The Golden State Valkyries had an immensely successful 2025 season, considering it was the franchise’s inaugural season in the WNBA. The Valkyries made the playoffs in its first year of existence, and although it lost in the first round, there was a lot to be excited about.
Fans were hopeful that Golden State would carry its momentum into the 2026 season, but many are deeply frustrated with the franchise as of late. The Valkyries selected former LSU Tigers Star Flau’jae Johnson with the eighth overall pick in the draft.
Johnson seemed like a perfect fit for an ascending team comprised primarily of role players. However, she was traded to the Seattle Storm for Marta Suarez, the 16th overall pick, and a 2027 second-round pick. Fans were frustrated by the trade alone, but were even more perplexed when Golden State made the tough decision to cut Suarez ahead of the season.
On Tuesday, Golden State’s media day, general manager Ohemaa Nyanin spoke on the franchise’s process, maintaining that the Johnson trade was for cap flexibility reasons.
“We traded the rights of our No. 8 pick for the rights of the 16th pick and a future second… why we waived a specific athlete is part of understanding the new CBA…There are a lot of things we need to take into consideration when it comes to the status of an athlete, years of experience etc. There’s more to come. There’s a lot more to think through in the next 48 hours,” Nyanin said, according to The Athletic’s Annie Costabile.
“A lot of athletes are in consideration for these developmental spots… we want to make sure we aren’t signing athletes & then waiving them, signing & then releasing them. That’s not the type of organization we are. We want to be very intentional with how we use those spots,” Nyanin added.
Still, fans have been deeply critical of the front office’s recent operations.
I wanna yell at you but we’ve never seen a more arrogant 8th seed in sports history so they need a reality check
— Jason Maples (@jjmaples55) May 5, 2026
“Joe Lacob is turning into a pretty bad owner,” someone else added.
“Tt still doesn’t make any sense to me. If you know every year, you’re not gonna use your draft picks, then why wouldn’t you just trade them until it’s a draft you’re really interested in or to get players in the league that you want in exchange,” one fan added.
Only time will tell if Golden State made the right decision.
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