Who will Valkyries ask to pick up where injured All-Star Kayla Thornton left off?
Thornton's 30.1 minutes per game were the most on the team, and — other than point guard Veronica Burton — no other Valkyries player has played even half of the team's minutes. The Valkyries pulled off an 86-76 win against Dallas Friday night, led by forward Janelle Salaün 's 16 points, but Golden State now faces pressing questions about the rest of the season.
The Valkyries will lean heavily on Salaün (10.1 points per game) as a scoring threat. The 23-year-old fits into the team's long-term future, as does center Iliana Rupert, who made her Valkyries debut on Friday.
'I felt like even when (Thornton) was here I was trying to take open shots and be dangerous in the offense,' Salaün said. 'I think it's still the same because I have players around me who can score. I think we have a lot of scorers, not just me but everybody.'
Golden State is now in a three-way tie with Washington and Las Vegas for the last two playoff spots with almost half a season left to play. They have 21 games left heading into a five-game road trip, hoping to improve on their 3-8 road record.
The WNBA trade deadline is August 7, and it's yet to be seen which way the Valkyries will handle it. Veteran Aces center Megan Gustafson has been rumored to be available, as have Washington forward Aaliyah Edwards and New York forward Isabelle Harrison.
But Thornton's injury could change the way the Valkyries brass approaches the team's roster makeup. A poor road trip could turn them from buyers into sellers by their next home game on August 6. If Golden State falters, veterans Tiffany Hayes, Temi Fagbenle or Cecilia Zandalasini could be interesting potential additions for contenders such as the Las Vegas Aces or Indiana Fever.
'I think where we're at right now is not being too hasty about any of the decisions that we need to make moving forward,' Valkyries general manager Ohemaa Nyanin told the Chronicle before Thornton's injury. 'Where we always land is just being really thoughtful about what it is that we need to do, and to do it.'
Thornton's 5.8% offensive-rebound rate — the percentage of possible offensive rebounds that a player secures while competing with defenders — was the highest of any non-center on the team, and one that Zandalasini (1.0%) won't be able to replace if she enters the starting lineup for good. Rupert could answer that need (with a 6.0% offensive-rebound rate over her career), but it might be an area the Valkyries address via trade if they opt to buy at the deadline.
WNBA teams don't have an injured reserve, so a season-ending injury like Thornton's still counts against the 12-player roster limit, unless they were to cut her before she becomes an unrestricted free agent in the offseason. Keeping Thornton would leave the Valkyries with just 11 roster spots for the rest of the season, and any other addition would have to come with a corresponding roster move.
Thornton's contract is also guaranteed for the rest of the season after the July 14 contract deadline passed, but the Valkyries could afford that with as much cap space as they have. (And they can always re-sign the popular veteran in the offseason.)
Because next year's expansion draft format is yet to be finalized — and the upcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations will inevitably affect free agency — it's tough for any team to stockpile draft picks or players. Golden State has just two players under contract for next season in Kate Martin and Carla Leite, while they also have the rights to the unsigned 2025 first-round pick Juste Jocyte and injured forward Maria Conde. Several players are also restricted free agents in Zandalasini, Burton and Kaitlyn Chen. They can revamp their roster any way they want to.
Not having Thornton could change the way the Valkyries might approach the second half of the season. Their leash might be a lot shorter before they turn toward the future, making this upcoming road trip potentially the most important stretch of their inaugural season.
Rotation shuffle? Head coach Natalie Nakase didn't play guard Kate Martin at all in Friday's win despite the short bench. Forward Stephanie Talbot got similar treatment before the Valkyries waived her, and Martin appears to have been bumped behind rookies Leite and Chen on the backcourt depth chart. Martin is the only player left on the roster who has been healthy-scratched for multiple games.
Nakase said Martin was 'resting' on Friday night after the team's 10-day All-Star break, but she also said Thornton was resting when she missed practice last week before her injury was announced.
'We have six games in 10 days and we had six games in 12 days before the All-Star break,' Nakase said of Martin. 'I'm just being mindful and we'll see going forward because that is not a lot of downtime.'
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