Why are Sky players off limits in WNBA expansion draft? Explaining deals that kept Chicago's players safe
Here is more on the trades that the Sky made to each of the new expansion teams to protect its players for the draft.
Why are Sky players off limits in WNBA expansion draft? Explaining deals that kept Chicago's players safe originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The WNBA will welcome two new franchises for the 2026 season. The league will expand to 15 teams with the addition of the Portland Fire and the Toronto Tempo. It is ironic that the league is expanding by two teams because it was already at an odd number with 13 teams and remains odd with 15.
The Fire will be joining the Western Conference, while the Tempo will be added to the Eastern Conference. To populate the rosters of the new teams, the WNBA will conduct an expansion draft on Friday, April 3. The Fire and Tempo will be able to select among players from the current WNBA franchises that didn't get protected, and then will participate in the 2026 WNBA Draft on April 13.
The Chicago Sky made two moves on Wednesday, April 1. The Sky made a deal with both the Fire and the Tempo, with the return coming to Chicago because Portland and Toronto would not draft any of the Sky's unprotected players. This feels like Chicago could be playing chess while other franchises are playing checkers, but it also marked the first trades for each of the new franchises.
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