Lobo Envisions WNBA Draft Trade For Pick-Rich Dallas Wings

Holly Rowe And Rebecca Lobo Talk WNBA Draft: High Praise For Chennedy Carter And Exciting Times - And Maybe Trades - for the Dallas Wings

Whether the Dallas Wings keep all five of their top-20 WNBA Draft selections - four in the top 10 – Hall-Famer Rebecca Lobo and ESPN women’s basketball analyst Holly Rowe agree: This is an exciting time for the franchise, its fan base. ... and the possibility of draft-time trading.

“It will be interesting to see if they end up with all the picks they have right now,'' Lobo said. "I could see a trade happening before the draft or even on draft day. But these are exciting times for fans of the Wings.

“They have the foundation with Arike Ogunbowale and an opportunity to build around her with this draft.''

Rowe agrees with Lobo’s assessment.

“I’m excited for them,” said Rowe, who joined the legendary Lobo on a Monday media conference call. “They lost some big names with Skylar Diggins-Smith and Glory Johnson but they have a great fan base in Dallas and a good coach in Brian Agler who’s a championship coach and who knows how to put together a championship team.

“I would be surprise if they used all those picks ... I’m excited for them and this is definitely a fun time for them.''

Lobo and Lowe also shared their assessment of Mansfield, Texas product Chennedy Carter, the junior point guard from Texas A&M who recently declared for the draft and is expected to be a top-five pick.

“Her talent translates really well into the WNBA,” Lobo said. “She’s effective in the pick-and-roll game and this is a player who is clearly capable of being a big-time scoring threat in the WNBA. It will be interesting to see how she develops other facets of her game but without question her scoring ability is right there.”

Rowe recounted a conversation she had recently with A&M coach Gary Blair about Carter. 

“He said she can get her own shots,'' Rowe said, "and that is a premium in the league, and she possesses that more than anyone right now.

Blair also mentioned to Rowe that there were two instances in the past where she made the game-winning shot and another time when she passed it up to a player who was open.

“This is a player,'' Rowe said, "who understands when it’s her time and when it’s time to trust a teammate.”

Friday night is the WNBA Draft. As we write here in our primer, the evening has a chance to be Dallas' "time'' - and a time for some trade-minded moving and shaking, too.