In their bid to replicate their debut season in the W, the Golden State Valkyries are taking roster decisions thick and fast, but fans are taking it with a pinch of salt. As per latest developments, the team has cut six players from the roster, including a promising player, whom they traded on draft night for their first-round pick. Nearly 30 hours after this huge cut off, head coach Natalie Nakase has issued a statement, which has muddled things up for the fans a bit more in the WNBA community.

The Valkyries cut off six players on Saturday: Marta Suarez, Ashlon Jackson, Mariella Fasoula, Cate Reese, Miela Sowah, and Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda as they bid to curate their final roster. Head coach Nakase addressed it, reflecting that the franchise is still in the process of evaluating the players, which is majorly emphasized on connectivity with the team, both on and off the court.

“My job is to find the fortune that fits together the best and right now we’re still in a process of evaluating,” she said. “It’s still early, so seeing the connectivity between players both on and mostly for me off court is the value I’m looking at.”

At this point in the season, it’s quite natural for any team to make tough cuts to finalize its 12-player roster. These cuts take place to meet stringent league-mandated limits, that requires teams to bring down training camp rosters to about twelve players before opening night. Salary cap constraints, prioritizing a balanced roster and adhering to the 12-player rule are chief reasons.

But waiving off Marta Suarez, who they brought in for a top-10 pick, Flau’jae Johnson, is the main crux of this entire discussion, especially after the team had a strong affinity for Suarez after she joined the Valkyries. GM Ohemaa Nyanin heaped immense praise on Suarez following the draft.

“Marta is fierce. She’s fearless,” she said. “We have looked at her for a really long time. … She has a very high basketball IQ. Her high character is off the charts. … We felt like she would be a great fit.” And now, a few weeks after this praise, Suarez too is on her way out of the Valkyries’ main roster, just after playing a preseason game where she logged 14 minutes and recorded 5 points and 3 rebounds.

The former TCU player might have an opportunity to fill developmental players’ spots if she clears waivers. But head Natalie Nakase hasn’t guaranteed anything for now. “I mean, like I said, we’re still evaluating,” she said. “Every day could be something different, and I want to make sure that because the players were all very impressive from both on and off the court, we want to make sure we’re evaluating because we understand those two sports are going to be part of our family.”

Along with Suarez, Nakase’s Valkyries have also waived off Jackson, their other draft night acquisition. It means that Kokoro Tanaka (a 38th pick) is the only 2026 draftee on their roster. While these tough decisions signal that the Valkyries are quite adamant about the profile of players she wants, the fans have plenty to say about it, especially regarding her and the Valkyries’ approach to Marta Suarez.

Poor roster decisions and offseason management revolve around Natalie Nakase’s waiver-off decisions

“Yet again a Bay Area basketball coach has to clean up the mess left by the front office!! 🤦🏽‍♀️” wrote a fan. 

It isn’t certain, or in the public domain, whether head coach Nakase was involved in the Flau’jae Johnson trade on draft night. But the Valkyries’ front office, which was the main perpetrator, is, of course, the source of this situation with the team stemming from the trade of Johnson for Marta Suarez. They had cited that trade brings more continuity and balance to the roster.

But Suarez’s cut from the squad diminishes that explanation as well, and in turn raises more eyebrows about the Valkyries’ roster decision. And in turn, it will be their head coach, Natalie Nakase, who will have to complement for it in the season. But this isn’t even the first time with a Golden State basketball team. We’ve seen it again and again with Steve Kerr and the Warriors in the NBA.

For instance, in the 2021 Draft, Kerr wanted Franz Wagner in the squad, who fit in more with his style of coaching, but the Warriors front office, in turn, went for Jonathan Kuminga, posing a major challenge for Kerr to redirect his strategies.

“Other than Gabby Williams, they haven’t done s**t this offseason at this point, tank for Juju,” stated another netizen. 

“The @valkyries know they screwed up with that trade & are “trying” to save face,” chimed in another. 

For starters, the Valkyries had quite a substantial offseason. As the comment mentioned, bringing in a vet like Gabby Williams is, of course, a decision that enhances their season’s ceiling. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Nakase’s team also roped in players like Tiffany Hayes and Kiah Stokes to add more depth around Williams and their fourth-year pro Veronica Burton.

They had an opportunity to improve their team with their first-round pick, but the “agreement to trade picks prior to any athlete selection” they had with the Seattle Storm significantly altered their roster dynamics. Furthermore, Ashlon Jackson, another 2026 draftee who also could have been a valuable addition in the backcourt for the Valkyries, is also now waived by the team, which kind of diminishes their efforts to inject a bit more youth into their roster.

“Suarez wasn’t a great pick even where she was taken, and it’s hard to make a roster in the W. The issue is flushing your first round pick like this and pretending nothing happened,” remarked another. 

“So they wasted the 8th pick?” summed up another. 

Now, saying Marta Suarez wasn’t a great pick in the draft would definitely be a bit harsh. The former TCU player has racked up numbers consistently across her collegiate career that add weight to her prowess on the court- 11.6 ppg, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists. Furthermore, it would also be too early to say that Suarez wouldn’t have succeeded in the league if given an opportunity.

This isn’t even the difficult part to understand; it’s about the Valkyries’ decision to trade their first-round pick in first place, especially when they had a player like Flau’jae Johnson as the 8th pick in their draft, who has been one of the most formidable backcourt players of her collegiate batch and has been thriving in her two preseason games with the Seattle Storm, racking up 32 points and 7 rebounds.

All in all, trading Johnson for Suarez and the 2028 WNBA Draft second-round pick, and then subsequently cutting off Suarez, is a decision that is quite hard to understand from the Golden State Valkyries. They currently have 13 players on the roster, meaning that they will need to make one more cut before the final roster is announced.

Nevertheless, Natalie Nakase’s roster is quietly taking shape, with the likes of Thomas, Veronica Burton, and Tiffany Hayes, giving it the much-needed balance. The Valkyries tip off their regular season on Friday, May 8, against the Seattle Storm at the Climate Pledge Arena.