With Thursday’s trade deadline looming, the Golden State Valkyries are in an interesting position.
The expansion team currently sits at .500 and occupies the eighth and final playoff spot with 16 games left in the regular season. The Valkyries weathered injuries to key players and fatigue to escape a long, five-game trip 3-2.
But the roster is in a vulnerable spot.
All-Star Kayla Thornton is out for the rest of the year with a knee injury. Second-leading scorer Tiffany Hayes, shooter Cecilia Zandalasini and backup center Monique Billings missed time on the road trip and their timeline to return is unknown. The roster could use more frontcourt depth, another scoring punch and an upgrade on the wings.
So where does this leave the Valkyries as the trade deadline nears?
The looming collective bargaining agreement along with the hard cap structure could make this a quiet deadline. It’s also notable that a majority of the league’s top players – a list that includes A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum, Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu, among others – are set to hit the unrestricted free-agent market this winter. The Toronto Pace and Portland Fire will add two new expansion teams to the league in 2026, meaning that teams will have to think about what to do with their roster amid an upcoming expansion draft.
Golden State Valkyries’ Janelle Salaün (13) scores the game tying basket with 6 second left against the Phoenix Mercury in the fourth quarter at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, July 14, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
But Golden State is in a unique position to acquire another piece for a playoff push or unload some of their favorable contracts for future assets. The Valkyries have the most amount of cap space in the league and own all their future draft picks.
Just 3 1/2 games separate the Valkyries from the third-seeded Atlanta Dream. With teams like Phoenix and Seattle sliding in the standings, Golden State could be tempted to make moves at the deadline.
Or, the Valkyries could stand pat and hope everyone gets healthy.
Here’s a breakdown of the Valkyries’ options at the deadline:
Buy, buy, buy
With the $482,445 of cap space the Valkyries have, they can take on just about any contract in the league in a trade.
As many of the top stars are set to hit free agency in a few months, the Valkyries wouldn’t be wise to give up future assets for a player that could be a 16-game rental.
But there are some interesting names that could certainly fill holes in the Valkyries’ roster.
ESPN reported last month that the Mystics were looking to trade forward Aaliyah Edwards, who has been stuck in a front-court log jam.
The former first-round pick is a solid rebounder and defender and could serve as a solid frontcourt option with Thornton out and Billings gone at least the next three weeks. Edwards is still on a rookie-scale contract.
UConn forward Aaliyah Edwards (3) fights for a loose ball with Iowa forward Hannah Stuelke, left, and guard Kate Martin, right, during the first half of a Final Four college basketball game in the women’s NCAA Tournament, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Edwards’ teammate Emily Engstler is another player who has been buried on the Mystics’ depth chart this season. Engstler had a career-year in 2024, shooting 47.4% from the 3-point line.
She’s struggled this season, but is the type of player teams could look to take a flier on. The Valkyries have had success plugging in just about any type of player into their system and a change of scenery for Engstler could help revive her season.
Chicago Sky guard Kia Nurse has torn up the Valkyries to the tune of 13.5 points per game in two matchups this season. The former UConn standout is a solid shooter who could also play next to the Valkyries’ plethora of young guards.
Nurse is a veteran on an expiring contract, but could be worth the rental to get more playmaking and shooting in the lineup to make a playoff push.
Golden State Valkyries’ Kayla Thornton (5) holds her hands up against Chicago Sky’s Kia Nurse (11) in the third quarter at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, June 27, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Soft sell
The Valkyries are past the point of going for an all out fire sale.
Golden State should be focusing on getting to the playoffs, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t think about the future.
Only Kate Martin and Carla Leite will be under team control after this season. Hayes, Thornton, Billings and starting center Temi Fágbénlé are all going to be unrestricted free agents while Burton and Zandalasini will head into the offseason as restricted free agents.
The Valkyries have exclusive rights to Janelle Salaün, Kaitlyn Chen and Laeticia Amihere, meaning those players can only negotiate with Golden State and must accept a qualifying offer if they are given one in the offseason.
Golden State Valkyries’ Kate Martin (20) takes a shot against the Minnesota Lynx in the third quarter at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, June 1, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Veterans like Hayes, Billings and Fágbénlé could bring back draft picks and young players to teams that are shooting for a championship this year. While Martin and Leite are fan favorites, they could yield a good return from a team like Dallas, Chicago or Connecticut that is rebuilding.
Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase has seen what a successful soft sell at the deadline could do.
When she was an assistant with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2019, the team traded away young rotation players like Tobias Harris and Boban Marjanovic and got a plethora of draft picks and expiring contracts in return. The move set the Clippers up to sign NBA champion Kawhi Leonard and trade for perennial NBA All-Star Paul George that offseason.
Stand pat
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
The Valkyries have proven they can compete with just about anybody as Nakase has used 14 different starting lineups and put 19 different players on the floor.
Golden State could easily roll with what they have currently and rely on chemistry to get them to the playoffs.
If Hayes and Zandalasini can come back healthy, they are two double-digit a game scorers that will be plopped into a lineup that has struggled to put the ball in the basket at a consistent rate.
Not making a move might not be flashy, but it could be the smartest route to continuing to build a foundation. The Valkyries have already defied expectations despite injuries and lineup changes. With a strong locker room and cap flexibility, there’s a case to be made to let things play out.
Golden State Valkyries Head Coach Natalie Nakase speaks to Veronica Burton on the sidelines in the second half against the Seattle Storm at the Chase Center in San Francisco, CA on Saturday, June 14, 2025. (Don Feria for Bay Area News Group)
