By virtue of an 8-26 record in 2003 and the fortuitous bounces of 14 ping pong balls, the Mercury won the WNBA Draft Lottery for 2004 on Wednesday night. And with that No. 1 pick, many expect the Mercury to select the 2003 Naismith National Player of the Year winner and UConn guard Diana Taurasi.
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NBA TV's Spero Dedes talks about the WNBA Draft Lottery with analyst Rebecca Lobo and Storm guard Sue Bird. Jennifer Pottheiser WNBAE/Getty Images |
“I think a lot of people are assuming Diana Taurasi at this point, that she is the natural consensus to go number one in this Draft, but I have to tell you, the players that go one through four definitely could be number one picks any other year,” said Mercury General Manager/Vice President Seth Sulka. “Obviously if you look at Taurasi, she is really going to change this game.
"She has seen success at the collegiate level and will be thirsty to get her hands on another championship.”
But in order to trade the top pick, NBA TV's WNBA analyst Rebecca Lobo said the Mercury would have to be "bold." Lobo believes there could be value in being so bold.
"I think it depends if they want to be good right away," Lobo said. "They would need to trade the pick, because they could get two starters and a top draft pick or two starters and a good bench player. It may make them good right away.
"If they take Diana, it will take them a couple of years before they're really good. It all depends if they're in the long term or short term."
With nearly a whole college season remaining, top collegiate seniors will essentially be auditioning for the WNBA for the next four months. And Lobo thinks the Class of 2004 will ace the auditions.
"They're terrific," Lobo said. "Especially with the way the league is now, it used to be the top five or six players who were really strong, this season, I think the top nine or top 10 players will be really strong."
Seattle Storm guard Sue Bird, who did analysis for NBA TV for the Lottery, mentioned that her team, which placed sixth in the Lottery, will still be able to select a quality player.
"I really didn't expect much, from the Seattle Storm point of view, our chances were like 2.5," Bird said. "So, I can't say I'm disappointed, but it would have been nice to have the No. 1 pick.
"But I am not at all disappointed. I think the No. 6 pick, whoever it is we take, this class is so deep, it's a good year to be No. 6."
Bird, who entered with an impressive 2002 Draft class, is duly impressed with the 2004 Class.
"Just like with my class, a lot of people said we were going to do great things, but nobody really knew," Bird said. "You never know until they get there. But, there are so many good players in this class.
"I wouldn't be surprised if six, seven or eight of them make a huge impact right away."
And as far as the Class of 2004 thinking about the WNBA Draft, Bird knows a majority of the players destined for the first round are concentrating on their final collegiate seasons.
"I remember thinking back to my senior year, " Bird said, "but they had a lottery and Seattle got the number one pick. And it was rumored that I would be the No. 1 pick. At the same time, it never crossed my mind while I was in college.
"I'm sure Diana realizes what it means, but you're so into what you're doing when you're at UConn, I don't even think she'll be thinking about it until the season is over."
While there were no major surprises in the Draft Lottery, Indiana moved up two spots to nab the third pick in the 2004 WNBA Draft.
"The team that has to be the happiest, even though they didn't get the top pick, has to be Indiana," Lobo said. "They has such a great squad already. They've got Tamika Catchings, one of the great young players in the league. They have Natalie Williams and with that third pick they'll get a great complement to those two players.
"They were just a game out of making the playoffs last year, so they have to be happy."