Why this WNBA draft could provide clearest route for Tempo to acquire franchise player in 2026

In about one year, the Toronto Tempo could have their franchise player. At least, that’s the goal. The first entry-draft pick in Tempo history may also be the most important, helping set the tone for the expansion team like Damon Stoudamire once did for the Toronto Raptors in 1995.

“From a historical standpoint, it is the first, first-round pick, right? People will always remember that,” said Darius Taylor, the chief basketball strategist and director of scouting for the Connecticut Sun. “But I do think that each draft is different so you analyze and evaluate and you try to make the best decision for the organization at the time.”

On Monday, the Tempo will watch as 13 teams — the 12 who played last season, plus the expansion Golden State Valkyries — make their selections in the WNBA draft. Golden State will pick fifth, while the Dallas Wings, who hold the top choice, will likely land a franchise-changing superstar in UConn’s Paige Bueckers.

The 2026 draft will not represent the first player transaction in Tempo history — that will come at the expansion draft, likely sometime in the late fall or winter. But it could be the most impactful.

Teams remain in the dark on the expansion rules for next off-season when Toronto enters the league alongside Portland, Taylor said.

One certainty: the Tempo will have a first-round pick. If it follows the Valkyries, that choice will likely be dropped into the middle of the round.

Building a team from scratch

Then, Tempo president Teresa Resch and general manager Monica Wright Rogers will face perhaps their biggest roster decision, as they’re afforded the rare opportunity to build a team from scratch.

“Rookies are really important from a salary cap standpoint and also just from a building for the future standpoint,” Taylor said. “Usually, first-round picks are impactful up to a certain number and then after that, some of them are more opportunities to develop and get them ready for their debut.”

Taylor said, if given a blank slate like the Tempo, he may lean toward drafting a point guard or power forward, since those positions have dominated the league of late.

You only need to go back to last year’s rookie-of-the-year battle between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese for proof of that.

Potentially available for the Tempo in one year are the likes of LSU forward Flau’jae Johnson, Notre Dame guard Olivia Miles, UConn sharpshooter Azzi Fudd and UCLA centre Lauren Betts — all of whom were eligible to enter this year’s draft but chose to spend an extra season at school instead.

Those players would each bring some combination of talent – like the six-foot-seven Betts — and star power — Johnson has a side career as a rapper; Fudd has a brand deal with Steph Curry — or both.

Perhaps the biggest potential prize could be JuJu Watkins of USC, who tore her ACL during March Madness but like Bueckers, Clark and Reese would make for an immediate draw as the Tempo establish their fan base.

“At the end of the day it’s a business, so if you can grab someone that can solve both the business and basketball side, I think it’s a no brainer,” Taylor said. “There are a lot of future stars coming in that have a brand outside of basketball. … So that’s great for the debut and it’s great for whatever organization [drafts them].”

Canadian player could hold extra appeal

Similarly, a Canadian could hold extra appeal for the Tempo — and, Taylor said, for the league as a whole.

“Anytime you can draft a player that is recognized as we expand into another country, I think that is awesome for the business,” he said.

As a former player and coach, Wright Rogers should be able to blend her experiences toward making the ideal choice for the Tempo.

Resch, meanwhile, comes armed with knowledge from her time with the Raptors.

Taylor, who coached at Temple and South Carolina under Dawn Staley before becoming head coach of the Atlanta Dream and eventually moving into the front office, said his history comes as an asset come draft time.

“Just being in the college game, you’re just able to collect a lot more intel on certain players. You’ve watched some of them since they were in high school playing AAU. So you’ve really gotten to know them in more depth than maybe some other places,” Taylor said. “So I just draw on that experience as a coach and the evaluation of a player over a number of years and collaboration with our staff who all have experience as well to just make the best decision for our organization.”

CBA looms over everything

Meanwhile, the expiry of the collective bargaining agreement after the 2025 season looms over everything. Taylor said there is league-wide uncertainty on its potential impact. Players, like Canada’s Kia Nurse, are on record as planning to reach free agency next winter when a new U.S. media deal kicks in and more money is likely to be available.

For Taylor’s Sun, there’s also the added element of the expansion draft.

“When you’re building your roster, you just have to be very conscious of that and understand that you’re probably gonna lose a rotational player from your roster,” he said.

And for an expansion team like the Tempo, which faces the ultimate uncertainty of not even having players or a coach, it creates even more question marks.

Which makes the entry draft, a relative certainty, all the more important.

“You just have to be prepared and do all your work early,” Taylor said, “because it comes really fast, with the season right around the corner.”