Valkyries GM explains reasoning for Flau’jae Johnson trade that left Golden State fans befuddled

Valkyries GM explains reasoning for Flau’jae Johnson trade that left Golden State fans befuddled originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

With the eighth pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, the Golden State Valkyries selected LSU guard Flau'jae Johnson. The pick was celebrated, but an hour later, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced that a trade had occurred.

Ahead of the 17th pick in the draft, Engelbert declared that the Valkyries had traded Johnson to the Seattle Storm in exchange for the draft rights to Marta Suarez, whom the Storm had selected 16th overall. Golden State also acquired a 2028 second-round pick in the trade.

The deal left fans stunned. Johnson averaged 14.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in her final year with the Tigers. She was projected to be a role player for Golden State even as a rookie, and the return for the eighth overall pick felt lower than it should've been. Golden State fans were not happy about the deal, and that frustration grew when general manager Ohemaa Nyanin initially declined to elaborate on the trade.

Here is more on what the Nyanin ultimately said about the trade of Johnson to Seattle after she was selected by Golden State.

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Valkyries GM explains Flau'jae Johnson trade

Nyanin initially declined to go further into the details of the trade and the reasoning behind it. This is what she said in a press conference.

"I'm going to take a beat to be able to eloquently give a response. I don't have many details to share. 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."

She was asked if the salary cap may have played a factor in the decision, but she declined to comment further, saying, "I don't talk or comment about salary cap, so I wouldn't be able to answer the question in a way."

After the press conference, Nyanin reportedly told ESPN further insight into the deal. She said that the trade was agreed to before any draft picks were submitted.

"Seattle and I had an agreement to trade picks prior to any athlete selection. I want to be super clear about the draft: This had nothing to do with Flau'jae or any specific athlete selection."

It may have been that Golden State didn't think that Johnson would be on the clock at No. 8, but regardless, the Valkyries opted to make a trade for the future rather than the present. Rather than having the No. 8 pick in this year's draft, Golden State ended up with the first pick in this year's second round (Suarez) and a future second-round pick two drafts from now.

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Flau'jae Johnson trade details

Seattle Storm receives:

• Flau'jae Johnson

Golden State Valkyries receives:

• Marta Suarez
• 2028 2nd round pick

Storm GM Talisa Rhea said that the franchise had been looking for a chance to move up in the draft to select another impactful player. Seattle had already selected Spanish center Awa Fam Thiam with the No. 3 overall pick and then made the deal to add the No. 8 pick. About the move, Rhea said in a press conference, "We didn't think that [Johnson] would be available at that point. We had been in conversations, and so, as we got closer to that pick, once it became a reality, just really excited."

Suarez is a forward who will now join Golden State. She finished her career at TCU, playing in 38 games in her final collegiate season. Suarez averaged 11.6 points and 6.2 points per game, and should be solid depth for Golden State starting out.

The Valkyries added Duke guard Ashlon Jackson in the second round and Japanese guard Kokoro Tanaka in the third. In addition to Fam Thiam and the addition of Johnson, the Storm used another first-round pick on Duke guard Taina Mair, and added Michigan State forward Grace VanSlooten in the third.

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