Valkyries 'Focused Internally' as Sunday's Trade Deadline Nears

Fresh from Friday's practice, Burton and Nakase point to the locker room over the trade market. Toronto landed Aneesah Morrow in the deadline's first deal, and both the noon cutoff and the 5:30 tip land Sunday.

The deadline clock, and what the Valkyries are saying

The WNBA trade deadline arrives Sunday at 3 p.m. ET, noon on the West Coast, less than 30 hours from now (WNBA). ESPN reported Thursday that the Valkyries are "reluctant to part with multiple 'key contributors'" to land Kelsey Plum and could push a pursuit to free agency instead (ESPN, yesterday's issue). Friday's practice in Oakland reinforced the posture.

Veronica Burton, who runs the league's stingiest defense from the point, said the roster is blocking out the noise.

Fortunately for us, I think we have a team that is very internally focused. I don't think we really pay much attention to what's going on outside of our gym and our locker room. Again, the things that are in our control [are] being here, being present, playing for one another, and that's what we're going to do.

Burton, shut out of the All-Star Game despite a strong case, added that the chemistry has stretched through the season's wins and losses: "As we spend more time together, as we travel together, hang out with each other off the court, it continues to grow" (ClutchPoints).

Coach Natalie Nakase was more pointed. She praised general manager Ohemaa Nyanin, then pivoted to what she values.

I think she's elite. I don't think she got enough credit again for the roster that she constructed in this offseason and prior to free agency, and then getting the free agents. So I'm just gonna let her be herself and be great at what she does. She lets me be great at what I do. And you guys understand, I'm so pissed from our loss that my focus is on energy. We've got to win the next game.

Asked whether the culture the Valkyries have built could be a reason to wait for free agency rather than trade core pieces now, Nakase did not hesitate.

Our locker room was probably the best. The best I've ever felt. [...] A lot of head coaches would say, if you have a great culture, don't f*** with it.

The math constrains any deal regardless of philosophy. Golden State is right at the hard cap and would need to send out at least two players to match Plum's $999,999 salary. Gabby Williams is not available. The front office would have to choose from a group that includes Kaila Charles and Tiffany Hayes at $600,000 each, Janelle Salaun and Cecilia Zandalasini at $500,000, Juste Jocyte at $380,219, and Kaitlyn Chen at $277,500 (SF Chronicle). Plum, out since June 21 with a lower-left leg injury, intends to play Sunday for the Sparks at Portland, 30 minutes after the deadline passes (ESPN).

Toronto makes the first move

While the Valkyries weigh their options, their next opponent already struck. The Toronto Tempo acquired forward Aneesah Morrow from the Connecticut Sun on Friday for the rights to Maria Kliundikova and a 2028 second-round pick, the first trade of the WNBA deadline period (USA Today, NBC Sports).

Morrow, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2025 draft, is 23 and was playing her best basketball in Connecticut. She scored 21 points in each of her final two appearances for the Sun, matching her career high, and averaged 7.5 rebounds in 20.3 minutes per game across her first 61 WNBA appearances (Sporting News). Toronto also waived guard Tima Pouye, who appeared in 19 games (Yahoo Sports).

Morrow could debut Sunday at Chase Center. She joins a Toronto frontcourt that has been without Brittney Sykes (out, foot), with Isabelle Harrison listed day to day with a knee injury (StatMuse). Harrison scored 24 in the first meeting.

Friday night, and what to watch today

Washington 81, Dallas 75. Shakira Austin went for a season-high 28 and 10 rebounds, Kiki Iriafen added 22 and nine, and the Mystics closed on 10-of-10 free throw shooting to win their fourth straight (AP). Dallas fell to 18-11, widening Golden State's lead over the fourth-place Wings to a game and a half.

Indiana 112, Portland 98. Caitlin Clark posted her fourth career triple-double (26, 10, 10 on 5-of-9 shooting), Kelsey Mitchell also scored 26, and the Fever won their fifth straight and cracked 100 for the fifth consecutive game (AP, CBS Sports). Indiana is 19-10 and surging. Bridget Carleton scored 26 for Portland.

Atlanta 98, Seattle 89. The Dream improved to 18-10 (ESPN).

The standings held for Golden State, which sat idle: Minnesota 24-6 (first, 4.0 ahead), Las Vegas 20-8 (second, 1.0 ahead), Golden State 19-9 (third), Dallas 18-11 (fourth, 1.5 back). The Valkyries have lost two straight for the third time this season (Bay Area News Group).

Two games today, both before the Valkyries take the floor Sunday. Las Vegas at Chicago, 10 a.m. PT on CBS and Paramount+ (Aces 20-8 at Sky 10-18). A Las Vegas win keeps the one-game gap over Golden State. A loss would pull the Valkyries within a half-game of second. New York at Phoenix, noon PT on ABC (Liberty 16-13 at Mercury 11-18), a chance to watch the team that just beat Golden State 91-89 on Wednesday (yesterday's issue).

Sunday: deadline at noon, Toronto at 5:30

The busiest day of the Valkyries' season so far arrives Sunday. The trade deadline passes at noon PT, and the Toronto Tempo tip at Chase Center at 5:30 p.m. PT, five and a half hours later.

How to watch: KPIX+ (Bay Area) and KMAX (Sacramento) locally, WNBA League Pass and Prime Video for streaming, 95.7 The Game and ESPN1320 on radio. In Canada, TSN4, TSN5, and RDS (BetMGM, Valkyries). Chase Center doors open at 4 p.m. A rematch follows Tuesday at 7 p.m. PT.

Gabby Williams, who missed Wednesday's loss in Phoenix for "reconditioning," is listed as day to day with an estimated return date of Aug. 2 on ESPN's injury report (ESPN, StatMuse). If she returns, the Valkyries get back their leading scorer at 14.8 points per game and their top perimeter defender.

Toronto comes in at 10-18, on a five-game skid, 1-9 in its last 10 (ESPN). The Tempo lost both halves of a back-to-back in Minnesota this week, 100-93 on Tuesday and 104-72 on Thursday. The first meeting with Golden State on July 8 went to the Valkyries 83-75 in Toronto, with Janelle Salaun scoring a career-high 26 on 7-of-10 shooting (5-of-6 from three) and the Golden State bench out-scoring Toronto's 52-20 (ESPN).

Film room: a 22-point defensive gap

The last 10 games tell the story of Sunday's matchup in two numbers. The Valkyries have allowed 73.8 points per game in their last 10 (8-2). The Tempo have allowed 96.3 (1-9). That 22.5-point gap is as wide as any two teams' last-10 defensive numbers in the league (StatMuse).

Toronto actually scores slightly more than Golden State over that span, 82.1 to 79.9. The Tempo's problem is entirely on the other end. Opponents are shooting 45.5% against them and averaging nearly a hundred points. The addition of Morrow, whose strength is rebounding (7.5 per game in 20.3 minutes), gives Toronto another body on the glass. But she arrives as a 23-year-old still developing defensively, joining a defense that has been the league's worst over the last month.

Golden State's identity runs the opposite direction. The Valkyries lead the WNBA in points allowed at 76.9 per game and hold opponents to 42.5% shooting (StatMuse). No player on the roster averages 15. The question the deadline poses, and that Nakase's culture answer effectively addresses, is whether the league's best defense and its deepest bench are enough without a go-to scorer. Sunday against a Toronto team that cannot stop anybody is a chance to prove they are.