WNBA mock draft 2020, in 5 minutes or less

The 2020 WNBA Draft board looks a helluva lot different than it did Wednesday morning, when a three-team trade sent former MVP Tina Charles to the reigning champion Washington Mystics and two first-round picks to the New York Liberty. You can read a full breakdown of Washington’s total fleecing here.

Let’s jump right into a new mock draft.

You’ve probably heard of her. She’s going to go No. 1. Book it.

The clear next-best talent in the draft after Ionescu, Sabally is an immediate game-changing player whose versatility at the forward spot could make her a perennial all-star and then some.

The Fever have needs across the board, and Carter may be the player with the highest ceiling after Ionescu and Sabally. Indiana might play Kelsey Mitchell at point now, but ultimately, she’s probably better suited at the two next to another guard who can draw attention and play-make. That’s Carter.

Cox is a strong 6’4 forward who’s a solid scorer down low, but will have add the most value to her new team as a defender. Atlanta has a lot of new pieces (Courtney Williams, Shekinna Stricklen, Glory Johnson, Kalani Brown), and a lot to figure out, but Cox would immediately play in that rotation. It’s a steal to get her this late.

Harris is probably the next-best guard after Ionescu and Carter, and Dallas has so many needs it might as well take the best player available here. She’s tall, strong and facilitates. Every player should want to share the floor with Harris.

The Lynx need a point guard, and could take Crystal Dangerfield here, but they might opt to take the best player available instead, regardless of position, and hope Dangerfield drops to the second round. Alarie might have the highest ceiling of the remaining players as a 6’4 forward who can stretch the floor and shoot.

There’s a lot to like about 6’1 Walker, a junior from UConn coming out early. She’s a great shooter and a good defender. There are questions if her game will translate at the next level as she’s asked to create more looks for herself, but if she puts the pieces together, she can be a solid starter one day.

A shooter! The Sky don’t have glaring needs, but shooting is a premium next to Diamond DeShields and Courtney Vandersloot.

The Ionescu-Hebard combination worked at Oregon, so why not in the WNBA? This might be the best pick the Liberty receive from the Tina Charles trade, so why not use it on someone who has pre-existing chemistry with the point guard of the future and hope that launches the rebuild?

A tall, scoring-minded forward is exactly the kind of role-player Phoenix needs next to the new big three of Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner and Skylar Diggins-Smith. Herbert Harrigan played at the highest level for the best college team in the country, so she can play in the W now.

The Storm’s rotation is virtually set, and there’s a good chance that if the team keeps this pick, it’ll use it on someone who can be kept abroad. Laksa played three full seasons at South Florida before injuring her knee in 2019, then opted to go pro in Latvia. At her peak at USF, she scored 21 points per game on 38 percent three-point shooting. She’s still only 23 years old. Maybe the Storm can convince her to wait off a year or two.

With its third pick in the first round, New York should take a chance on Mompremier, if she’s here. She has a lot to improve on, but the Liberty can take their time with the 6’7 big who’s showing better shooting touch each year.