The Lynx will have the second overall pick in the WNBA draft Monday night. It is the team's highest pick since 2011, when Maya Moore came to Minnesota at No. 1 as another piece on a franchise that would go on to win four league titles in seven seasons.
President of Basketball Operations and coach Cheryl Reeve is going into the draft — in which the Lynx also have the 12th, 16th, 24th and 28th overall picks — with a mind-set that hasn't been seen around here in a long while:
The long view.
"It's a different time,'' Reeve said.
For so long there was no time like the present with the Lynx. During their title years draft choices were often used as ways to get complementary veterans to keep the juggernaut going. Even after Rebekkah Brunson, Lindsay Whalen, Seimone Augustus and Moore left or retired, there was no time like the present for Reeve, a mind-set bolstered by the addition of Napheesa Collier of UConn with the sixth overall pick in 2019.
Even last year — the team's first outside the playoffs since 2010 — Reeve tried to build a team that could help center Sylvia Fowles, entering her last season, win.
It didn't work out as planned, thanks mostly to injury issues with veterans Layshia Clarendon and Angel McCoughtry.
But, for the most part, Reeve's plans worked. The Lynx made the playoff semifinals in 2020, finished third in the WNBA regular season in 2021. But things have changed. Reeve and the Lynx are now in building mode — although things would have been different had the Lynx been able to lure All-Star guard Courtney Vandersloot in free agency.
"There were a few players where, if you get 'em, it's a different mind-set,'' Reeve said. "When you don't, your path is decided for you.''
And that means, more than ever, drafting the best player rather than considering need. The Lynx have definite depth issues at center with Fowles retired and Natalie Achonwa about to give birth. But there is only one sure-fire star center in this draft in South Carolina's Aliyah Boston, who should go first overall to Indiana.
Reeve's job is to build around Collier.
"We want to make sure we're giving her a team she wants to play with,'' Reeve said. "That there is a clear direction with our team and who we're putting around her. We want to make sure it's a selfless individual who is talented and cares about winning first. That's what we want.''
The Lynx staff has done unprecedented in-person scouting preparing for the second overall pick, a process that goes deeper than watching games. The Lynx have talked with college and high school coaches, family and friends, while evaluating prospects. Unless she gets an offer that blows her out of the water, the Lynx won't trade that second pick.
So who will it be?
The consensus among the experts is Maryland guard Diamond Miller. A 6-3 shooting guard, Miller is long, lean and athletic. A two-time All-Big Ten pick, Miller was second-team All-America in 2023 after averaging 19.7 points, shooting 47.6%, with 6.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.
"Even if Minnesota doesn't' necessarily have the need for that position this year, if that's what's best available, I would expect that's what they take,'' ESPN's Rebecca Lobo said.
ESPN's LaChina Robinson called Miller a pro in every sense of the word. "It starts with her mentality, relentless, always on the attack, a lot of maturity about her game in terms of her approach and her preparation,'' Robinson said. "She's got a pro-ready body.''
Reeve wouldn't let on, of course, only saying the Lynx were pretty close to a consensus at No. 2.
"We were never looking at more than three, four players at No. 2,'' Reeve said. "We're pretty locked in, and we spent a lot of time on those players."
Other top players will be available, of course. Villanova forward Maddy Siegrist is a wonderful shooter who led the nation in scoring (29.2). Iowa State center Stephanie Soares — who is coming back from a January ACL injury — might be worth the wait. Stanford guard Haley Jones has a championship pedigree.
Looking to run an offense that is build around Collier, Reeve wants to create space for Collier to work inside. She said she's looking for players who can create that space with their shooting or their ability to penetrate in the paint.
Passing ability and pick-and-roll decision-making are high on Reeve's list, too.
It is less clear who the Lynx will wind up with later in the draft. At No. 12 a couple of UConn Huskies could be available in Lou Lopez Sénéchal and Dorka Juhász, and Reeve has a long history of drafting UConn players. Sénéchal was a 44% three-point shooter this past season, while the 6-5 Juhász averaged 14.2 points and 9.9 rebounds.
