Aces target player with ‘unique skill set’ in WNBA draft

The Aces will be in unfamiliar territory during the WNBA draft, which begins at 4 p.m. Friday on ESPN. For the first time since relocating to Las Vegas, they won’t have the No. 1 overall pick.

They have one pick — No. 33 overall, in the third round — after trading their first- and second-round picks to acquire All-Star center Liz Cambage from the Dallas Wings in May.

Aces general manager Dan Padover said the team will target someone with a “unique skill set.”

“Whether it be three-ball, an unbelievable athlete, leadership capability,” he said. “When you’re looking at the 33rd pick, you can’t really hone in. You can really just study the board, do your homework on the international market, and as time gets closer see what may be there.”

Pickings are often slim in the third round, but some players have carved out long WNBA careers. Former American Basketball League standouts Adrienne Goodson, Tamika Whitmore and Taj McWilliams-Franklin are among the notable exceptions. All three were selected in the third round of the 1999 draft after the ABL folded.

McWilliams-Franklin was selected six times for the All-Star Game, and Goodson and Whitmore each played in one.

Other third-round picks have contributed, too. Here are the best of the rest.

Jia Perkins

No. 35 overall in 2003 to the Charlotte Sting

The 5-foot-8-inch Texas Tech alumna played 14 seasons for the Sting, Chicago Sky, San Antonio Stars and Minnesota Lynx. She averaged a career-high 17 points for the Sky in 2008 and was an All-Star in 2009, averaging 13.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists.

Perkins was named to the all-defensive second team in 2013 and capped her career by winning a championship in 2017 with the Lynx. She started 224 games and retired with career averages of 10.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists.

Cathrine Kraayeveld

No. 27 overall in 2005 to San Antonio

The 6-3 Oregon product was cut by the Stars, but signed with the New York Liberty and started 137 games in nine seasons. She averaged a career-high 10.8 points for the Liberty in 2007 and also had stints with the Sky and Atlanta Dream before returning to San Antonio for her final season in 2013.

She averaged 7.0 points and 3.7 rebounds in her career and shot 37.9 percent from 3-point range.

Charde Houston

No. 30 overall in 2008 to Minnesota

The 6-0 Connecticut alumna played seven seasons and was an All-Star in 2009, averaging 13.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals for the Lynx. She played four years for Minnesota and won a title in 2011 and also played two years for the Phoenix Mercury and one year for the Liberty.

She finished her seven-year career with 67 starts and averages of 8.7 points and 3.3 rebounds.

Krystal Thomas

No. 36 overall in 2011 to the Seattle Storm

The 6-5 Duke product played seven seasons and was a starter for Phoenix in 2012 and the Washington Mystics in 2017. She averaged career highs of 7.0 points and 9.6 rebounds for Washington in 2017 and has career averages of 3.6 points and 4.9 rebounds.

Theresa Plaisance

No. 27 overall in 2014 to the Tulsa Shock

The 6-5 Louisiana State alumna emerged in 2017 as a starter for Dallas and averaged 7.7 points and 4.3 rebounds. She was traded last season to the Connecticut Sun and is still on their roster, though she played sparingly in 2019. She has started 39 games in her career.

Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.