The Toronto Tempo has confirmed that they will select sixth in the upcoming WNBA draft scheduled for April 13, 2024. This decision comes after the team opted for the draft pick over the first choice in the expansion draft set for April 3, 2024. The franchise won this right through a unique method; a silver dollar was flipped during a Zoom call, resulting in a win for Toronto.
On the other hand, the Portland Fire will have the advantage of making the first selection in the expansion draft while holding the seventh pick in the WNBA draft. This strategic choice allows the Fire to potentially build a solid foundation for their team by selecting high-caliber talent from the available pool of players during this new team initiative.
WNBA teams must submit their protected player lists to the league by Sunday, prior to the expansion draft. Each team can protect five players, and the expansion draft will consist of two rounds with a total of six picks per team per round. The drafting will take place in an alternating format, where the team that picks second in the first round will have the first pick in the subsequent round.
The new franchises, Toronto and Portland, will benefit from selecting players who are left unprotected by their existing teams. However, it is critical to note that a current franchise may only lose a maximum of two players overall in this expansion draft. The rules stipulate that if a player is chosen in the first round, that same franchise cannot lose another player until the second round.
In terms of player eligibility, teams are allowed to protect players who were on their roster at the conclusion of the 2025 regular season. Additionally, any player who has accumulated five or more years of service post-2025 must either be labeled as an unrestricted free agent or added to the unprotected list. Among the current player contracts, only Lexie Brown and Kalani Brown have agreements that did not expire last season, which will affect team strategies in the draft.
Both Toronto and Portland are permitted to select one player who might qualify as an unrestricted free agent. After selecting such a player, they would have the opportunity to negotiate a supermax contract, which could potentially be valued at up to $1.4 million annually, following the stipulations of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
This marks the second consecutive year that the WNBA has conducted an expansion draft, with the Golden State franchise entering the league last year and achieving an impressive milestone by reaching the playoffs in their inaugural season.
During the WNBA draft, the two new teams will alternate picks in the second and third rounds as well. Specifically, Portland will select sixth in the second round and seventh in the third round, while Toronto will pick seventh in the second round and sixth in the third round. This alternating pick format will add strategic depth to the drafting process as teams vie to secure the best available talent to build competitive rosters.
