Flau'jae Johnson was traded from the Golden State Valkyries to the Seattle Storm during the WNBA Draft, surprising many in the draft room. The Valkyries received two second-round draft picks in return, one of which is two years away.
Monday’s draft-night trade of Flau'jae Johnson from the Golden State Valkyries to the Seattle Storm stunned the WNBA and left unanswered questions.
Since then, some light has been shed on exactly what went down. It turns out that it wasn’t exactly a draft-night deal.
The trade prompted audible murmurs in the draft room when it was announced.
The Valkyries appeared to get a steal when Johnson — a dynamic scorer and strong defender who was a two-time All-American at LSU — dropped to them at No. 8. Then, as the second round commenced, commissioner Cathy Englebert took to the podium and announced that Golden State was actually trading Johnson away to Seattle for the equivalent of two second-round draft picks — one of them two years down the road.
In return, the Valkyries would get Seattle’s second-round selection Monday night — TCU forward Marta Suárez — and the Storm’s second-round pick in 2028.
The trade didn’t make much sense at the time. And Valkyries general manager Ohemaa Nyanin repeatedly declined to shed light on the reasoning behind the deal in her post-draft news conference.
“I don't have a lot of detail to share,“ Nyanin said when first asked about the trade. “One, because I'm exhausted. Two, because I want to be very thoughtful when I'm talking about other humans and their basketball abilities and how they would or would not show up for our squad."
Nyanin’s non-answer prompted repeated follow-up questions that led only to more non-answers:
“I think that’s a question that has been asked and answered, and I would just say that when I’m ready to kind of speak more about what the strategy is behind it, I’ll speak on it,” she said.
“I’ll also say I don’t really speak about my strategy ever publicly, because all the other teams are watching to see what our strategy is.”
Flau'jae Johnson was never going to be a Golden State Valkyrie.
(Angelina Katsanis via Getty Images)
It turns out that Nyanin was ready to speak more on her strategy a few hours later, apparently given some time to process the response to her unorthodox news conference on top of the unorthodox trade.
Nyanin told ESPN overnight that the trade was actually agreed upon in principle prior to the draft, confirming speculation that that might have been what actually happened. The Valkyries had agreed to trade away the No. 8 pick in exchange for Seattle’s two second-round picks long before they realized that Johnson would be available.
"Seattle and I had an agreement to trade picks prior to any athlete selection," Nyanin told ESPN after her news conference. "I want to be super clear about the draft: This had nothing to do with Flau'jae or any specific athlete selection."
Per the ESPN report, Seattle instructed Golden State to select Johnson at No. 8, and Golden State then instructed Seattle to select Suárez at No. 16. Only then was the trade allowed to officially go through. And that’s when Englebert dropped the stunning news at the podium.
The Los Angeles Times confirmed all of this, including that the WNBA had a Sunday deadline of 5 p.m. for teams to swap draft picks. Once the picks were made, only then were the Valkyries and Storm allowed to officially consummate the deal, which up to that point had only been agreed upon in principle.
So that explains a lot. But it doesn’t explain everything — most notably: Why would the Valkyries blindly agree to trade away their first-round draft pick for a pair of seconds without knowing who would be available? Also, why doesn’t the WNBA allow teams to trade picks on draft day?
The scenario and decision-making ultimately put Nyanin and the Valkyries in an awkward position to explain — or not explain, in Nyanin’s case — why they appeared to get swindled by the Storm.
Ultimately, when Johnson became available, the Valkyries — an expansion franchise approaching their second season of existence — appeared to have a choice to make:
Draft and keep Johnson and renege on a verbal agreement, putting their credibility in deal-making at risk across the league. Or trade Johnson away and maintain their credibility. Ultimately, they chose the latter, even if it meant making a deal that does not appear to be in their favor.
Flau'jae Johnson was traded from the Golden State Valkyries to the Seattle Storm for the equivalent of two second-round draft picks, one of which is two years in the future.
The trade was surprising and left many questions unanswered, but it appears the Valkyries aimed to acquire future draft assets.
The trade caused audible murmurs in the draft room, indicating that it was unexpected and generated significant discussion among attendees.
Flau'jae Johnson was a dynamic scorer and strong defender, recognized as a two-time All-American during her time at LSU.
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