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The Seattle Storm came into the WNBA Draft with four picks. Their first pick in the first round, they traded the rights to Aaliyah Wilson to the Indiana Fever for Kennedy Burke. In the second round, Seattle was able to get one of the many steals of the draft, point guard Kiana Williams from Stanford.
What Kiana Williams Brings to Seattle
Williams is a first-round talent, but for whatever reason, she slipped into the second round. Williams is a floor general type point guard that can score the basketball, she did struggle in the Final Four, but she is a solid player. Williams makes good decisions with the basketball; the point guard can shoot the three; the point guard shot 38% from three this season and led Stanford in scoring with 14 points per game. Williams also knows how to get to the free-throw line, and she is a 90% free throw shooter.
The Storm needed a point guard because Sue Bird is on the back end of her career, and she is not going to play forever. Drafting Williams gives Seattle behind Bird, with Jordin Canada and Williams. The former Stanford player will have an excellent opportunity to learn from one of the greatest point guards in the WNBA. Bird and Williams have similar styles, so it will be interesting to see how fast Williams picks up the WNBA game.
Other Draft Picks
The Storm had two more draft picks and drafted N’dea Jones forwards from Texas A&M and Natalie Kucowski from Lafayette. Seattle currently has 18 players on their training camp roster. Only 12 players will make the active roster, which means there will be many battles going on in Storm training camp to see who can make the team. Hopefully, the rookies can come in and show what they can do.
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Even though Williams has first-round talent, she is not a lock to make the team. She will need to have a great training camp to prove she belongs. If she listens and learns from Bird, Williams will not have a problem making Seattle’s final roster.
Northwest Sports Desk 