2016 Record:
13-21

Key Offseason Moves:
Acquired Elena Delle Donne in a trade with the Chicago Sky in exchange for Stefanie Dolson, Kahleah Copper and the No. 2 pick in the 2017 draft

Acquired the No. 6 pick in the 2017 draft from the Seattle Storm as part of a three-team trade with the Mystics sending Bria Hartley and Kia Vaughn to New York

Signed free agent Kristi Toliver

Re-signed Taylor Hill

Last Year’s Draft Picks:
1st Round/7th Overall: Kahleah Copper
2nd Round/19th Overall: Lia Galdeira
3rd Round/31st Overall: Danaejah Grant

This Year’s Draft Picks:
1st Round/6th Overall
2nd Round/18th Overall
3rd Round/27th Overall

2016 Highlights

Team Needs:

After finishing the season 13-21 and missing the playoffs for the first time under head coach Mike Thibault, it was safe to assume the Mystics would make some changes heading into the 2017 season. But no one could have guessed how things would play out when the calendar hit February.

In one of the biggest trades in WNBA history, the Mystics acquired 2015 Most Valuable Player Elena Delle Donne from the Chicago Sky in exchange for Stefanie Dolson, Kahleah Copper and the No. 2 pick in the 2017 draft. Adding a player with the caliber of Delle Donne is a franchise changer as the four-year pro is only 27 years old and entering the prime of her career.

On top of that, the Mystics did not have to give up either of their top two scorers from last season – guard Taylor Hill (who re-signed to a multi-year deal) and center Emma Meesseman. And the Mystics weren’t done. They also added veteran guard and DMV native Kristi Toliver, who just won the 2016 title with the L.A. Sparks.

While the Delle Donne deal cost the Mystics’ their first round pick (No. 2 overall), Washington was able to get back into the top half of the first round by executing a three-team trade with the Seattle Storm and New York Liberty that saw the Mystics send Kia Vaughn and Bria Hartley to New York and get the Storm’s No. 6 overall pick in return.

In terms of which players the Mystics should target with that pick – as well as their second (18^th overall) and third (27^th overall) round picks – that is a tough question to evaluate when a team has such a dramatic makeover before the draft takes place.

Washington was already one of the league’s top 3-point shooting teams and that will only be bolstered by the addition of Delle Donne and Toliver, who ranked third and fourth, respectively in 3-point percentage last season. They were both behind the league leader Meesseman at 44.8 percent.

The team did lose some of its frontcourt depth with the departures of Dolson and Vaughn, so adding another big to play alongside Meesseman and Delle Donne could be the way to go. Washington ranked second-to-last in blocked shots (3.2 per game), so adding a rim protector would help raise its 10^th ranked defensive rating (104.6 points allowed per 100 possessions).