Lynx Draft Day Press Conference
Cheryl Reeve and Roger Griffith
Cheryl Reeve and Roger Griffith Draft Day Press Conference
Roger Griffith Welcome everybody, we're tired, not for lack of sleep which some people asked the other day, but because today is a very draining day with a lot going on, you already know the results but we will recap them a little bit. We will talk about what we did and then we can open it open it up for some questions. With our first pick we selected monica wright out of Virginia, as we've talked about her before, we love her versatility, we love what she's going to do on the perimeter defensively, she's shown in Virginia that she can score so she fits into that element of our team very nicely. We are in a great situation with our team with the veterans we have our perimeter; this is a person we can bring along at the speed she can handle from the NCAA college game to the WNBA, which everybody knows is different. The quickness factor is bigger, the strenghthness factor is bigger, and she's going to learn those same things, she'll be like everybody else, like our other first round draft picks like Seimone. She'll earn whatever playing time she gets in training camp. She'll have some roles our team that other players can't do, but we think she has a very bright future, she definitely fits into our long term plans, everything about her, she's a great kid, a great person, and that fits into our team and the intentions here for the community. We are really excited to having Monica Wright on our team. The hard work of the day and the last week was number 3. We ended up trading. Drafting Kelsey Griffin was for Connecticut. For the last week there were lots of trade talks going on, some of them heat up, cool down, or they come back together in another form. Strange things happen. As we were evaluating our opportunity to get an extra pick in next year's draft, given the strength of that draft from one on down we placed value on having extra chances for next year's draft. And I think you all know what we mean by that. As we were going through the week and hearing what others had to offer for the third pick, everybody in this league thought it was not going to be possible, it would be too risky to give up next year's pick. Connecticut has shown this before, when they want something they will do what it takes go and get it. They wanted the number 3, they wanted Kelsey Griffin, and they were the team in this league that would do what it took get it out of our hands for a pick for next year. We were also able to get the second round pick from Tulsa that they had gotten in a trade a day before. The funny thing about the Connecticut deal was that it wasn't even in the picture until yesterday, but that's one of the nice things for me and Chris. We talked each other a lot for six years, we know not to waste each other's time when we want to get something done and when it is possible. So it became a reality last night when it looked very likely and then it came together this morning and 30 minutes before the draft it got finalized with the adding in of the Tulsa pick, and that's what got is over the hump. Then we had a long rest until the third round, for those of you who were here a couple of days ago, our intention was to have the four players ranked, Gabrielle Marginean was the top 4 player that we had at the time, we wanted to have another post player, one thing in particular that we like about her is she can shoot the 3 ball. She's a person who can extend the defense with our other post players, that's one of the skill sets we don't necessarily have. As like with any third round pick it's a long shot for her, but with her skill set to extend the defense from the 4 position that nobody else really has, Charde started to develop it last year, and we're going to keep developing that for her, but that was one of the main aspects that appealed to us with that pick. That was my summary for the day, and Cheryl can kind of talk about what she saw, and using Monica, particularly from a coaching perspective and her plans there and what she likes.
Cheryl Reeve I'm thrilled to have Monica; Monica was a player we targeted all season long that would be a great fit for the Minnesota Lynx. Both sides of the ball, I love her physique, she has a game that translates well to our league, the midrange game, which bodes well for the WNBA. Overall I think when you have a player that comes off the benchthat's a big thing for us right now, when you have the group of players we have right now, how best to add to them, complement the existing players. Coming off the bench and do what she does instantly, I think that's the hard thing when you come off the bench. Can you come off and do it instantly in your minutes. The name that comes to my mind is Vinnie Johnson, and I hate to compare her to Vinnie Johnson, but it's kind of like that player. As soon as she comes in she will be instantly involved offensively, and certainly impact players defensively. I doubt that she'll need very little warm up time to get the feel of the game and not a lot of players can do that, so that's we've projected her to do for us. And just to give us depth, whether it is you have Lindsey out of the game and Candice slides over, just a lot of flexibility. The way the roster is built, the amount of versatility that we have in every position is really gratifying and I'm really looking forward to get this all together. Roger talked about the number 3 pick, and the most significant thing about the third round pick is that she's from Philly, and that can't be bad. I'm from Philly if nobody knows. Happy to give a Drexler player a chance as Roger mentioned, that's a player that is going to have a tough time making the team but it gives her an opportunity and somebody who can stretch the D a little bit.
Q: Roger, who instituted the trade talks, was it you or was it Chris approach you? And when was it finalized?
Roger Griffith Actually the first call was from Chris to Cheryl asking if there was any possibility that we would be moving 3 and Cheryl indicated that yeah there was, and after that the exchange became between Chris and I. The actual first thing was if we were tied to that, did we have to have it, and was it possible that it could be moved. And we went from there.
Q: So if that trade wouldn't have occurred, who would you have picked? Would you have gone with Kelsey or would you have gone with Jayne Appel?
Roger Griffith We would have gone with Appel.
Cheryl Reeve What was nice for us it was a win-win situation; if something would have developed that we could maximize asset or end up picking the player, that's why we felt good either way. That was why it was relaxingnot sure if relaxing is the right word, but easy to work with in a scenario. That was a nice thing, you go one direction it's positive, you go the other direction it's positive. We were in a great position this year. We don't have to count on these players, we don't need the number 3 pick to be big this year, and these are complementary players.
Q: Does Monica have the skill set to play point guard?
Cheryl I don't think at this time. I think if Monica were to answer this question, and I think I've heard her answer it before - players like to do what they do without thinking, that's what makes them so good. If you take it away, and I think the point guard position is a position that everybody shies away from, we're lucky that Candice play the one. If you see Monica play the one at Virginia the way they use her she's still in a scoring position. They run the high pick and roll, or the horn set, so there's not a lot walking it up and calling a play. Do I think in a pinch she could? Absolutely. I don't think she'll volunteer for it, though she may, she's saying all the right things. She might say "sure coach, I can do it." Her best spots are off the ball.
Q: So your plan right now is to have Candice back up Lindsay at the point?
Cheryl Yes
Q: How long before you can begin to evaluate this year's draft class. Is this year's not one of the strongest you have seen in a while?
Roger Griffith Yeah, we would say that this is not one of the top draft classes of all time. Next year's draft is definitively stronger, we have a certain target in that trade, but we would be very, very excited to get somebody else from next year as well. It's not something that will be decided in one event, there are some other people in next year's draft as being significantly deeper than this year's draft.
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