Lynx trade away two of their four picks for Monday's WNBA draft

As far as the Lynx are concerned, most of the drama surrounding the 2022 WNBA draft is over before the draft began.

Executing a trade Cheryl Reeve had suggested was a possibility late last week, the Lynx traded their top two picks — Nos. 8 and 13 overall — to Las Vegas for the Aces' first- and second-round picks in 2023.

Reeve, the Lynx coach and general manager, had already talked about the roster crunch facing the team. For salary cap reasons, the Lynx will almost certainly carry 11 players in the 2022 season. That didn't leave a lot of room on the roster.

"We believe this year's draft is a good draft,'' Reeve said in a news release. "However, with the players that we currently have under contract and the limited roster space remaining, we made the decision to turn our attention to future opportunities.''

The Lynx will now have two first-round picks in 2023, when the team will be without center Sylvia Fowles, who will retire after this season.

The trade left the team with two picks in Monday's draft, which begins at 6 p.m. and will be televised by ESPN. The Lynx have the 10th pick in the second round (22nd overall) and the fourth pick in the third round (28th).