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03/25/26 06:04:00
Printable Page
03/25 18:02 CDT WNBA sets April 3 expansion draft for new teams in Portland and
Toronto
WNBA sets April 3 expansion draft for new teams in Portland and Toronto
By DOUG FEINBERG
AP Basketball Writer
The WNBA will hold an expansion draft for its new franchises in Portland and
Toronto on April 3, the league announced Wednesday.
A coin toss will be held Friday, with the winning franchise getting to choose
either the first pick in the expansion draft or the No. 6 pick in the college
draft on April 13. Whichever team doesn't get the sixth pick in the college
draft will choose seventh.
The rules for the expansion draft were announced a day after the league's Board
of Governors ratified the new collective bargaining agreement that was reached
last week.
The expansion draft will have two rounds, with up to six picks for each team in
each round. The teams will alternate picks, with the team that picks second in
the first round going first in the next round.
The new teams will pick among players left unprotected by their current WNBA
teams, with no more than one player per existing team getting chosen. Teams
have until Sunday to submit a list of five protected players.
Teams can protect players they had rights to on the final day of the 2025
regular season.
Any player who has five or more years of service after the 2025 season must be
put on the roster list as an unrestricted free agent or included on the
unprotected list. Only two veteran players --- Lexie Brown and Kalani Brown ---
had contracts that didn't expire last season..
Toronto and Portland each may only select one player who's a potential
unrestricted free agent. The Tempo and Fire would then be allowed to negotiate
a supermax contract with those players, which could be worth up to $1.4 million
annually under the new CBA.
It's the second consecutive year that the league has held an expansion draft.
Golden State entered the league last year and became the first expansion team
to make the playoffs.
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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
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