Stars hope to accelerate rebuild after winning top pick in WNBA draft
The San Antonio Stars won the No. 1 pick in the 2017 WNBA draft in Wednesday night's lottery, a potential talent bonanza for general manager Ruth Riley in what will be an offseason she can truly put her stamp on the team.
Not only will Riley choose the replacement for longtime head coach Dan Hughes, she'll have her choice of any eligible collegiate player in the land.
"(I feel) very fortunate, as a GM, to have such a young roster to build upon," Riley told USA TODAY Sports shortly after learning the draft order. "To have that first pick in my first season is a huge piece of that as well, and as a GM, you're often not handed such a young deck of cards to play with."
The Stars were in need of some good news. They followed up an 8-26 record in 2015 with a 7-27 mark in 2016. Players went down to injury frequently, with Hughes forced to play short-handed in virtually every game.
"I think the No. 1 pick brings so much excitement to an organization," Riley said. "So for us, coming off of the year that we did, with so many of our players having injuries, so much adversity. So for our players, our fans, our organization to have this boost of morale and anticipation in the offseason is an intangible along with the talent that we're going to get."
The pick comes with a fair amount of uncertainty, unlike the 2016 draft when general managers around the league didn't even bother to pretend someone other than Breanna Stewart would be the choice of whoever landed the top spot, ultimately the Seattle Storm. Riley did not rule out the possibility of trading the pick.
"I think you have to take into consideration all factors, whether you go down that road or not," Riley said. "I'm sure my phone will be ringing with different offers from various teams. And you just make an educated decision with the information you have at that time. But last year's draft was obviously a special one."
A cursory look at the Stars roster makes it clear that a big is far more of a need than a guard. The backcourt of the future is present in Moriah Jefferson, last year's No. 2 overall pick, and Kayla McBride, the No. 3 pick in the 2014 draft. San Antonio is also expecting Danielle Robinson, their point guard prior to Jefferson, back after she missed the 2016 season due to an Achilles injury.
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Meanwhile, starting center Jayne Appel-Marinelli is retiring, depleting an already-thin frontcourt.
"We definitely have a void to fill at the five position," Riley said.
Riley is no stranger to the vital role an elite center can play on a championship team, having started in the middle on the Detroit Shock's 2003 and 2006 title teams
"Losing Jayne creates that. So we'll be looking to find a franchise five for us there, as well as a couple of other positions we need to add," Riley said. "A lot of decisions to be made."