The 2007 WNBA Draft Live
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Wrapping it Up
Posted at 12:40 p.m.
This is the fifth WNBA Draft I've covered and easily the most eventful, with a couple of All-Stars changing hands, some surprising picks and some players falling further than expected. The Storm has to come out of it feeling good about adding perimeter shooting in Katie Gearlds and potentially getting hope down the road from third-round pick Brandie Hoskins.
Around the league, the Western Conference will get no easier for the Storm in 2007. Phoenix and San Antonio have both geared up for runs at the postseason by adding veteran talents. In the East it's a full-on youth movement in New York after the Liberty dealt Becky Hammon.
We chatted with Hoskins before the end of the Draft, and you can 
listen to that audio here. She mentioned she did not expect to be drafted after her Achilles injury and was pleased to hear her name called by the Storm because she loves the game so much. Hoskins expects to be ready to return to the court in time to play overseas next winter before coming to Storm training camp in 2008.
That's a wrap for our blog, but stay tuned to storm.wnba.com throughout the afternoon as we offer the most complete coverage of the Storm's Draft that you will find anywhere.
Storm Takes Hoskins
Posted at 12:06 p.m.
The Storm has used its third-round pick, No. 33 overall, on Ohio State guard
Brandie Hoskins. Hoskins is a versatile talent who was a key player alongside Jessica Davenport for the Buckeyes. As a senior, Hoskins averaged 14.3 points and 4.9 assists per game. She's got the size and the talent to play either guard position.
It may have taken an injury to Hoskins to really show her value. She tore her Achilles late in the regular season and Ohio State slumped thereafter, culminating in a stunning first-round NCAA Tournament loss to No. 13 seed Marist. Hoskins will likely miss this season while recovering from the injury, but expect to see her in training camp in 2008. In many ways, this is a similar pick to the one Connecticut made two years ago at virtually the same pick (No. 34). Megan Mahoney, like Hoskins, tore her Achilles late in the season and slid in the draft from where she was expected to go. Mahoney came back healthy a year ago and played 31 games and more than 10 minutes per game as a rookie - incredible production out of a third-round pick.
Nancy Lieberman likes this pick, saying on the NBA TV/ESPNU broadcast, "If healthy, she could have been a first-round pick."
Second Round in the Books
Posted at 11:45 p.m.
Some more great value picks in the second half of the second round. Indiana gets Lyndsey Medders to help back up Tully Bevilaqua and Minnesota added some depth up front with Brooke Smith and Kathrin Ress. The Storm's third-round pick, #33 overall, is coming up before too long.
We just had a chance to chat via conference call with Katie Gearlds, who talked about how excited she is to come to Seattle. Gearlds grew up a fan of some great shooters from Indiana - Pacers guard Reggie Miller and French Lick native Larry Bird - and has grown into a tremendous shooter in her own right. Click here to listen to that interview with Gearlds.
Second Round Update
Posted at 11:20 p.m.
Lots of the top players available are off the board early in the second round with some good value picks. Houston picked up a point guard in Dee Davis, New York brought Maryland's Shay Doron back to where she played her high-school ball and cheered on the Liberty, another Shay (Murphy) joins NCAA rival Noelle Quinn in Minnesota and the Silver Stars got great, great value with Camille Little in the second round.
First Round in the Books
Posted at 11:03 p.m.
The Connecticut Sun wrapped up the first round with back-to-back picks. First, Connecticut took Temple's Kamesha Hairston (the second of two correct picks from my first-round mock), then threw a curveball with our first international selection of the day - 19-year-old French center Sandrine Gruda.
The Storm does not pick in the second round, having dealt that selection to Chicago for Ashley Robinson last June. We won't follow this round quite as close, but will still update every few picks with thoughts.
Some of the top players left after one round: Point guards Dee Davis, Chrissy Givens and Lyndsey Medders, shooting guard Shay Murphy, forward Camille Little and post Brooke Smith.
Whole Latta Surprises
Posted at 10:55 p.m.
Ivory Latta was once expected to be the top overall pick in this Draft. After a less than stellar senior season, however, Latta slipped all the way to 11th, where Bill Laimbeer stopped her fall in Detroit. A trade could still be in the offing, as Laimbeer has been critical of the quality of this class of prospects (and very positive about his defending champs). At 10th, Chicago took Vanderbilt's Carla Thomas. I'm kicking myself for not putting Thomas at that spot in my final mock draft after debating it for five minutes.
Stunning, Stunning, Stunning
Posted at 10:48 p.m.
What a wild 10 minutes or so, including a pair of trades. We've discussed Harding to Minnesota. How about Becky Hammon being dealt to San Antonio for the rights to Jessica Davenport and a 2008 first-round pick? Hammon was figured to be a lifer in New York given how prominently she has figured into the Liberty's marketing (her terrific ability to play the point aside). So now the Silver Stars have a talented lineup with Hammon, Vickie Johnson and Marie Ferdinand at the two, Kendra Wecker at the three, Sophia Young and LaToya Thomas at the four and Ruth Riley in the pivot.
Meanwhile, the Liberty has totally rebuilt its frontcourt with Davenport and Jackson. The pick they get likely will not be very good, however, as the Detroit Shock has the option of swapping picks with the Silver Stars next spring. San Antonio also got New York's second-round pick, and there may not be an enormous difference between those two picks.
Equally shocking was Houston's eighth pick, Ashley Shields from Southwest Tennessee Community College. The ESPN2 crew raved about Shields, who was not even listed in the WNBA's Draft Guide. She is a total mystery to everyone here. Indiana gets 6-7 Duke center Alison Bales. Combined with adding Tammy Sutton-Brown as a free agent, the Fever has gotten much bigger in the last week.
It's Gearlds
Posted at 10:38 p.m.
For the last couple of weeks, our thinking had been that the Storm would take one of Noelle Quinn and
Katie Gearlds, depending on whether one or both was available. With Quinn off the board, Gearlds was the obvious pick. She's a terrific shooter who will help space the floor for the Storm's stars when she is on the floor. Gearlds won a three-point shootout last weekend at the Men's Final Four in Atlanta, defeating Seattle native Aaron Brooks in the finals. That's the kind of shooter she is, and she had a great NCAA Tournament run.
I know new Storm play-by-play broadcaster Alan Horton, who is here with me and the rest of the media that covers the Storm, became a big Gearlds fan following her during the tourney, so he's pretty excited about this pick.
And now, let us recover from the stunning trade that preceded the Storm's pick.
Trade and Mosby
Posted at 10:35 p.m.
Are there any words more exciting to hear on Draft day than "We have a trade to announce"? Absolutely not. The deal sends Tangela Smith to Phoenix for the rights to top overall pick Lindsey Harding. Smith is a great fit for Paul Westhead's system, so this makes sense from their perspective. Harding is a great pickup for the Lynx, but you've got to wonder about Minnesota's depth up front after this deal.
The Mystics surprised us all by taking Bernice Mosby with the sixth pick. The Storm is now on the clock and I'm thinking Katie Gearlds from Purdue is the likely pick.
Jackson to New York
Posted at 10:29 p.m.
Texas' Tiffany Jackson is headed to the New York Liberty, which is where I had her going in my first mock draft. The thought was the Liberty might opt for Alison Bales, more of a true center, over Jackson, but the versatility of Jackson and her ability to fit in Pat Coyle's system proved too much to pass up. Will Washington go for Bales? And when will Ivory Latta's slide end? Big questions still looming as we're a pick away from the Storm being on the clock.
Minnesota Takes Quinn
Posted at 10:26 p.m.
Not great news for the Storm here. Noelle Quinn was high on the Storm's draft board because of her size, ability to play the point at times and her outside shooting ability. Instead, she's headed to Minnesota, where's she'll be fighting for playing time with Kristen Mann and Chandi Jones, amongst others, alongside Seimone Augustus. Katie Gearlds is left out on the board amongst the group of top shooting guards who can spread the floor.
The assumption now is New York goes for Duke's Alison Bales.
Price is Right for Chicago
Posted at 10:22 p.m.
Now this I did see coming. Armintie Price's stock skyrocketed up in the last couple of weeks in the wake of a great NCAA Tournament run, culminating in her going third to the Sky. Combined with Monique Currie and Dominique Canty, Chicago could have an entirely new starting perimeter trio this season, which should translate into improvement for the Sky this season. And a fun moment as the camera captured Price saying, "Oh, me. Oh, my," after hearing she was the pick.
From the Storm's perspective, this next pick is big. The hope is for Minnesota to take Alison Bales or Ivory Latta.
Davenport to San Antonio?
Posted at 10:17 p.m.
I did not see this one coming. The Silver Stars have an enormous need at the point, but instead just selected Jessica Davenport from Ohio State. Does that mean a swap of the top two picks? That would seem to fit the needs of both of these teams. What, if anything, could the Mercury get form the Silver Stars if they did exchange picks? Stay tuned.
It's Harding
Posted at 10:11 p.m.
Lindsey Harding becomes the 11th player to be the top overall pick in the WNBA Draft. Will the Mercury keep her or is a trade in the offing? With all the talent Phoenix already has at guard, you have to think it's the latter - but you can never rule out a quick lineup for Paul Westhead. So the pick is in but there is still plenty of drama.
And ... just like that, my mock draft is 0-for-1. Should've believed the rumors.
On the Clock
Posted at 10:07 p.m.
Donna Orender has stepped to the podium and the Phoenix Mercury is on the clock. Jessica Davenport? Lindsey Harding? Trade? We'll know soon.
Key Picks
Posted at 9:45 p.m.
Anne Donovan has made it clear the Storm is looking to the wing in this draft, likely at a shooting guard. The top three on the board are Armintie Price, Noelle Quinn and Katie Gearlds (who we've been listing primarily as a small forward but can also play shooting guard). We'll be tracking those players throughout the first six picks. There appear to be three key picks for the Storm which could affect the shooting guards:
Coop Returns
Posted at 9:38 p.m.
Stunning news in the WNBA this morning, as the Los Angeles Sparks announced that long-time Head Coach Michael Cooper is back. Cooper, who left for an assistant position in Denver (he was briefly head coach of the Nuggets before being replaced by George Karl), has been coaching Albuquerque in the D-League. Now he's back with the team he led to a pair of WNBA titles. No coach in WNBA history has a better winning percentage than Coop, but a lot of that was on the strength of Lisa Leslie, who will miss at least the first part of this season as she is pregnant. That means Coop enters the season with only one player - Mwadi Mabika - he coached for a full season in L.A. before his departure.
Welcome to The Furtado Center
Posted at 9:30 p.m.
I've set up shop upstairs at The Furtado Center, the home for basketball operations for the Sonics & Storm. About 200 feet to my right, at the other end of the facility, the Storm's braintrust has gathered in the Draft room and is preparing to make the seventh pick of the first round in about an hour. We still don't know how the top of this Draft will play out. Could Phoenix go for Lindsey Harding instead of a post? Is a trade in the works? The rumors have been flying and we'll know soon. In the meantime, check out
my final mock draft and the rest of our 2007 Draft coverage and stay with us all morning as we react to all the happenings and offer the first reaction to the Storm's pick.
