Valkyries Waiving Marta Suarez Makes Flau'jae Johnson Decision Even Stranger
The Golden State Valkyries have had a fantastic start to their time in the WNBA.
Most women's basketball fans expected the Valkyries to be a bottom-dweller in the league standings during their first season in 2025. Yet, the team finished with a 23-21 record and advanced to the WNBA playoffs.
What's more, the franchise cultivated a passionate and loyal fan base that showed up en masse to all of their home games at San Francisco's Chase Center. But the most telling aspect of their success is that they're the league's most valuable franchise, being valued at $850 million. This is $250 million more than the second-most valuable franchise (the New York Liberty) and $350 million more than what Golden State was valued at last year.
Because of all this success, it's tough to find something to criticize the Valkyries about. That is, until the 2026 WNBA Draft rolled around.
Golden State selected former LSU Tigers star guard Flau'jae Johnson with the draft's eighth overall pick, which seemed like a perfect fit for the franchise. Then it came out shortly after that the Valkyries traded Flau'jae to the Seattle Storm in exchange for Marta Suarez (who was the No. 16 overall pick) and a 2028 second-round pick.
This move was head-scratching, given that the Valkyries presumably could have just drafted Suarez instead of Flau'jae if they wanted her.
Valkyries' Decision to Waive Marta Suarez Puts Flau'jae Johnson Trade In Spotlight
Fast forward a few weeks, and Flau'jae looks to be thriving on the Storm, potentially already on a path toward stardom.
The same can't be said for Suarez. This is shown by the decision Golden State made to waive Suarez, which was revealed on May 2.
Roster Update: The Golden State Valkyries have waived center Mariella Fasoula, guards Ashlon Jackson, Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda, and Miela Sowah, and forwards Cate Reese and Marta Suárez. pic.twitter.com/3s4x6eCYrr
— Golden State Valkyries (@valkyries) May 2, 2026
Suarez only played one game in a Valkyries uniform, scoring 5 points in 14 minutes against Flau'jae (who scored 12 points in 23 minutes) and the Storm during their April 25 preseason game.
It's still unclear exactly what Golden State was going for in trading Flau'jae for Suarez. But this was surely not the outcome they were seeking, and now they'll have to live with seeing Flau'jae continue to develop with one of their bigger rivals when she could have been a key piece of the Valkyries' continued growth.
Again, Golden State deserves a ton of credit for what they've accomplished. But waiving Suarez cements the fact that this draft-night trade was a mistake.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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