With just a few hours remaining before the 2025 WNBA Draft, the Washington Mystics agreed to a trade that sent Karlie Samuelson to the Minnesota Lynx in exchange for a 2026 first-round pick, the league announced on X, formerly known as Twitter.

On Sunday, the Lynx sent their 2025 first-round pick to the Chicago Sky to nullify a 2026 pick swap while also acquiring a 2026 first-round pick. That deal presumably made this trade for Samuelson possible.

The Lynx are in a clear championship push, and acquiring Samuelson while giving up a first-round pick is a clear signal of that. Minnesota came just one game short of winning the WNBA title last season, losing a hard-fought series with the New York Liberty. The addition of Samuelson brings shooting, as she is coming off of a season in which she shot .398 from behind the arc, and her career percentage from behind the arc is .397.

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Samuelson has played with the Los Angeles Sparks, Dallas Wings, Seattle Storm, Phoenix Mercury and Mystics in her time in the WNBA. She has moved around a lot, but now has a chance to establish a significant role as a shooter on a championship-contending Lynx team that features Napheesa Collier as the main piece.

For the Mystics, this is a clear rebuild, and that was apparent before this move, but adding a future first-round pick signifies that even more. Washington has three picks in the first round of the 2025 WNBA Draft on Monday night. They hold the No. 3, No. 4 and No. 6 selections in the first round, so they will have an infusion of young talent. The Mystics also have one pick in the second round (No. 23 overall) and one more pick in the third round (No. 32).

Although the Mystics will not be coming out with the top player in the draft in Paige Bueckers, they should be able to establish a foundation with their three first-round picks joining Aaliyah Edwards. Players like Kiki Iriafen, Sonia Citron, Aneesah Morrow and Te-Hina Paopao headline the group of names projected to be selected in that range of picks. It will be interesting to see the direction that Washington goes.