Aaliyah Edwards and the Washington Mystics are a perfect fit

Aaliyah Edwards first caught the Washington Mystics’ eye as a freshman at UConn in 2020. Over the next four years — as she developed into an All-American while the Mystics’ roster evolved — the organization came to covet the Canadian forward.

Once the 2024 WNBA Draft order was set and Washington ended up with the sixth pick, the team explored ways to make sure that they would take Edwards.

“We weren't sure Aaliyah was going to get to us,” general manager Mike Thibault said after the draft. “We'd actually tried to look at possibly moving up… We knew we probably couldn't get to two or three, but possibly four or five to do what we needed.”

Eventually, the Mystics got enough intel on everyone else’s plans to feel comfortable waiting for Edwards at sixth overall. Yet once draft night arrived, the nerves cranked up as names came off the board.

“Aaliyah was one of our biggest targets in this draft,” Thibault said. “We just kind of crossed our fingers all day about whether we would get to this point, and sweated out the first few picks. I think Aaliyah did too.”

The first two picks went according to plan. The Indiana Fever took Caitlin Clark No. 1 overall and the LA Sparks followed it up by selecting Cameron Brink second. After that’s when the anxiety kicked in. The Chicago Sky went with Kamilla Cardoso to anchor their frontcourt at three, the Sparks paired guard Rickea Jackson with Brink at No. 4 and the Dallas Wings took Jacy Sheldon with the fifth pick.

That left Edwards for the Mystics at sixth overall.

“We've had all of our staff be at practices, games of all the top picks — we've seen a lot,” Thibault said. “We just felt like she was the best fit for the personnel we already have.”

While Edwards spent her senior season on her own down low following injuries to the rest of the frontcourt, Washington plans to move her back to her natural position at the four, or power forward. With third-year center Shakira Austin and a veteran post player in fellow Husky Stef Dolson, Edwards won’t have as much on her shoulders.

“Her natural position in our league is the four,” Thibault said. “That's going to be an adjustment facing up more often maybe than she did in college, but she played a lot at the high post at UConn and was a great passer in their system.”

The good news is Edwards doesn’t have to worry about making the team. Thibault confirmed she’ll be among the 12 players when they break camp next month.

“I didn't take her in the first round and not have a roster spot (for her),” he said.

That means she doesn’t need to head into camp nervous about her position, unlike a lot of rookies, even if they were drafted in the first round. Edwards eventually has to become a 3-point shooter, until then she has developed a reliable mid-range jumper that will help her spread the floor.

Thibault said he feels strongly about Edwards’ ability to tackle the learning curve of the professional game.

“I think it's how quickly she picks things up… the coaches at UConn felt she was well prepared for that part,” he said. “She's a worker, and she'll do the extra work. She's going to try to get here as soon as she can in the next week to get some extra time with our players before camp.”

Seattle Storm get a steal in Nika Mühl

The Seattle Storm didn’t have a first-round pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, but the team believes it came out of Monday night with a first-round talent when it took Nika Mühl with the second pick of the second round.

“We thought that she would go in the first round,” Storm general manager Talisa Rhea said. “We didn't think she was going to be there… We were pretty ecstatic once the 13th pick happened.”

While Mühl had garnered plenty of hype over the last few weeks, the teams that picked at the end of the first round — where most mock drafts projected Mühl to go — many ended up selecting non-collegiate international prospects. At No. 11, the New York Liberty — whose fans were chanting Mühl’s name before the pick was announced — selected Ole Miss forward Marquesha Davis instead.

Their loss was the Storm’s gain. Not only are Seattle’s decision-makers intrigued by Mühl’s potential as a point guard, but they know she’s the type of person they want in the organization.

“We take the culture of our team really seriously and who these players are as people first. That always goes into our decision,” Rhea said. “It’s great when the talent matches the type of person that they are. We feel like Nika is one of those players.”

But unlike Edwards, Mühl isn’t guaranteed a roster spot. She’ll have to earn her place during training camp, which begins at the end of the month.

“We're really open to evaluating our entire roster and having the best 11 players on our roster for the start of the regular season,” Rhea said. “Whatever that combination looks like is what we're committed to doing. But we're really excited for Nika to get here and get integrated with the rest of our team. We'll see how camp goes and how our roster shapes up.”