On the latest episode of Locked On Women’s Basketball, host Chelsea Leite is joined by SB Nation‘s Noa Dalzell to discuss the upcoming March Madness Tournament, share some preliminary thoughts on the WNBA draft, and discuss recent trades.
Leite opens the show by asking Dalzell, who is based in Boston, about any teams she think can make it all the way. “It’s not very often we get local teams that represent,” Dalzell says. “I’m excited about Harvard. … It’s rare for an Ivy League team to make the kind of push that you need to get anywhere, but if I had to pick a sleeper team … I kind of have been really impressed by their season.”
Later on, Leite brings up the upcoming WNBA draft, and asks Dalzell for some of her predictions. “I don’t actually have one combination where I’m like, this player is going to come into the team and right away like, elevate their play,” Dalzell admits. As far as Paige Bueckers, Dalzell knows she’ll be impactful, but doesn’t think she’ll be the kind of player who “is going to come in and like, dominate … that’s not the kind of player she is.”
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To finish off the show, Leite and Dalzell discuss the recent WNBA trade that sent Natasha Cloud from the Connecticut Sun to the New York Liberty in exchange for some draft picks. “I have a lot of thoughts on this,” Dalzell says. “It was crazy timing, because like, they’re unveiling the bracket, Unrivaled is in the middle of an awesome semifinals, and this trade happens. I was like, this is not a win for beat writers who are just trying to enjoy the game.”
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