The WNBA draft lottery commenced yesterday, paving a clearer picture for front offices preparing for April when they get to choose from the best women's basketball prospects in the country and abroad. The Indiana Fever landed the first overall pick for the first time in franchise history while the Minnesota Lynx nabbed the second selection despite only having a 14.5% chance of getting it. The Atlanta Dream (No. 3) and Washington Mystics (No. 4) rounded out the rest of the draft lottery.
In year that is considered to be top heavy, teams drafting in the top-four picks will get a chance at landing a potential star. We projected the entire first round following the lottery. Here is each team's biggest need as they begin to hone in on who they will pick in April.
Indiana Fever: Wing depth (unless Aliyah Boston is on the board)
If Boston is available, the Fever have no choice but to draft the center. She is a generational talent who would fit nicely next to NaLyssa Smith, last year's No. 2 overall pick out of Baylor. However, if Boston stays at South Carolina, Indiana would benefit a lot from getting one of the top wings on the board. Right now, that would be Haley Jones out a Stanford, who is one of the best defensive players in the country.
If Diamond Miller erupts in her last season at Maryland, she has a chance to surpass Jones even though that is unlikely. At 6-foot-2, Miller has rare athleticism and can get to the rim with ease. She has the touch to become a reliable three-point shooter and would provide Indiana the scoring wing they have lacked for years. Miller would look amazing next to Kelsey Mitchell and the two could open up the floor for one another.
The Fever also own the seventh pick in this year's draft and could take Boston with the first pick and see how they rest of the draft pans out. Tennessee's Jordan Horston is high on a lot of mock drafts and could be a solid role player off the bench to start her WNBA career off. There's also in-state prospect Grace Berger who does a little bit of everything and showed she can lead an offense after Mackenzie Holmes went down last year for Indiana.
However the draft plays out, the Fever should try to find their long-term solution on the wing.
Minnesota Lynx: Best player available/get a ball handler
The Lynx own the second and 12th picks in this year's draft and it shouldn't be too complicated for them at the top. Haley Jones is no consolation prize and with Aerial Powers, Kayla McBride and Natalie Achonwa off the books next season, the Lynx can start building around Jones and Napheesa Collier.
After selecting Jones, Minnesota has two obvious areas of need: point guard and center. One of those holes can be fixed in free agency where Minnesota can get creative with how it uses its cap space. The Lynx will be without Sylvia Fowles for the first time since 2015 and don't have an obvious replacement for her. Brionna Jones, who is a free agent after becoming a multi-time all-star and sixth woman of the year, would fill that vacancy nicely at the right price. Chicago Sky point guard Courtney Vandersloot is also an option at point guard after she took a meeting with only the Lynx and the Seattle Storm last offseason before she re-signed with the Sky.
The Lynx most likely won't find their long-term solution at point guard with the 12th pick of the draft but there are some high-risk, high reward players at the bottom of the first round that are intriguing. Dyaisha Fair and Shaylee Gonzales come to mind as options at point guard for the Lynx.
Atlanta Dream: Best player available, wing depth
The Atlanta Dream have rebuilt their culture and have a budding superstar in Rhyne Howard along with a great leader in head coach Tanisha Wright. Now, they have to figure out who is going to be a part of their nucleus moving forward. If Miller is available at No. 3, the Dream should absolutely take her. Howard and Miller could torture defenses for years to come and would make a great pair as two scoring forwards teams will be sweating over when they game plan against the duo. Miller fits the mold of the best player available and a wing they can rely on.
If the Dream want to go in another direction since they have the rights to negotiate with guard Tiffany Hayes, they could go after Jacy Sheldon or Charisma Osborne if they don't view Aari McDonald as the long-term solution at point guard. Rickea Jackson out of Tennessee would make sense for them as well, though they would be slightly reaching and could trade down for her for more draft capital.
Washington Mystics: Shot creator
The Mystics had an underrated season last year and pushed the Seattle Storm to the brink in the first round of last year's playoffs. Natasha Cloud, Ariel Atkins and Shakira Austin are the linchpins of the defense but the offense could use a spark. Elena Delle Donne had to manage her minutes after being out two years with a back injury that almost ended her storied career. The Mystics offense dropped off dramatically when she was out of the lineup.
Rickea Jackson would be a really solid fit for the Mystics on the wing after they passed up the opportunity to get Howard last year. Having Jackson take on some of the scoring load would free up Atkins, who was hounded by teams last year when Delle Donne was out of the lineup. This team has all the potential in the world to regain its place at the top of the league and getting a solid scorer who can complement the defense would be a major get for them.
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