Some thoughts for the 2009 WNBA Draft

As the WNBA Draft nears, several articles have mentioned taking a player to fill a need, rather than taking the best player available.

Atlanta picks first and has several point guards on the roster, yet some feel UConn's Rene Montgomery is the #1 player in the draft. Do they choose Montgomery or go with Louisville's Angel McCoughtry?

Washington picks second needs a center, though most believe Montgomery, McCoughtry and Maryland's Marissa Coleman are better than Oklahoma's Courtney Paris. So, do the Mystics pick Paris to fill a glaring need or one of the consensus top three players?

The draft is the best way to improve a team. Plenty of teams chased Lauren Jackson in free agency, but she remained with Seattle. It's hard to sign a Jackson, candace Parker, Lisa Leslie or Diana Taurasi as a free agent because their teams want to keep them. So, drafting a superstar, when you have the chance, is essential.

I don't know if Coleman, Montgomery or McCoughtry is the best player. I watched Montgomery play more often, so I am biased towards her, but Coleman had the single most impressive game (that I watched) in the last several years and earlier in the year I was convinced that McCoughtry was the best player. So, without meeting them and getting a sense for their personality and their mental skills, I don't know who is the top player.

However, Atlanta and Washington must draft the player who they believe has a chance to be a superstar regardless of position. McCoughtry draws comparisons to Sheryl Swoopes, which definitely would warrant the #1 pick. Coleman appears ready and able to take over a WNBA game as she can score in multiple ways. And, I think Montgomery can be the best PG in the WNBA shortly.

Atlanta and Washington need to ignore needs and pick the player it feels will be a star. In Washington, I would probably lean toward Coleman as a hometown player if I felt that she can handle the hometown pressure - some players do better if they get away from that type of pressure. In Atlanta, I would pick the player who I believed in.

Picking for need is the best way to end up at the top of the draft next season.