Corrections & Clarifications: A previous version of this article gave the incorrect date for the start of Mercury training camp.

With the Phoenix Mercury on the sideline until the third round, local attention in the WNBA draft shifts to how high Arizona guard Aari McDonald will go in the first round.

McDonald has long been projected as a 2021 first-rounder and only increased her already value by averaging 24.8 points in a six-game NCAA Tournament run leading UA within a basket of a national championship. 

Out of the three top available point guards, McDonald now could be first off the board ahead of Louisville’s Dana Evans and Stanford’s Kiana Williams. Some projections put McDonald as high as No. 3 to Atlanta, but it also wouldn’t be a surprise to see her No. 5 to Dallas with the third of the Wings’ first-round picks (they traded a fourth Wednesday to Los Angeles). 

Atlanta’s current guards include Courtney Williams, Tiffany Hayes, Chennedy Carter and recently signed Odyssey Sims. 

Adding McDonald to a Dallas team already with All-WNBA first teamer and 2020 scoring leader Arike Ogunbowale would broaden new coach Vickie Johnson’s back court options and provide a mentor for 5-6 McDonald’s transition to the pro level.

“Aari probably was one of the more underestimated stars coming into the NCAA Tournament,” said ESPN analyst LaChina Robinson. “The way she played on both ends of the floor and shooting the ball at a higher percentage than she did during the regular season definitely helped her draft stock. 

“Though there were some questions about her size coming in and there still may be, she proved a lot of people wrong around what she was capable of.”

Dallas had three first-round picks in 2020, selecting Satou Sabally, Bella Alarie and Tyasha Harris at Nos. 2, 5 and 7. Now the Wings have Nos. 1, 2, 5.

No team has ever made the No. 1-2 picks in a single draft. 

Greg Bibb, Dallas president/CEO, said, “We are a couple of years into a multi-year strategy in terms of resetting or flipping our roster. Last year we worked to aggregate picks. It’s an early sample size, but I feel good about that draft class. We’ll try to replicate that success this year.

“Whether we keep all the picks or not, who knows. But it’s always good to have options. It’s not an exact science so the more swings of the bat you get, the more base hits.”

The Wings are expected to take Texas center Charli Collier and Finnish forward Awak Kuier with the first two picks. Both are 6-5 with Collier leaving college a year early and Kuier only 19. 

McDonald is positioned to become Arizona’s first WNBA first-round selection and ninth overall. The Wildcats have had three second-round picks, most recently Davellyn Whyte in 2013. Current coach Adia Barnes was a fourth-round pick in 1998 and had a seven-year WNBA career. 

Mercury not picking until third round 

The Mercury traded their first-round picks this year (No. 6) and next in February to New York, acquiring wings Kia Nurse and Megan Walker. Nurse is projected to start on the perimeter along with All-WNBA second team guards Diana Taurasi and Skylar Diggins-Smith.

Connecticut owns what originally was the Mercury’s second-round pick (No. 20 overall) as part of a 2020 trade sending Briann January to the Sun. So that leaves the Mercury only with a third-rounder (No. 32) for just the second time in their 25-year history (also 2017).

Odds favor the Mercury adding post depth at minimum for training camp purposes. Gonzaga 6-3 forwards Jenn and LeeAnne Wirth are candidates either to be drafted late or signed to a camp contract. They grew up in Arizona, playing for Chandler Seton Catholic High School. 

The Mercury only have salary cap space for 11 players coming out of camp so making the roster will require beating out a WNBA veteran. They also have signed Spanish guard Marta Xargay and Australian forward Sara Blicavs for camp, which will open April 25.

Xargay played for the Mercury in 2015 and ’16. The 6-2 Blicavs was signed for camp in 2020 but unable to participate due to the pandemic.

The draft will be conducted in a virtual manner for a second consecutive year due to COVID. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert will announced the picks on ESPN with top prospects participating from remote locations.

“Given the long NCAA season and protocols, the last thing we wanted to put these players through were more protocols to come to a live draft,” Engelbert said. “We learned some things about how to interact with them.”

The draft telecast will feature WNBA players discussing COVID vaccines with a focus on healthy equity. Also there will be a preview of the upcoming silver anniversary season including WNBA legends such as Tina Thompson, the league’s first overall draft pick in 1997. 

WNBA draft

When: 4-6 p.m. Thursday.

TV: ESPN.

First round: 1. Dallas, 2. Dallas, 3. Atlanta, 4. Indiana, 5. Dallas, 6. New York, 7. Dallas, 8. Chicago, 9. Minnesota, 10. Los Angeles, 11. Seattle, 12. Las Vegas.

Phoenix Mercury: 1 pick (third round, No. 32 overall).

More: Phoenix Mercury open 32-game season on May 14 at Minnesota

Reach the reporter at [email protected] or 602-444-8053. Follow him on Twitter @jeffmetcalfe.

Support local journalism: Subscribe to azcentral.com today.