Valkyries GM finally explains Flau'jae trade — it was for cap room

The most controversial trade of the WNBA Draft now has an answer — kind of. Three weeks after sending Flau'jae Johnson and the No. 8 pick to the Storm for Marta Suarez and a 2028 second-rounder, Valkyries GM Ohemaa Nyanin finally explained the move. 'The decision making around the draft had a lot to do with cap flexibility,' she said. Golden State saved roughly $40,000 by trading down from 8 to 16 and ended draft night with about $750,000 in cap space. The plan was to sign another veteran with the saved money.

Then the Valkyries waived Marta Suarez. The whole point of the trade — the player they got back for one of the most NIL-marketable rookies in the country — gone within days. Nyanin's explanation: the front office is still working through the new CBA and how years of service interact with pay. Translation: the cap math didn't quite add up the way they thought it would.

At this point Golden State has turned a top-eight pick into two second-rounders, a roster cut, and a press conference. Johnson has already debuted for Seattle. The Valkyries are also dealing with a Grade 2 quad strain to Kate Martin and a roster crunch that's forcing them to choose between Kaitlyn Chen and Miela Sowah for the last spot. The expansion-draft afterglow has officially worn off.