We’re back on WNBA Tuesday with another look at the expansion Golden State Valkyries: the lucky 13th franchise in the current league configuration. The season opener at home for the team is May 16, which is only about seven-plus weeks away at this point. The roster is taking shape and will see some more changes once the 2025 Draft is held, enabling the Valkyries to absorb some fresh new talent from the college ranks.

Roughly, however, Golden State only gets the No. 5 pick, for some weird reason. We’re not sure why the team doesn’t get the top selection as an expansion team, but whatever. There is a lottery, of course, for the four team that didn’t make the playoffs last year, and the odds are based on the combined record of the last two seasons, as well. We’ve never seen something so ridiculous in our sports historian/journalist lives.

Since our last look at the Valkyries’ roster, the big move has been to sign 2024 Sixth Woman Tiffany Hayes, an age-35 guard with 12 seasons of WNBA experience. She has averaged 13.2 points per game in her career and will bring much needed leadership and veteran presence to the floor and the locker room. Right now, the projected fifth pick in the draft will be Notre Dame guard Sonia Citron, but you never know how it goes.

Teams can trade, and they select based on positional need: April 14 will be a big day for the Golden State front office, in terms of recognizing what direction it needs to go in with the draft pick. Does the team go for immediate playability? Or does it go for pure talent, with an eye on competing in subsequent seasons for sustained success? Again, an expansion team is not expected to be any good, but winning will be anticipated.

The Bay Area sports fans are bandwagon types, and they always have been, really. It’s California, and there are plenty of things to do here instead of rooting for a losing team—and we’re not just talking about the departed Athletics. The same reality is in play for the San Jose Sharks, the San Francisco 49ers, and the San Francisco Giants … not to mention the Golden State Warriors. Oddly, the Oakland Raiders had the best fans

But we digress. With eight teams making the postseason in a 13-team league, the Valkyries have an outside shot at making the playoffs in Year One, but we’re not banking on it. However, by Year Two and/or Year Three, the team needs to be winning, or else the bloom will be off the rose—and that’s not good for business. So we expect the team to aim for long-term, developmental talent … perhaps a European player.

Eat the losses up front and play for the sustainable future.