Atlanta Dream’s WNBA Finals Trip Is Fueled by Marquee Trade Wins
Dan Padover became the General Manager and Executive Vice President for the Atlanta Dream in 2021. Five years and several savvy moves later, he has finally achieved his goal of building a championship contender and finished second in Executive of the Year voting behind Cheryl Reeve—a decision that probably would have looked different if the voting happened after the playoffs now that the Dream are headed to the finals and the Minnesota Lynx were swept in the first round.
It took the Dream a number-one pick and three brilliantly executed trades to get there. The players do the heavy lifting on the court, and Karl Smesko deserves a lot of credit for pouring into his players and running a great system.
Fans don’t see nearly as much of Padover’s behind-the-scenes contributions, but he also deserves a ton of credit for the Dream’s first trip to the WNBA finals since 2013.
The Dream won three trades for key contributors
The first big trade the Dream pulled off after drafting Rhyne Howard first overall in 2022 was to acquire Allisha Gray, the fourth overall pick in the 2017 draft, the next year.
Gray became an All-Star and All-WNBA-level player in Atlanta, and all it cost the Dream to get her was two draft picks—the third overall pick in 2023, which the Wings used to draft Maddy Siegrist, and a 2025 first-round pick that ended up with the Washington Mystics. Siegrist has been a fine role player for the Wings, but hasn’t performed nearly on the same level as Gray. Neither has Georgia Amoore, whom the Mystics drafted with that 2025 pick the Dream gave up.
A year later, the Dream added Jordin Canada in a sign-and-trade with the Los Angeles Sparks. The Dream got Canada and the 12th overall pick in 2024, which became Nyadiew Puoch, who ultimately ended up with the Portland Fire in the expansion draft. In return, they sent Aari McDonald and the number-eight pick to LA.
McDonald has since bounced around the league, struggling to land a long-term contract and stick with a team. The draft pick was traded first to the Chicago Sky for Julie Allemand, the rights to Li Yueru, and a 2025 third-round pick. Then, the pick made its way to the Minnesota Lynx in a draft-day trade that allowed the Sky to select Angel Reese seventh overall. The Lynx drafted Alissa Pili, who has yet to establish herself as a rotational player.
Canada, meanwhile, led the Dream in scoring during the first two rounds of the playoffs and recorded an 11-assist, 0-turnover game to put away the New York Liberty. Getting that kind of production, along with her championship experience, for McDonald and Pili was an absolute steal.
Last but not least, the Dream traded for Angel Reese ahead of this season in exchange for two first-round picks. Considering how well Atlanta is playing, those picks will be late first-round picks and players that would have been drafted in the second round before the league expansion. Reese has been invaluable with Brionna Jones out and gave the Dream the fire, extra possessions, and Defensive Player of the Year contributions necessary to make it to the finals—and all that for two late first-round picks.
The Dream won all three of those trades, and that’s why they’re going to the finals. Drafting Naz Hillmon in the second round, signing DeWanna Bonner to close out the season, and letting Isobel Borlase develop in Australia were also widely impactful decisions.
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Elaine Blum covers women’s basketball for On SI from Europe. She has been writing about women's hoops since 2023 and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism and a master’s degree in American Studies with a focus on women’s and gender studies. She started playing basketball when she was 10 years old and won several league and state championships at the youth and senior level.