Portland Fire Expansion Draft Results

Portland and Toronto Tempo built rosters from scratch. The format:

• Each existing team protected 5 players. Everyone else was available. Protection lists submitted March 29.
• Two rounds, snake format. Portland picked first in round 1 (picks 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11), last in round 2 (picks 14, 16, 18, 20, 22). Toronto picked second in round 1, first in round 2.
• One unrestricted free agent pick per team. Bridget Carleton (Minnesota Lynx) was Portland's UFA selection with the #1 overall pick.
• Chicago traded out. Neither expansion team selected a Sky player. Portland received college draft pick #17 in the deal.
• Max 2 players from any single team. Portland took 2 from Washington (Engstler, Sutton), 2 from Atlanta (Caldwell, Puoch), 2 from Golden State (Leite, Bibby via Indiana/Golden State), 2 from Dallas (Geiselsöder, Jones). One each from Minnesota (Carleton), LA Sparks (Barker), and Seattle (Mühl).

The expansion draft gave Portland its foundation. The college draft adds youth. Portland picks seventh overall in a historically deep class. Dallas holds the #1 pick in a draft with no consensus top choice: Olivia Miles (TCU), Awa Fam (Valencia Basket), Azzi Fudd (UConn), and Lauren Betts (UCLA) are all projected in the top 5. The question is who falls past Toronto at #6 to Portland at #7.

Names projected in Portland's first-round range (#7):

• Ta'Niya Latson (South Carolina): High-volume scorer with fierce competitiveness. Could set the tone alongside the expansion draft veterans from day one.
• Gianna Kneepkens (UCLA): 50/40/90 club member who helped UCLA win the national championship. Elite shooter, 12.8 PPG on 42.9% from three.
• Cotie McMahon (Ole Miss): Strong frame, defensive switchability, multi-layered offense. The kind of player you build around.

Portland's second-round pick (#17, acquired from Chicago on April 1) gives the Fire two bites. With five UCLA players projected in the first round, talent will slide.

The expansion draft got the headlines, but free agency is where Portland actually built a competitive team. Every player not on a rookie contract became a free agent under the new CBA. That included the best players in the world.

The marquee names: A'ja Wilson (consensus best player alive), Breanna Stewart (multi-time MVP), Napheesa Collier (ankle surgery, may miss early season). Multiple suitors, max offers across the board. Portland could offer the same money as anyone, plus a brand-new $150M training facility and a city with massive season-membership demand.

The realistic targets: GM Vanja Černivec didn't need to land every star. She needed the right mix. Players like Kelsey Mitchell (career-best season in Indiana, All-WNBA First Team), Satou Sabally (versatile forward), and established veterans looking for guaranteed minutes and a fresh start. Portland's $7M cap was a blank canvas.

The pitch: Purpose-built performance center. Shared ownership with the Thorns. A city that's already proven it shows up for women's sports. Head coach Alex Sarama and Hall of Fame assistant Sylvia Fowles. For players who spent careers in half-empty arenas, Portland was a different proposition entirely.

Assistant coaches: Sylvia Fowles, Brittni Donaldson, Danielle Boiago, and Sefu Bernard. Fowles brings Hall of Fame credibility and WNBA championship experience. Donaldson serves dual roles as assistant coach and assistant general manager. Boiago joins from the Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies' G League affiliate). Bernard is assistant coach and director of learning and development, coming from the Minnesota Lynx where he was director of player development during their franchise-best 34-10 season.

The 2025 salary cap was $1.5M. Portland enters the league with a 4.5x bigger cap than last year's teams had. That's the CBA's impact on roster building: the Fire can offer contracts that didn't exist 30 days ago.

Key salary details: Minimum salary $270K-$300K (was $66K, tiered by experience). Supermax projected to reach $2.4M by 2032. Cap projected to exceed $10M by end of deal. Revenue share is first-ever in women's professional sports.

Housing: All players receive housing 2026-2028. Starting 2029, limited to players earning under $500K. Developmental players get housing throughout the deal.

EPIC provision: Players named All-WNBA can renegotiate year 4 of their rookie deal and sign a 3-year max extension. MVP winners can earn the supermax. Designed to keep stars from waiting out rookie contracts. For Portland, this means a strong draft pick could be locked in long-term faster than under the old CBA.

Sources: ESPN, CBS Sports, Washington Post, Swish Appeal. 7-year deal, 2026-2032, opt-out after year 6. Player vote confirmed March 23. Board of Governors unanimously ratified March 24.

Portland's Three-Team Ecosystem

The Fire aren't arriving in a vacuum. Portland already has the Thorns (3x NWSL champions, highest attendance in women's soccer) and the Cascade (inaugural AUSL season). The Kaiser Permanente Performance Center in Hillsboro is being built as a dual-sport facility for the Fire and Thorns. Portland is the only city in America with three professional women's teams and a purpose-built training center.

Once the roster forms, the question isn't just "who did they draft?" It's what a city with a Thorns match on Friday, a Fire game on Saturday, and a Cascade game on Sunday looks like. That's the best weekends play. That's the away fan weekend. That's Title Town.