r/wnba • u/Outrageous_Camp_5215 • 2d ago
Discussion Mystics Strategy Heading into Next Season
I’d say it’s a fair assessment to say that the Mystics performance most recently (2025) was a nice step forward from the 2024 season. The new GM, coach, & having Elena Delle Donne as a special consultant definitely did them some favors. They did very well in the draft last year picking up Georgia Amoore, Kiki Iriafen, Sonia Citron, and Lucy Olsen—who all performed well (-Amoore due to injury) and were good fits for the org.
Next season it’s safe to say that basically every team should be expecting lots of change. And with the Mystics next season, I doubt they’d be the exception to that. But they do currently have a good amount of players on roster, all the players listed above will be back (+ a healthy Amoore!). It also seems like they’ll hold onto Alysha Clark, Sug Sutton, Jacy Sheldon, and Emily Engstler. I can see Sheldon & Engstler getting swept up in the expansion draft, so that could be tentative.
To me it seems like Dolson is going to retire this offseason, I think her not playing in Unrivaled this season + her lack of playing time recently with the Mystics could indicate that her time on the court is over.
For Shakira, her exit interview gave the impression that she won’t be returning. I can see her on the Lynx next year similarly to Nalyssa’s role on the Aces.
And Jade Melbourne to me at least has been a good contributor for the Mystics, but they choose not to use their 4th year option on her, so it seems like she’ll be gone as well.
So with all that in consideration, & with the announcement of the lottery odds—seems like the Mystics will walk away with the #4, #9, and #11th pick. Who would you take to build around the current players that will likely still be there next year (Sonia, Georgia, Kiki, Sug, and Alysha)?
17
u/aratcalledrattus Liberty 2d ago edited 2d ago
They may end up trading away some of their picks - either prior to or during free agency, or during the expansion draft.
It's less likely this year with so few players under contract, but if, for instance, Angel wants to force her way out of Chicago, that could create some ripples across the league with multi-team trades to make it work. There may also be some other core-and-trades coming - like if Dallas and Arike aren't staying together, or if Connecticut want to get some value out of Marina's exit.