The Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo took the first steps toward building their opening rosters in Friday’s expansion draft, each selecting 11 players from a pool left unprotected by the 13 pre-existing WNBA franchises. Both teams hope these rosters will bring them similar success to what the Golden State Valkyries saw in their first season last year.
Both general managers – Portland’s Vanja Cernevik and Toronto’s Monica Wright Rogers – expressed relief that the process was finally completed; They waited months for a new collective bargaining agreement to be agreed upon. Both front offices spent the offseason running internal scenarios, dropping the five protected players on each team’s roster, as well as potential picks for another expansion franchise.
Each franchise was also able to select one unrestricted free agent.
In a coin flip last week, Toronto elected to give Portland the first pick in the expansion draft, giving Tempo the top pick in the college draft on April 13. Both chose to leave one of the 12 roster spots open for the draft. Portland selected Bridget Carlton of the Minnesota Lynx with the No. 1 pick, while Toronto took Julie Allemand with its No. 1 pick at No. 2.
Among Friday’s picks, three big trends emerged. Both teams emphasized drafting veteran players, future foundational performances, and surprisingly, players who had a lot of upside but were greatly impacted by injuries.
Here’s a look at three players from each team who embody these trends.
Veteran Presence: Bridget Carlton, F (Minnesota Lynx)
The Fire decided they wanted to use their UFA pick on Carlton. To make sure Toronto didn’t select the Ontario, Canada native, they selected her with the first pick in the draft.
Carlton came off the bench for the first five years of her WNBA career before sliding into Minnesota’s starting lineup in 2024. That season, she averaged career-highs of 9.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists while shooting 44.4% from 3 on 5.3 attempts, helping the Lynx reach the 2024 WNBA Finals.
Last year, she averaged 6.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 0.8 steals as a starter. The 6-foot-2 forward can help spread the floor while providing decent size in the paint, and is a 37.3% shooter from the three-point line.
The Fire believe Carlton can model her role after the one Kayla Thornton played with Golden State before she was sidelined by injury: as the team’s veteran leader on the court and in the locker room, all while continuing to improve her game.
“I think (Carlton) did a great job at Minnesota, and if you take her out of that environment and start building the team around her, we think she can become an All-Star player,” Cernevik said.
Carlton has experiences she can pass on to her less experienced teammates. If she can take another step forward in her career, she could lead the Fire to a successful first year.
Future starter: Carla Leite, G (Golden State Valkyries)
The Fire’s second pick pairs the sophomore guard with Černivec, who selected Leite to the Valkyries in the expansion draft before last season.
Golden State initially saw the French native as a guard they should spend time developing. The Dallas Wings took him ninth overall in the college draft eight months ago, and Light spent the summer playing in Europe. But with the Valkyries relying heavily on international players, Leite fits perfectly into their system. She quickly stepped into the rotation, averaging 7.2 points and 2.0 assists as Veronica Burton’s backup.
Černivec described Leite as “brave” in her approach to playing. The 21-year-old has relentless energy and doesn’t hesitate to fight through contact to get into the paint. She’s quick on her feet, but she also plays with a level of patience when she handles the ball, making sure she knows the play she’s about to make is the right one.
By bringing her to Portland, which one source told ESPN was a “no-brainer” move, she brings a level of familiarity with what it’s like to build something from the ground up. She understands the challenges — and rewards — of being part of an expansion franchise. Portland hopes that mentality, combined with its relationship with Czernevik, will make Leite a leader on the court and in the locker room.
Wild Card Pick: Nika Muhl, G (Seattle Storm)
On the face of it, this choice might be a head-scratcher. Muhl will miss the entire 2026 season as she recovers from surgery to repair a torn right ACL. She also missed the 2025 season while recovering from a torn left ACL. If she can’t contribute right away, why would Portland use a roster spot on her?
Černivec certainly saw this as an investment in the future of the franchise, based on a previous relationship with Muhl: the two crossed paths in the NBA Academy women’s program in the 2019 NCAA Women’s Final Four.
When Muhl was healthy for the Storm the year before, he gave them good energy off the bench and quickly became a fan favorite. In her final year at UConn in 2023-24, she averaged 6.9 points on 46.2% field goal shooting, including 40.2% from 3, 5.6 assists and 4.0 rebounds in 32.1 minutes.
Sources told ESPN that there is a level of confidence that coach Alex Sarama’s player development approach — a constraints-based approach, which emphasizes adaptability, improvisation and decision-making rather than pre-determined movement patterns and drills — will allow Moll to come back better than she was.
Veteran Attendant: Marina Mabry, J (Connecticut Sun)
One of the Sun’s most reliable players last season, it seemed surprising that Mabrey was left unprotected in the expansion draft — but the guard also expressed a desire to leave Connecticut last season. Now, she got the fresh start she’d been seeking.
Mabrey, an unrestricted free agent, was the Tempo’s third pick (sixth overall) and gives them a veteran scorer. She averaged 14.4 points last season — the second-best scoring mark on the team — along with 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists. Her 31.5 minutes per game were the most of any Sun player as well.
But what makes Mabrey stand out is the season she just had in a game like no other: She led the league 3-on-3 in scoring, averaging 25.3 points on 43.4% shooting from the field. She also hit 10 3-pointers in a game when the league played in Philadelphia in late January.
Mabry brings an edge the Fire doesn’t have, at least on the surface. She can be controversial, and she’s not shy about getting into it with other players. She plays with a level of physicality that is not common in the WNBA. A player like Mabrey can serve as a key part of a startup franchise and shape its identity — and level of resolve.
Future starter: Julie Allemand, G (Los Angeles Sparks)
Toronto is hoping to land a primary ball-handler in Allemand, their first pick. Although he was drafted in 2020 by the Indiana Fever, Allemand has only played three full seasons in the WNBA — with Indiana, with the Chicago Sky in 2022 and last year with the Sparks. But she was named to the All-Rookie team in 2020 after starting all 22 games for the Fever and averaging 5.8 assists and 8.5 points. For Los Angeles, they averaged five assists, with only Kelsey Bloom recording more (5.7).
But its real strength may come from its success at the international level. Allemand, a member of the Belgian national team, won women’s European Cup gold in 2023 and 2025.
A player with great ball distribution skills can be a smart way to build the foundation for a new franchise aiming for success. This will allow coach Sandy Brondello and her staff to not waste time teaching their players how to make things easier.
Wild Card Pick: Nayara Sabally, F (New York Liberty)
Sabally was another player who was suddenly made available by her former team, which eventually allowed her to meet with her former coach Brondello.
Sabally has given the Liberty some good moments since she was drafted fifth overall in 2022, but her tenure in New York has been marred by injuries. She missed her senior season recovering from a right knee injury and was limited to just 17 games last season due to a flare-up in the same surgically repaired knee.
But as Brondello moves to a larger lineup for the 2023 and 2024 seasons, Sabally has proven she can be an important presence in the paint. She proved it, becoming a key contributor for New York in a Game 5 overtime in the 2024 WNBA Finals, scoring 13 points and grabbing seven rebounds to help turn the game in the Liberty’s favor. Toronto may have found its star center in Sabally. She just needs to stay healthy.
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