What to know
- The WNBA expansion draft and college draft are coming up, with the expansion draft airing at 3:30 p.m. on April 3 and the college draft airing on April 13.
- The Toronto Tempo made a trade with the Chicago Sky that would give the Tempo an extra 26th pick in the college draft. In exchange, the team will not pick any of Chicago’s unprotected players.
- In the expansion draft, the Toronto Tempo and the Portland Fire will alternate, choosing six players each.
- Toronto will have the 6th, 22nd, 26th and 36th picks during the college draft.
The Toronto Tempo is ready to build a winning team, having already made their first trade ahead of the expansion draft and the college draft.
On Wednesday, Toronto’s Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) team struck a deal with the Chicago Sky that gives Tempo the 26th pick in the college (first-year player) draft, which is scheduled for April 13.
In exchange, the team has agreed to not pick any of Chicago’s unprotected free agent players, during the expansion draft on Friday, April 3.
Toronto will have the 6th, 22nd, 26th and 36th picks during the first-year players draft. This means the Tempo will get to pick one player from the first round, two from the second round, and the last player of the night.
During Friday’s expansion draft, the Toronto Tempo and the Portland Fire will take turns building their roster. The draft will have two rounds of six picks each. Portland gets first dibs, but Toronto will get both the 12th and the 13th picks.
Superstar players like Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, and Angel Reese cannot be selected as they’re still tied down to four-year rookie contracts with the Indiana Fever, Dallas Wings, and Chicago Sky, respectively.
The WNBA expansion draft will take place at 3:30 p.m. ET.
The team recently added former Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri to its ownership team, spearheaded by Larry Tanenbaum. Tennis star Serena Williams, comedian Lily Singh, and tech executive Sukhinder Singh Cassidy are also partial owners. Sandy Brondello, formerly with the New York Liberty, was hired as the Tempo’s head coach.
Read More
The Toronto Tempo is set to face the Connecticut Sun in a pre-season game on April 29 at Coca-Cola Coliseum. The team’s first regular season game will be against the Washington Mystics on May 8 at the same venue.
