dynamic to their team.
Round 2, Pick 10 (22nd overall)
New York Liberty — Mercedes Russell, C, Tennessee
Russell is cut more from the cloth of a traditional back to the basket center. The 6’6 center cut her turnover rate in half from her freshman (19.2%) to senior season (10.3%) at Tennessee. She also improved from the stripe, shooting over 67% her junior and senior seasons, up from 54% her sophomore season. If anything, the biggest knock against Russell this past season might be that she didn’t use enough of the Lady Vols’ possessions. But that’s a complicated issue. College defenses can resort to a 2-3 zone and pack it in. Getting the ball inside to a post player can become virtually impossible, no matter how good that player is. Russell will be an interesting player to track in the preseason if she sticks that long with the Liberty and gets a chance to log some minutes with Tina Charles.
Round 2, Pick 11 (23rd overall)
Los Angeles Sparks — Shakayla Thomas, F, Florida State
Did the Sparks strike gold twice? Some may see it a surprise for Maria Vadeeva to have fallen to them at 11. Several mocks had Thomas going early in the second round and even in the late first earlier in the season. Thomas is a solid rebounder and athlete at 5’11. She scored nearly 18 points per game as a senior in just over 26 minutes per game. Thomas lived in the midrange and on the offensive glass while also taking people off the bounce from 15-17 feet out.
Those opportunities are tougher to come by in the WNBA for wings. Thomas projects quite similarly to Louisville’s Myisha Hines-Allen. Thomas was asked to do more with the ball in her hands at Florida State, but both will need to become full-time small forwards in all likelihood to stick long term in the WNBA.
Round 2, Pick 12 (24th overall)
Minnesota Lynx — Kahlia Lawrence, G, Mercer
Mercer’s draft rights were sent to the Aces Friday evening along with Ji-Su Park. Lawrence was an 18+ per game scorer for Mercer in each of the past three seasons. Lawrence went for 39 points and 13 rebounds December 28 at North Carolina, then dropped 31 on Samford two weeks later. Lawrence was a three-time SoCon Conference Player of the Year and per Across The Timeline, she joins Andrea Congreaves as the second player in Mercer program history to be selected in the WNBA Draft.