WNBA Champion Sends Message as Valkyries Face Trade Decision
The Golden State Valkyries have been involved in WNBA trade rumors leading up to Thursday’s deadline. With a chance to make WNBA history and earn a playoff spot in their inaugural season, the Valkyries have some optionality.
Should the team stand pat and make no deals — which looks increasingly likely as the 3 p.m. EST deadline nears — Golden State would remain in position to make a postseason push. That said, the Valkyries do have several players on expiring deals who could intrigue title contenders while also netting some longterm pieces in return.
This is the decision Golden State faces on Thursday.
Valkyries Players Address Looming WNBA Trade Deadline
Prior to Thursday's deadline, two Valkyries players went on the record with their thoughts. Speaking with Nathan Canilao of Bay Area News Group, 2022 WNBA champion and current Valkyries center Iliana Rupert had a message.
“There’s not much you can do, actually,” she said. “You have to wait and see what’s happening in this league, but it’s not really in our control. You just have to go onto the court and be the best, be a good teammate and play as much as you can with heart. After that, the rest is not in your hands. So if you can’t control it, you just don’t think about it.”
NEW👇🟣
— Nathan Canilao (@nathancanilao) August 7, 2025
As trade deadline nears, #Valkyries remain locked in
Read it here:https://t.co/Qw41goWp7e
Rupert was not the only player to weigh in. Veronica Burton also shared her thoughts.
“It’s just about building each other up,” she told Canilao. “It’s just about being present, being where you are and that stuff is above us.”
As for Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase, she believes the team has what it needs — so long as health permits.
“We’re good,” Nakase stated. “We’re getting healthy, and as we get healthy, I’m good.”
Valkyries Unlikely to Make Trade Deadline Splash
As the WNBA trade deadline nears, it seems Golden State is unlikely to make a big splash. The team is currently 14-15 which is good for the eighth and final postseason spot.
While moving expiring contracts for longterm pieces is a real decision the team faces, what that would mean for the Valkyries’ postseason push is a legitimate factor that must be weighed. With history on the line, Golden State seems committed to this roster and its pursuit of a spot in the WNBA playoffs.
The Valkyries' first game post-deadline is on Saturday against the Los Angeles Sparks at Chase Center.
Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA and WNBA for On SI. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined On SI to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts and in the classroom earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time, primarily serving as a Clippers beat writer.