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00:00A historic night to shape the future of the WNBA last night in New York City.
00:05The 2025 WNBA draft in DRS, as we all expected, number one overall,
00:12basically as was her birthright the last few years.
00:16Paige Beckers goes first overall to the Dallas Wings.
00:20Of course, capped off her incredibly successful and legendary collegiate career
00:24just over a week ago with national championship number one for her.
00:30Number 12 for UConn.
00:32And now, nine days later, the number one overall pick in the 2025 WNBA draft.
00:38Paige Beckers was a minus 20,000 favorite to go one of one to Dallas.
00:43It's what we saw actualized last night in New York City.
00:47Yeah, it was no surprise that she went number one overall.
00:50Now, answer me this question, too, because Paige Beckers comes right into the WNBA
00:54as ultimately a superstar before she even takes one shot here.
00:58What's the contract that she signs to get into the WNBA?
01:03Is it a one-year, two-year, three-year?
01:04And what's the financials behind it?
01:06Do we have that, like, off the cuff or no?
01:11Joe Frizo will find that for us in just a moment.
01:14I believe it is a four-year rookie deal worth $350,000 is a rookie deal for the entirety of that.
01:25It's why, DRS, some headlines were made early on Monday or late Sunday night
01:29that Paige Beckers signed a deal to play with the Unrivaled League
01:33and will be paid more in her first year of that three-year contract with Unrivaled
01:38than she will make in the entirety of her rookie contract in Dallas.
01:41Yeah, she's also a partner in that, which makes some sense.
01:44Now, Paige Beckers is never going to hurt for money.
01:46Like, she's going to have endorsements.
01:47She's going to be paid, like, out the wazoo despite what her WNBA salary is.
01:51The reason I bring this up is, like, we've seen this sometimes in the NBA.
01:54If you remember back in the mid-1990s, like, there was a pseudo cap, per se, that they had.
01:59But the Chicago Bulls got, like, a dispensation from the NBA to pay Michael Jordan one year,
02:02like, whatever they wanted to because it was, like, good for the league.
02:05If you know, like, the MLS where it's like, hey, let's bring over David Beckham,
02:08but, hey, our team payroll is $4 million, like, the guy makes, like, $40 a year.
02:11It's like, no, no, you pay him whatever you want in L.A.
02:14The league is going to be okay with it because it brings more, like, fans, like, into the tent.
02:18And I'm not saying, like, Paige Beckers, she's automatically going to play in the WNBA,
02:21but also, like, Kaitlin Clark.
02:22Like, shouldn't we have that, like, you are a bona fide superstar number one.
02:26Like, there is no payroll for, like, the stars here to keep them happy and be like, hey, you know what,
02:31love the WNBA and keep it moving forward and bring as many eyes on the game.
02:34Like, I understand this.
02:35The WNBA technically isn't profitable at this point, but you know how you do make it profitable?
02:39Every year, new superstars coming into the league that feel like they are paid essentially what their status will be.
02:44We're not asking them to make $10 or $15 million a year, but when you hear that, like, hey,
02:48number one overall pick in the WNBA, who is a superstar, it's like, man,
02:52they're only going to make about $78,000 to play in the WNBA when we take a look at some other options
02:57that could be after, like, going back to school, making $3 million.
03:00It just doesn't make sense.
03:01They'll correct that in the future, and also, a lot of people getting drafted last night,
03:05not necessarily superstars, but when you have the superstar and you see the pay for that superstar,
03:10it does make you laugh a little bit.
03:11We'll have Miles Ehrlich on with us in our second hour to talk about what the expectation will be
03:17for Page in Dallas, what it means to continue the momentum in the WNBA into the 2025 summer.
03:24It should be noted, DRS, the CBA, the current one of which the W is operating under,
03:30signed back in 2020, was supposed to run through the 2027 season.
03:35But back in October, the Players Association opted out of the current collective bargaining agreement
03:40to bring things about quickly as the league has seen such an expansion and a spark behind its numbers
03:48with that tremendous growth and momentum so that they can maybe get higher player salaries
03:54based on what we are seeing in the W.
03:57There is probably a tie there, DRS, between Olivia Miles,
04:01who is projected as the surefire and bona fide number two overall pick at Notre Dame this year,
04:06why she hit the transfer portal, ends up at TCU for a reported $1 million NIL deal,
04:12and why she is staying in college hoops, because she can have a bigger payday in one year at TCU
04:19than Paige Beckers, the princess that was promised, if you will, has in the WNBA for the entirety
04:26of a rookie contract.
04:28The financials behind it, of course, make a ton of sense.
04:32Rest of the top six DRS, Dominique Malanga, the 6'6 French talent,
04:37who has drawn comparisons to Victor Webinyama, of course, goes number two overall to the Seattle Storm.
04:44The Mystics had three picks in the top half of the opening round.
04:48Sonia Sintron, Kiki Iriafin, who played last year at USC in Georgia,
04:53eight more to the Washington Mystics.
04:56Yoste Yocite from Lithuania, quite a surprise DRS to go fifth overall to the Golden State Valkyries,
05:03who, of course, the newest expansion team in the WNBA.
05:05Yeah, outside of Paige Beckers going there, you could have fooled me and said,
05:10name this person, is it real or not, have no idea.
05:12That's why you've got to pay the superstars, the ones we know.
05:15Come on, pay them.
05:16We'll have a lot on the WNBA in our second hour, which comes your way next.
05:21The future of the W changed last night for the 2025 WNBA draft,
05:26and Miles Ehrlich joins the show live right here on this Tuesday morning on the Early Line.
05:32Senior writer for Winsider, he was at the draft last night at the Shed in New York City,
05:37watching the future of the WNBA take shape live and in person.
05:42So, Miles, we appreciate the time on this Tuesday morning for your draft reactions here on SportsGrid.
05:48Thanks so much for having me, guys.
05:50Good to talk to you.
05:51Miles, as expected and confirmed last night, the coronation of Paige Beckers going first overall to the Dallas Wings.
05:59A minus 20,000 favorite to go one of one.
06:03She accomplishes exactly that just over a week after capping her outstanding collegiate career with a national championship.
06:11We'll get to the rest of the draft in just a moment, but let's start with Paige Beckers.
06:16Everybody expected her to be the first overall pick way back in 2021.
06:21After a long college career and a national championship to end it, she goes first overall to Dallas.
06:27She will have very high expectations entering her rookie campaign this summer, Miles.
06:32What do you think is a successful debut year in the W for Paige Beckers in Dallas?
06:39So, I think a successful year for her is just continuing to be her.
06:43It's not just that she's going to go out there and score 30, 40 in a game, although we saw her do that in the tournament.
06:49She had three games with 30-plus, set her career high with 40 in a tourney game, but it's her efficiency.
06:55She was coming off of 52, 43, 89 splits at 20 points a game with UConn this year and her three-and-a-half assist-to-turnover ratio led the nation.
07:05So, I think that for a rookie to come in and just be that composed, have such a good feel for the game, and be alongside pros like Arika Agunboale, and now Dejanay Carrington is over there.
07:16And Alyssa Smith's over there now, Tierra McCowan.
07:19They already have a pretty strong starting five that she'll be able to slot into.
07:23They were just needing this point guard.
07:25So, I think she's got a lot of vets to lean on, and she's just going to stay at that efficiency level, and that will help her make that transition.
07:33I love the fact that we talk about the WNBA now.
07:35It used to be like, okay, we're trying to learn the players, but the past couple years here, true superstars, it looks like, are coming into the WNBA, which is great for the sport.
07:43Boots on the ground, as we like to say, Miles, you were in the building last night.
07:46Talk to us about, like, maybe the added energy of the past couple years in the WNBA and what it looks like for the future that now we're getting those college superstars that everybody knows into the WNBA.
07:56It can only help.
07:57Yeah, absolutely.
07:58And I think that part of this, the credit goes to the league in terms of kind of bridging that connection from college to the pros in a way that I don't think they always did.
08:09I think they always kind of looked at the W as, this is the pinnacle, you should want to get to us.
08:14But now we're seeing that storytelling go on because you've got these players in market for four years, and I think that's why college fans resonate so much with those players, is you have more time than you might on the men's side.
08:26So by the time you get to the pros, they're already household names, and the energy is just, as the league starts to expand now and really just rashed everything up, it's just so great to see from fan bases that you don't have to be in one of the 13 markets that exist now.
08:41You can be anywhere.
08:42You could be watching in college, and then you have your loyalties when the players go pro.
08:47So, Miles, as you alluded to, now 13 WNBA franchises, the Golden State Valkyries drafting fifth overall in their first WNBA draft last night, following Paige Becker's second overall to the Seattle Storm, Dominique Malanga, a 6'6 French talent, who was the first French woman to ever dunk in a Euro Cup game.
09:09Some international upside, to say the least.
09:12As you look at the entirety of the top half, perhaps, of this WNBA draft class here in 2025, what do you make of the class overall?
09:21So this is interesting.
09:23I think that there's been a narrative kind of building because some of the biggest names, the most recognizable names, who had an option to come out this year in Olivia Miles, AZ Fudd, Flauget Johnson, they opted to come out next year instead.
09:35So I think that the group think consensus was that this class might not be as strong.
09:40I think it's got a ton of depth.
09:42Obviously, the names that you mentioned with Paige and Dominique, they're the standard at the top.
09:46But more and more roster spots are going to be created over these next few years with these new expansion teams.
09:51And more collegiate players will have the chance to make it past those first couple weeks of training camp, which was not always the case.
09:58So I think that development opportunity is really going to help showcase that the talent was never the issue.
10:03It was just the lack of space.
10:04So I'm pretty high on not just the front half there, but pretty deep back half of the first round into the second round.
10:12There were some people that in the industry I thought were projected to go much higher than they went.
10:17And that just shows how strong the game is right now.
10:21Yeah, it's in a really good spot.
10:22And again, talking about the superstars last year getting drafted number one overall, Kaitlin Clark was fantastic.
10:27Now, also the transition from college to pro athlete, there were some questions how quickly she would acclimate to the league.
10:33She was fantastic.
10:34What are the expectations this year for Paige Beckers going from college?
10:38Can she be that bright spotlight right away in the WNBA?
10:41So I think that guards have historically struggled a little bit, and that's not a knock at all.
10:47But you look at Jackie Young or Kelsey Plum, even obviously Sabrina dealt with the injury too.
10:54But what Kaitlin was able to do last year almost just reset it all.
10:58And that's not to say she was not without her struggles.
11:00I think we saw that she had some turnover issues early on in the season, but she really adapted and had that long leash to be able to adapt on the fly and to figure that out.
11:13And then by the end of it, it was one of the best rookie seasons we've ever seen.
11:17And I think Paige similarly will have a long leash like that because with the CBA coming up next year, nothing's guaranteed.
11:24There are only two active players that are signed past this season because they're all waiting for the new CBA to kick in so that they get the salary boost.
11:32So I think teams are going to have even more incentive to really play these rookies and let them kind of sink or swim, and they need to know what they have.
11:42So I think Paige kind of on the same track as Kaitlin last year is going to have a really, really big opportunity to play through some of those mistakes, and I think she's built for it.
11:53I really think that the most impressive thing I have to say that I saw from her last night wasn't even about being on the court,
12:00but it was about how interested she is in year one being a player rep for the Dallas Wings.
12:07She wants to get into those conversations about some of the holistic league-wide stuff, the bigger picture issues.
12:13So she really wants to slot in right next to your Neko Gumakees, your Elizabeth Williams, Alicia Clark,
12:20some of these big names that have been around for so long.
12:22And I think that that leadership, her being kind of pushing herself out of her comfort zone from the very beginning
12:29just kind of exemplifies the unique talent that she is.
12:33And with that current CBA expiring at the end of this upcoming October,
12:37there will be a lot to shape the future landscape around the WNBA.
12:42Miles, you talked about the depth of this draft class here in 2025,
12:46back half of the opening round, maybe into the second round.
12:49Of course, a name that everybody knows from College Hoops, that would be Haley Van Lith.
12:54She goes 11th overall in the first round.
12:57What did you make of that selection?
12:58What perhaps was your favorite pick of the back half of the opening round,
13:01or one you would like to highlight even deeper into the second round?
13:05Yeah, I really do like the Haley landing spot.
13:09Obviously, she gets the reunion with Angel Reese.
13:11They played together in college for a year.
13:13But yeah, I'm going to cheat a little bit.
13:15I have two picks back-to-back because Connecticut was on the clock at 7 and 8,
13:20and they walked out with Anissa Morrow and Sanaya Rivers.
13:23And after literally losing their entire starting five, the Sun not only needed a culture-led restart,
13:30but I think they also just needed bodies.
13:32And this is a great landing spot for two prospects with really high ceilings,
13:36but still room to grow in their games.
13:38Anissa, despite being 6'1", led the country in rebounds per game.
13:44Sanaya is a strong playmaker.
13:46She rebounds well for a guard, has the length and athleticism.
13:49So I think it's a good spot when we talk about development and you think about who can actually make an impact.
13:55Connecticut has the room for both of them.
13:57The Sun entered last year with the third-best price to win a WNBA title,
14:02but a lot of moving parts for Connecticut in this offseason.
14:05Alyssa Thomas, now with the Phoenix Mercury, and so many other changes in Connecticut.
14:10Here are the odds, Miles, for 2025's WNBA season.
14:15The Indiana Fever reloading this offseason to bolster the roster around Caitlin Clark.
14:20But, of course, at the top, still the New York Liberty, the team you cover closely at a plus 230 price,
14:26followed by the Aces and the Fever at plus 350.
14:29Miles Ehrlich, senior writer for Winsider.
14:31We appreciate the time greatly on this Tuesday morning here on the Early Line.
14:36We'll chat again soon.
14:37More coming up on Sports Good on the other side of the break.