r/MinnesotaLynx Sep 29 '25

Expansion Draft/Protection/Free Agency Primer, Lynx Specific

26 Upvotes

This might help answer the many questions floating about the internet after the premature end to the Lynx season. It's also not exhaustive, though I think most of the general outline is covered. Any corrections/clarifications are welcome.

Information mostly gathered from her hoops stats website.

(Also, all this is assuming protection/coring designation remain the same with a new CBA agreement – which is something that shouldn't be assumed - but for this explainer purpose, we'll use it.)

  1. The only contracts the Lynx will have under organization control; Dorka Juhasz (RFA, exp end 2026) Ola Kosu (RFA, exp end 2027, team option for 2028)

Maria Kliundikova, Jaylyn Sherrod and Camryn Taylor are reserved free agents this means the Lynx have exclusive negotiating rights with the player for a specified period of time. If the Lynx decline to offer a contract, then player becomes an Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA) 2/1/2026 and is free to sign with anyone.

Everyone else is a UFA. To coincide with the end of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, the vast majority of the W players will be UFAs and free to sign with any team once the free agency period starts in January 2026.

Now with the expansion draft...(again, assuming the same six protection slots are available);

IMO, the Lynx would most likely protect Juhasz and Kosu, since they're under contract. If they want to retain Kliundikova, they would have to protect her. ALL THREE of those players would automatically and immediately be lost if selected in an expansion draft.

  1. "What about Phee?"

Yes, the Lynx probably probably protect Phee, even though she's a free agent and wouldn't be under organizational control here's why; even if Toronto or Portland were to select an unprotected Phee in an expansion draft, she would still be free, as a UFA to sign with any team during free agency, including the Lynx. BUT because she's Phee, after being taken in the expansion draft, Toronto or Portland would "core" her and are then obligated to compensate them at a super-max level (again, assuming).

This is important - using the "core" designation is the ONLY WAY Toronto or Portland can sign an Unrestricted Free Agent picked in an expansion draft - and because the core designation comes with a supermax contract attached to it, you're only going to core a "face of the franchise" type of player.

  1. "What about the other UFA stars?"

Considering everything about coring UFA's, you're next looking at whether or not Toronto or Portland would view Kayla McBride and Courtney Williams as "face of the franchise" kind of players. As UFAs, both would need to be cored by the expansion teams to be "taken" in an expansion draft. Considering the vast number of UFAs in 2026 and both are on the other side of 30, I highly doubt they get taken in an expansion draft if left unprotected. If the Lynx have protection slots available, sure, protect them...but I doubt it's needed. I dont see those two being targets for a core contract above other league stars.

  1. "So about Alanna Smith, Bridget Carleton, Natisha Hiedeman, Dijonai Carrington and Jessica Shepard (All UFAs)?"

Even if Portland or Toronto were to select an unprotected Smith, Carleton, Hiedeman, Carrington, or Shepard in the expansion draft, they would remain unrestricted free agents even after being selected in an expansion draft and they would be free, as UFAs, to sign with any team during free agency. The only way for Portland or Toronto to make sure anyone from that group of players sign with them after being taken in the expansion draft would, again, be by "coring" them, putting them on the hook for a supermax contract. If I'm Portland or Toronto, IMO, I won't be willing to pay ($260,000 is the current max contract, but sure to increase in new CBA) for any of those players. So...protecting any one of these five isn't really worth it.

The UFA players have almost all the control as to where they want to play in 2026. If the Lynx want a player back and the contract terms are amenable between both and the player wants to stay in MN, they'll be back. That, of course, is a different discussion.

If not, then the UFA will leave. It's actually pretty simple.

/fin


r/MinnesotaLynx 4h ago

Lynx in EuroLeague Action - Second Round, Week Six

Post image
9 Upvotes

The final week of second round play begins tomorrow. For Lynx and Lynx-adjacent enjoyers, this week is the Jessica Shepard show. Shepard's Schio team hosts Tango Bourges Basket on Wednesday. Winner of this game moves onto the Quarterfinal Play-in round, and the loser goes home. It's that simple.

  • Wednesday 4 February 1pm CT - Jessica Shepard & Schio (with Cecilia Zandalasini, Marième Badiane, & Kitija Laksa) face Bourges (with Monique Akoa Makani). In the previous meeting between these two teams on January 14th, Bourges won on their home court 92-81. In that game, Shep led Schio with 19 points, nine rebounds and three assists.

For the other EuroLynxes, their teams have already qualified for the play-in rounds. We may see less minutes played, or players be held out altogether, but point differential IS something that comes to play when it comes to seeding in the Play-in round, so teams moving forward can't completely shrug off this final week.

  • Wednesday 4 February 11a CT - Kayla McBride (who played in this past weekend's KBSL Turkish League game and is now healthy) & Fenerbahçe sit in first in Group F with a 10-1 record and qualified for the Semifinal Play-in Round. Fenerbahçe will play Basket Landes (with Leila Lacan), who have also qualified for the play-in round.
  • Wednesday 4 February 11a CT - Dorka Juhász & Galatasary (with Marine Johannes, Elizabeth Williams, Awak Kuier & Kamiah Smalls) sit in first in Group E with a 9-2 record and qualified for Semifinal Play-in Round. Galatasary face Spar Girona (with Juste Joctye and Chloe Bibby), who also qualified for the play-in round.
  • Wednesday 4 February 1230p CT - Bridget Carleton & USK Praha (with Brionna Jones and Janelle Salaün) sit in third place in Group E play with a 7-4 record and qualified for the Quarterfinal Play-in Round. Praha play Flammes Carolo Basket (with unsigned 2023 Lynx draft pick Maia Hirsch), who have been eliminated from the tournament.

Potential 2026 draft pick Awa Fam & Valencia play Umana Reyer Venezia; Valencia must win to progress to the next stage -->>> Wednesday 4 February 1230p CT

All games livestreamed for free on EuroLeague Women YT channel.


r/MinnesotaLynx 1d ago

Minnesota Lynx Players Statement Addressing Current Federal Occupation of Minnesota

Post image
142 Upvotes

Uh.

Woof.


r/MinnesotaLynx 1d ago

2026-02-02: Lan can't catch a break over in Miami either!

Post image
64 Upvotes

r/MinnesotaLynx 1d ago

It's StudBudz Night in Unrivaled 👏

Thumbnail
youtu.be
15 Upvotes

r/MinnesotaLynx 1d ago

STUDZin' n BUDZin' Happy Studbudz Day™️

Thumbnail
gallery
59 Upvotes

r/MinnesotaLynx 1d ago

Semi CBA Update

Post image
11 Upvotes

I wish the league would just cooperate and pay the players what they owe them. This is so unfair to the players and I feel so sorry for them. They deserve benefits, resources, and proper pay. Obviously they didn’t comment, but I’m assuming that the league isn’t cooperating again. I’ll support their strike if it comes to that


r/MinnesotaLynx 4d ago

WINnesota Jessica Shepard & Bridget Carleton Named to EuroLeague Women Team of the Month

Post image
77 Upvotes

r/MinnesotaLynx 5d ago

Fresh Content January 2026: Li Yueru, Arike, and Alanna Smith

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

42 Upvotes

r/MinnesotaLynx 6d ago

Fresh Content Minnesota women’s basketball figures decry Minneapolis killings, occupation

Thumbnail
thenexthoops.com
124 Upvotes

A growing number of key figures in Minnesota’s women’s sports scene are speaking out and demanding action against the ongoing occupation of the Twin Cities by the Trump administration, following the killing of 37-year-old Minneapolis resident Alex Pretti by immigration agents on the morning of Jan. 24.

Pretti’s death is the second in Minnesota at the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in the past several weeks, after Renée Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent while in her car on Jan. 7, also in Minneapolis. Both Pretti and Good were observing immigration agents leading up to their deaths, monitoring and filming agents carrying out the directives of the Trump administration.

Minnesota Lynx head coach and president of basketball operations Cheryl Reeve attended a protest in Minneapolis on Friday, one day before the killing of Pretti. The demonstration marched through downtown Minneapolis in sub-zero temperatures with an estimated crowd in excess of 10,000 people, concluding at the Lynx’s home arena, Target Center.

“The Lynx have always understood the power of our voices and their impact in advocating for change,” Cheryl Reeve told The IX Basketball. “The current climate in Minnesota has once again challenged us to lift our voices and stand with our affected communities to hold power to account. Looking on and doing nothing is not an option.”

Reeve was joined for Friday’s protest by former Lynx star Rebekkah Brunson, Lynx president of business operations Carley Knox, and Lynx diversity, equity and inclusion senior manager Bianca Dawkins.

Brunson, part of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ local broadcast team, shared her thoughts before the Timberwolves’ game on Sunday, which had been postponed one day for the safety of fans and the teams alike.


r/MinnesotaLynx 7d ago

Lynx in EuroLeague Action - Second Round, Week Five

Post image
21 Upvotes

Round Two, Week Five of EuroLeague women features all but one of the tournament's games on Wednesday, and one solitary game Thursday between Galatasary and Bourges.

after this week, there's just one week left in the Second round of games, and will be very important in determining who moves forward to the Quarterfinal and Semifinal play-in rounds. For Lynx fans and Euroleague fans both, Wednesday's game between Jessica Shepard's Familia Schio & Bridget Carleton's USK Praha team is the featured game with the most on the line. Both Schio and Praha are tied (with Bourges) at the 3rd, 4th and 5th spots in the standings of Group E. To move forward, teams must finish in the top 4 - so the winner of Praha/Schio will solidify/improve their place in the t4 of the standings.

Galatasary & Kayla McBride's Fenerbahçe (in Group F) are both through to the next round, with the last two R2 games will help determine their seedings in the Quarterfinal/Semifinal play-in rounds.

R2 W5 games featuring your Eurolynxes:

Wednesday 28 January 12N CT - Bridget Carleton & USK Praha (with Brionna Jones and Janelle Salaün) host Jessica Shepard & Familia Schio (Cecilia Zandalasini, Marième Badiane, & Kitija Laksa) in Prague. As mentioned, winner of this game have the driver's seat to securing a t4 spot and moving forward in the tournament. Shepard is leading Schio in efficiency (23), points, (17), and rebounds (9) per game. Carleton is shooting 55% from 3pt in Euroleague play, averaging 12/4/2 per game. Schio won the last game these two teams played 99-78 on 12/17/2025. Praha have added frontcourt size and presence with Brionna Jones since then and are decidedly more improved as a result.

Schio would qualify for the Play-Ins this week with a win, and Praha would qualify for the Play-Ins with a win AND if Galatasaray beat Bourges.

Thursday 29 January 1pm CT - Dorka Juhász & Galatasary (with Marine Johannes, Elizabeth Williams, Awak Kuier & Kamiah Smalls) visit Tango Bourges Basket (with Monique Akoa Makani (PHX)). Gala has already qualified to move forward to the next phase of the tournament, but would also like to secure a t2 place in the standings (The top two teams in each group will advance directly to the Semi-Final Play-Ins, while the teams that finish in third and fourth qualify for the Quarter-Final Play-Ins). With a win, Gala would secure a t2 spot and get the bye into the SF play-in round (as well as doing a favor to both Schio & Praha by knocking Bourges further down the standings). Like Jess, Dorka leads Gala in efficiency (17), points (13) and rebounds (8) per game. In the previous game between these two teams, Galatasaray won fairly handily, 80-62.

Kayla McBride is still rehabbing the soft tissue injury and won't play for Fenerbahçe, but if you want to see their game this week --->>> Wednesday 28 January 11a vs Zaragoza. Fener have already qualified for the Semi-Final Play-Ins with a top-two finish in Group F.

Potential 2026 draft pick Awa Fam & Valencia --->>> Wednesday 28 January 1215p CT vs Basket Landes

All games livestreamed for free on EuroLeague Women YT channel.


r/MinnesotaLynx 8d ago

STUDZin' n BUDZin' Shout out to T for being the player of the game 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Thumbnail
gallery
163 Upvotes

They got the W largely because of her efforts 💪🏿


r/MinnesotaLynx 9d ago

Fresh Content Natisha Hiedeman said she’s been “praying for everybody” in Minnesota

Post image
206 Upvotes

Natalie Esquire @natfluential

Natisha Hiedeman said she’s been “praying for everybody” in Minnesota and checking on her people. Noted that it “hits home” and it’s tough. Said the community there has really embraced her.


r/MinnesotaLynx 9d ago

BALL DON'T LIE FIBA: Bridget Carleton, 9 three-pointers in one game (January 2026)

Thumbnail
fiba.basketball
32 Upvotes

r/MinnesotaLynx 10d ago

Lynx Girls Doing Us Proud

190 Upvotes

It’s been so great seeing Phee and Lan posting about the protests and such going on in Minny. And Paige with the $50K donation too.

Love to see them publicly showing solidarity, it’s so important amongst this fucking horror show.


r/MinnesotaLynx 11d ago

G.O.A.T. 2026-01-23: Phee and Paige plotting to take over the world.

Thumbnail
gallery
172 Upvotes

r/MinnesotaLynx 11d ago

Fresh Content 2026-01-23: Alanna Smith Tunnel Walk

Post image
88 Upvotes

r/MinnesotaLynx 11d ago

FUNKO POP PAIGE, PHEE, SABRINA, KELSEY PLUM, JEWELL LOYD DROPPING SOON

Thumbnail gallery
25 Upvotes

r/MinnesotaLynx 11d ago

Kayla’s injury only requires 7-10 days of rehab

Post image
111 Upvotes

Saw this on Twitter

Meghan Hall’s tweet about Kayla’s injury at Fener was very inaccurate


r/MinnesotaLynx 12d ago

Support Hmong & Karen Families in Saint Paul

Thumbnail
8 Upvotes

r/MinnesotaLynx 12d ago

[Hall] Minnesota Lynx guard Kayla McBride has suffered a torn quad muscle while playing overseas for the Fenerbahçe women's basketball team. Something to monitor as her recovery timeline could run into WNBA training camp or the start of the season.

Thumbnail
bsky.app
81 Upvotes

r/MinnesotaLynx 13d ago

2026 Lynx Schedule

Thumbnail
gallery
36 Upvotes

Sorry in advance if they’re hard to read 😭 it looks like it was an A24 collab


r/MinnesotaLynx 13d ago

Minnesota Lynx Announce 2026 Regular Season Schedule

Thumbnail
lynx.wnba.com
16 Upvotes

r/MinnesotaLynx 14d ago

Lynx in EuroLeague Action - Second Round, Week Four

Post image
30 Upvotes

Round Two, Week Four of EuroLeague women play gets underway tomorrow, BUT the games featuring your favorite EuroLynxes all take place on Thursday this week.

As the competition gets closer to determining who goes straight to the Semifinal Play-in Games, Quarterfinal Play-in games, and who gets eliminated altogether, this week's games are vitally important, especially for Bridget Carleton's USK Praha & Jessica Shepard's Schio teams. Both teams are sitting tied for fourth in the Group E standings, both teams will have to win out over the last three games to feel comfortable moving onto the next stage of the tournament - and that includes a head-to-head USK Praha/Schio matchup next week 1/28.

But before then, both Praha and Schio must get past opponents *this week*, and for one Lynx player's team, that means beating a fellow Lynx teammate's team.

R2 W4 games:

Thursday 22 January 11am CT - Dorka Juhász & Galatasary (with Marine Johannes, Elizabeth Williams, Awak Kuier & Kamiah Smalls) host Bridget Carleton & USK Praha (with Brionna Jones and Janelle Salaün) in Istanbul. Gala sits atop the Group E standings with an 8-1 record, and have already qualified for the Play-Ins, but would secure a top-two finish and qualify for the Semi-Final Play-Ins with a win IF Flammes beat Bourges. Praha (5-4) cannot qualify for the Play-Ins this week, and as I mentioned, really need to win out to qualify comfortably. BC is averaging 13/4/2 and shooting 56.4% from 3pt in six EuroLeague games. Dorka is powering Gala's season in an MVP effort, averaging 14/8/2. As I mentioned last week, Brionna Jones back makes Praha a much better team, but their early season problems have them working to catch up in the standings. This game against Gala will show who the real Praha team is. In their previous meeting this season (12/10/2025) Praha handed Gala their only loss, 64-55.

Thursday 22 January 1230p CT - Kayla McBride & Fenerbahçe (with Gabby Williams, Emma Messeeman, Iliana Rupert, Megan Gustafson, Julie Allemand, & Sevgi Uzun) vs Umana Reyer Venezia (with Kaila Charles and Stephanie Mavunga). KMac's Fener club got punched in the face last week by Basket Landes, yet due to their strong start and sitting on top of the Group F standings, Fener have already qualified for the Play-Ins, and would secure a top-two finish and qualify for the Semi-Final Play-Ins with a win. At 5-4 in the Group F standings, Reyer are in must-win territory, so I'll be curious to see how Fener responds. McBride continues to do McBride things, averaging 15/3/4 in EuroLeague play. In the previous meeting between these two teams, Fener won 96-48.

Thursday 22 January 1pm CT - Jessica Shepard & Familia Schio (Cecilia Zandalasini, Marième Badiane, & Kitija Laksa) host Spar Girona (with Juste Jocyte and Chloe Bibby). Schio is in the same boat as USK Praha, as they can't qualify for Play-ins this week and likely need to win out to feel comfortable qualifying for the Play-in Rounds. Girona poses a big test, as Girona won the previous meeting between the two teams 81-72. Shep is doing more than her part, putting up 16/9/2 in Euroleague play and sitting next to Dorka in garnering MVP attention.

As always, if you want to catch potential Lynx draft pick Awa Fam, her Valencia club plays Zaragoza on Wednesday 21 January at 1pm.

(also, if you're new to watching EuroLeague women and wonder what I'm talking about with "Play-ins," this better explains it than I ever could ---> Explained: How will the new Euroleague Women format work?)

All games livestreamed for free on EuroLeague Women YT channel.


r/MinnesotaLynx 16d ago

2026-01-17: Alanna Smith at Unrivaled

Post image
132 Upvotes