April 12, 2024 

Locked on Women’s Basketball: After Caitlin Clark, who rounds out the rest of the lottery?

Jackie and Sabreena share intel they’ve received from multiple talent evaluators across the WNBA

On Friday’s episode of Locked on Women’s Basketball, host Jackie Powell is joined by The Athletic’s Sabreena Merchant for an episode predicated on the WNBA rumor mill prior to Monday night’s draft. The duo shares some of the intel they’ve received from multiple talent evaluators across the WNBA as they explain how the rest of the draft lottery could shake out following Caitlin Clark as the consensus No.1 overall pick. Later, they discuss why Angel Reese has been deemed “an enigma” to evaluate along with predicting what the franchise known to shock on draft day will do. Yes, we are talking about the Dallas Wings.

Continue reading with a subscription to The Next

Get unlimited access to women’s basketball coverage and help support our hardworking staff of writers, editors, and photographers by subscribing today.

Join today

Jackie and Sabreena discuss a wide range of WNBA prospects and how they expect the draft lottery to play out. One player with a lot of attention is South Carolina center Kamilla Cardoso, and Sabreena discusses how the Cardoso’s game may evolve as a professional.

“I just wonder about Cardoso’s future as the WNBA embraces more of a pace and space type of system. You know, like, right now, she makes a lot of sense in the WNBA. But does it continue to make sense that Cardoso will be a star in the WNBA like, as the league continues? I mean, we saw the Aces win a title with a lot of emphasis on a small ball lineup, right? …. So yeah, I’m curious to see if you know, this is something that GMs have expressed is if the evolution of the league makes it more challenging for Kamilla Cardoso to remain relevant, but for now, definitely for now. She is an outstanding center. The best true center I would say in the draft.”

Sabreena Merchant

Order ‘Rare Gems’ and save 30%

Howard Megdal, founder and editor of The Next and The IX, released his next book on May 7, 2024. This deeply reported story follows four connected generations of women’s basketball pioneers, from Elvera “Peps” Neuman to Cheryl Reeve and from Lindsay Whalen to Sylvia Fowles and Paige Bueckers.

If you enjoy his coverage of women’s basketball every Wednesday at The IX, you will love “Rare Gems: How Four Generations of Women Paved the Way for the WNBA.” Click the link below to order and enter MEGDAL30 at checkout.



Add Locked On Women’s Basketball to your daily routine

Here at The Next, in addition to the 24/7/365 written content our staff provides, we also host the daily Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast. Join us Monday through Saturday each week as we discuss all things WNBA, collegiate basketball, basketball history and much more. Listen wherever you find podcasts or watch on YouTube.


Make sure to subscribe to the Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast to keep learning about the WNBA, women’s college basketball, basketball history and much more!

Written by The Next

Leave a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.