The Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire are still patiently awaiting their expansion draft. Until a new CBA is signed, they won’t be able to select any players. So far, teams are expected to be able to protect five players in the expansion draft. That poses a significant challenge for several teams, including the Wings. Dallas’ roster features many young players still on their rookie contracts or about to enter restricted free agency. With most veterans set to enter unrestricted free agency, those players will be valuable assets in the expansion draft.
The Wings will undoubtedly protect Paige Bueckers and Maddy Siegrist. Given Jose Fernandez’s comments about Arike Ogunbowale, she should also be on the list. GM Curt Miller has been adamant that Awak Kuier is a part of the team’s future, so she should be the fourth protected player. That only leaves one spot and three young players the Wings would like to keep around: Aziaha James, Li Yueru, and Luisa Geiselsöder. Out of that group, Li Yueru should be the most interesting to an expansion team. She is still only 26, is one of the tallest players in the league at 6’7”, and can space the floor.
Yueru is playing in Unrivaled this WNBA offseason and showed off her versatility against the Lunar Owls. Her performance underlined her value for a team’s presence and future and what the Wings already knew: if they don’t protect her, they will lose her.
Li Yueru played a strong offensive game against the Lunar Owls
The Lunar Owls have a deep big rotation with Breanna Stewart, Alanna Smith, and Li Yueru. Since Stewart is one of the Mist’s most important players, Yueru and Smith haven’t seen a ton of minutes yet. Against the Lunar Owls, Yueru only played four minutes. She was still the team’s third-leading scorer with 13 points.
Yueru got those points quickly, efficiently, and in a variety of ways. Early in her first stint, she was fouled by Aaliyah Edwards as she attacked the basket and sank a free throw for two points. She recreated that success out of a two-man action with Allisha Gray and made another free throw.
When Yueru returned to the court late in the second quarter, she immediately used her nifty footwork to get two points over Temi Fagbenle. On the Mist’s next trip down the court, she hit a three. Then, she scored another two points over Fagbenle off a great pass from Arike Ogunbowale, who had stolen the ball from Skylar Diggins. Last but not least, Yueru secured a long rebound after a miss from Marina Mabrey, dribbled the ball up the court, and used a Euro step to get around Diggins for another layup.
Yueru did a bit of everything. She used her size in the paint but also showed off her ability to shoot threes and run the floor—with and without the ball. If the Tempo and Fire weren’t already hoping that the Wings wouldn’t protect her in the expansion draft, they certainly are now.