Toronto & Portland Make WNBA Expansion Picks

0:00It's March 27th. This is Canada News today, driven by AI. The Toronto Temple and Portland Fire are gearing up for the WNBA expansion process with a big decision already made. Toronto won a coin flip on a Zoom call and chose the 6th pick in the upcoming draft on April 13th over the top spot in the expansion draft on. April 3rd. That leaves Portland with the first choice in the expansion draft and the 7th draft pick. Fans have until Sunday to name the 5 players they want to protect from the expansion draft. That draft runs 2 rounds where the new teens can grab up to 6 players each per round from the unprotected lists. Current franchises can lose just 2 players total with rules to spread out the picks. Fans are buzzing about the impact on rosters, especially for veterans. Players with 5 or more years of service, after the 2025 season, either become unrestricted free agents or go unprotected. Right now, only Lexi Brown and Kalani Brown fit that category with expiring deals.

1:03Each new team can select just one potential free agent, then offer a Supermax deal worth up to $1.4 million a year under the new. Collective bargaining agreement. It's the second straight year for an expansion draft, following Golden State's entry last season where they even made the playoffs. In the WNBA draft, the teams will swap 6 and 7 spots in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, giving Portland the edge there before things even out. This sets the stage for some exciting new lineups as the league keeps growing.