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With three top-six picks in Monday's WNBA Draft, the Washington Mystics are in an enviable position. While their new regime is focused on rebuilding, it'll also need to decide which veterans to keep for the long haul.
One of them is center Shakira Austin, whose general manager Jamila Wideman opened up about on Friday's pre-draft Zoom media session with league executives.
“You know, I think we’re generally excited about the folks that we have returning on our roster and certainly, including Shakira,” she said. “I think we all really enjoyed the the unique opportunity to watch players on our team during the offseason, whether that was overseas or during Unrivaled and, you know, the Mystics happened to have a a bunch of folks playing down in Miami and it was really great to see that group on the court and healthy.”
Austin averaged 7.8 points on 49.5 percent shooting with 3.9 rebounds across 15 games for the Lunar Owls in Unrivaled. Washington picked up the former All-Rookie honoree's $92,000 club option for 2025, and she'll hit restricted free agency next offseason.
The Mystics drafted Austin No. 3 overall in 2022, and she played 36 games as a rookie but has made just 31 appearances since then due to hip and ankle injuries. However, the Ole Miss alum's Unrivaled campaign proved that she's now healthy ahead of what could be her last season with the Mystics.
“I think gaining some confidence, having the opportunity just to to be in a different moment in a different setting, which I think is always good and refreshing for folks,” Wideman continued. “So we were really excited to see both the just the skill improvement, for all of our players, quite frankly, in the offseason.”
Other Washington players in Unrivaled included Brittney Sykes, Stefanie Dolson, and Aalliyah Edwards. Sykes and Dolson are both going into the last years of their contracts, while Edwards is entering her sophomore season and is the heartbeat of the Mystics' young core. The UConn alum lost to Napheesa Collier in the final of Unrivaled's 1-on-1 tournament.
It's tricky to predict how long the Mystics will keep their veterans, but Monday's draft should give insight into how they'll shape their roster.
Who will Mystics pick in WNBA Draft?
Many outlets were predicting Washington to draft 6-foot-6-inch center Dominique Malonga out of France with the No. 3 overall pick during the winter, but that was before former Notre Dame star Olivia Miles announced that she'd stay in school for one more season and enter the transfer portal, later choosing TCU. The two-time second-team All-American was considered the likely pick at No. 2 to the Seattle Storm after Paige Bueckers to the Dallas Wings at No. 1. Now, Malonga slides up to No. 2 in ESPN's latest mock draft.
Acquiring Malonga would put Austin's future in even more jeopardy, as the former is projected to have a high ceiling after playing professionally in France since she was 15 years old. Miles' decision now makes that scenario less likely, unless the Storm pass up on Malonga for the likes of USC forward Kiki Iriafen or Notre Dame guard Sonia Citron.
The Mystics own the Nos. 3, 4, and 6 overall picks, which will give them the chance to kickstart their rebuild with an infusion of young talent. In addition to Iriafen or Citron, they'll be able to choose between players such as Maryland guard Shyanne Sellers and LSU forward Aneesah Morrow.
