Three big trends from Portland, Toronto picks

The Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo took the first steps toward building their inaugural rosters in Friday's expansion draft, selecting 11 players each from a pool left unprotected by the 13 preexisting WNBA franchises. Both teams hope these rosters can bring them success similar to what the Golden State Valkyries experienced in their first season last year.

Both general managers -- Portland's Vanja Černivec and Toronto's Monica Wright Rogers -- expressed relief that the process was finally complete; they had waited months while the new collective bargaining agreement was agreed upon. The two front offices had spent the offseason running internal scenarios, projecting the five protected players on each team's roster, as well as the other expansion franchise's potential picks.

Each franchise was also able to select one unrestricted free agent.

In a coin flip last week, Toronto opted to give Portland the first pick in the expansion draft, giving the Tempo the higher pick in the college draft on April 13. Both opted to leave one of their 12 roster spots open for the draft. Portland selected the Minnesota Lynx's Bridget Carleton at No. 1, while Toronto took Julie Allemand for its first pick at No. 2.

Within Friday's selections, three big trends emerged. Both teams emphasized drafting veteran players, future foundational performers and, surprisingly, players who have plenty of upside but have been impacted significantly by injury.

Here's a look at three players from each team who embody those trends.

Portland Fire

Veteran presence: Bridget Carleton, F (Minnesota Lynx)

The Fire decided they wanted to use their UFA pick on Carleton. And to make sure Toronto did not select the Ontario, Canada, native, they selected her with the first pick in the draft.

Carleton came off the bench for the first five years of her WNBA career before sliding into Minnesota's starting lineup in 2024. That season, she averaged a career-high 9.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists while shooting 44.4% from 3 on 5.3 attempts, helping the Lynx to the 2024 WNBA Finals.

Last year, she averaged 6.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 0.8 steals as a starter. A 37.3% scorer from the 3-point line, the 6-foot-2 forward can help spread the floor while providing decent size in the paint.

The Fire believe Carleton can model her role after the one Kayla Thornton played for Golden State before she was sidelined by injury: As the team's veteran leader on the court and in the locker room, all while continuing to improve her game.

"I think [Carleton] did an amazing job in Minnesota and if you take her out of that environment and kind of start building the team around her, we think she could be an All-Star player," Černivec said.

Carleton has experiences she can impart on her less experienced teammates. And if she can take another step forward in her career, she could lead the Fire to a successful first year.

Future foundational player: Carla Leite, G (Golden State Valkyries)

The Fire's second pick reunites the second-year guard with Černivec, who had selected Leite to the Valkyries in their expansion draft ahead of last season.

Golden State initially saw the France native as a guard it would have to spend time developing. Taken ninth by the Dallas Wings in the college draft eight months prior, Leite spent the summer playing in Europe. But with the Valkyries relying heavily on international players, Leite fit right into their system. She quickly stepped into a rotation role, averaging 7.2 points and 2.0 assists as a backup for Veronica Burton.

Černivec has called Leite "fearless" in the way she plays. The 21-year-old brings relentless energy and has no hesitation to fight through contact to get to the paint. She's quick on her feet, but she also plays with a level of patience when she handles the ball, making sure she knows the play she is about to make is the right one.

In bringing her to Portland, which one source told ESPN was a "no-brainer" move, she brings a level of familiarity with what it's like building something from the ground up. She understands the challenges -- and the rewards -- of being part of an expansion franchise. Portland hopes that mindset, combined with her relationship with Černivec, will make Leite a leader on the court and in the locker room.

Wild-card pick: Nika Mühl, G (Seattle Storm)

At face value, this pick might be a head-scratcher. Muhl will miss all of the 2026 season as she recovers from surgery to repair a torn right ACL. She also missed the 2025 season while recovering from a torn left ACL. If she's unable to contribute right away, why would Portland use a roster spot on her?

Černivec surely saw this as an investment in the franchise's future, based on a previous rapport with Muhl: The two crossed paths in the NBA Academy Women's Program at the 2019 NCAA women's Final Four.

When healthy for the Storm a year earlier, Muhl gave them good energy off the bench and quickly became a fan favorite. In her senior year at UConn in 2023-24, she averaged 6.9 points on 46.2% field goal shooting, including 40.2% from 3, 5.6 assists and 4.0 rebounds in 32.1 minutes.

Sources told ESPN there's a level of confidence that head coach Alex Sarama's player development style -- a constraints-led approach, which emphasizes adaptability, improvisation and decision-making rather than predetermined movement patterns and drills -- will allow Muhl to return better than she was.

Toronto Tempo

Veteran presence: Marina Mabrey, G (Connecticut Sun)

One of the Sun's most reliable players last season, it seemed surprising that Mabrey was left unprotected in the expansion draft -- but the guard had also expressed interest in leaving Connecticut last season. Now, she gets a new start she was seeking.

Mabrey, an unrestricted free agent, was the Tempo's third pick (sixth overall) and gives them a veteran scorer. She averaged 14.4 points last season -- the second-best scoring mark on the team -- as well as 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists. Her 31.5 minutes per game were the most of any Sun player, too.

But what makes Mabrey stand out is the season she just had in Unrivaled: She led the 3-on-3 league in scoring, averaging 25.3 points on 43.4% shooting from the field. She also hit 10 3-pointers in a game when the league played in Philadelphia in late January.

Mabrey brings an edge that the Fire don't have, at least on the surface. She can be controversial, and she doesn't shy away from getting into it with other players. She plays with a level of physicality that's not overly common in WNBA. A player such as Mabrey can serve as a foundational piece of a startup franchise and shape its identity -- and level of grit.

Future foundational player: Julie Allemand, G (Los Angeles Sparks)

Toronto hopes it secured its primary ball handler in Allemand, its first pick. Despite being drafted in 2020 by the Indiana Fever, Allemand has played just three full seasons in the WNBA -- with Indiana, with the Chicago Sky in 2022 and last year with the Sparks. But she was named to the All-Rookie team in 2020 after starting all 22 games for the Fever and averaging 5.8 assists and 8.5 points. For Los Angeles, she averaged five assists, with only Kelsey Plum recording more (5.7).

Her real strength however might come from her success at the international level. A member of the Belgian national team, Allemand has won the EuroCup Women gold in 2023 and 2025.

A player with a high skill set for ball distribution could be a smart way to build the foundation for a new franchise aiming to hit the ground running. It will allow head coach Sandy Brondello and her staff not to waste time teaching their players how to facilitate.

Wild-card pick: Nyara Sabally, F (New York Liberty)

Sabally was another player surprisingly left available by her former team -- which ultimately allowed for a reunion with her former coach, Brondello.

Sabally gave the Liberty some good moments since being drafted fifth in 2022, but her tenure in New York was marred by injuries. She missed her first season to recover from a right knee injury and was limited to just 17 games last season due to a flare-up in the same surgically repaired knee.

But when Brondello shifted to a bigger lineup for the 2023 and 2024 seasons, Sabally proved she could be an important presence in the paint. She proved it, becoming a key contributor for New York in its overtime Game 5 thriller in the 2024 WNBA Finals, scoring 13 points and grabbing seven rebounds to help turn the game in the Liberty's favor. Toronto might have found its star center in Sabally. She just needs to stay healthy.