Valkyries GM: Agreed to Storm trade before Flau'jae Johnson selection - ESPN

After a draft-night trade that sent former LSU All-American and 2023 national champion Flau'jae Johnson to the Seattle Storm less than an hour after the Golden State Valkyries selected her with the No. 8 pick, Golden State general manager Ohemaa Nyanin told ESPN that the teams agreed upon the trade before the draft picks were submitted.

«Seattle and I had an agreement to trade picks prior to any athlete selection,» Nyanin told ESPN in a phone call after Monday night's draft. «I want to be super clear about the draft: This had nothing to do with Flau'jae or any specific athlete selection.»

Storm general manager Talisa Rhea said the team had been looking for an opportunity to move up in the draft and acquire another impact player.

«We didn't think that [Johnson] would be available at that point,» Rhea said in a post-draft news conference. «We had been in conversations, and so, as we got closer to that pick, once it became a reality, just really excited.»

In exchange for Johnson, the Valkyries acquired the draft rights to Marta Suarez, whom Seattle selected with the first pick of the second round (No. 16), and a 2028 second-round selection.

The trade, which was announced just ahead of the No. 17 pick, left many in the room stunned, with audible gasps as commissioner Cathy Engelbert delivered the news.

In her post-draft news conference, Nynanin declined to go into detail on her decision to make the trade, saying, «I'm going to take a beat to be able to eloquently give a response. I don't have a lot of 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.»

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