Fans believe the team should build around the No. 1 pick, presumably Paige Bueckers and consider changing some of the current core. If the Mystics don’t get the No. 1 pick, fans believe the team should blow it up.
Thank you for your responses to this week’s Washington Mystics SB Nation Reacts survey. Over 150 respondents turned up for this survey on what the Mystics should do depending on their 2025 WNBA Draft outcomes. The lottery will be televised on ESPN at 5 p.m .ET. And the results of our survey are below.
Fans believe the Mystics should rebuild around the No. 1 pick, but not necessarily get into “win now” mode
Alright, @sbnreacts results are in.
If the Mystics get the No. 1 pick in 2025 (and get Paige Bueckers), 64% of our respondents believe the team should rebuild around Bueckers and her strengths.
The good news here is that Bueckers would have a lot of good pieces around her! pic.twitter.com/2lcemD33Cn
— BF_Mystics (@BF_mystics) November 13, 2024
Though the Mystics have just a 10 percent chance of getting the No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, it’s certainly a possibility that luck goes on their side. After all, the Atlanta Hawks surprisingly received the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft this past June despite having just a 3 percent chance at that pick, right?
Whether the Mystics, the Dallas Wings or Los Angeles Sparks receive the No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, it’s an open secret that Connecticut super-senior guard Paige Bueckers will be the pick. Given how quickly Indiana Fever point guard Caitlin Clark turned around her WNBA team as a rookie, it’s realistic to see a Paige Bueckers-led Mystics team be a playoff pack team with room to spare in 2025. So I wasn’t surprised to see that 64 percent of respondents believe that the Mystics should rebuild around Bueckers and perhaps move a core player to help facilitate that.
An additional 27 percent of respondents believe the Mystics should go into “win-now” mode. That may mean trading a younger player for a more established veteran. And 9 percent think the team should rebuild in a manner that Monumental Basketball Michael Winger appears to desire with the Mystics: an all-out deconstruction of the roster like the Washington Wizards are doing. In this scenario, Bueckers would stay of course. But everyone else is open to trade, even though I think such a decision would be foolish given the 2026 free agency period when a new Collective Bargaining Agreement is expected to take effect.
Mystics fans are divided on what to do if they don’t have the No. 1 pick in 2025. But a plurality believe that the team needs to deconstruct like the Wizards.
If they don’t get the No. 1 pick however, it’s “Michael Winger” deconstruction time. pic.twitter.com/975qWAUnq4
— BF_Mystics (@BF_mystics) November 13, 2024
It’s more likely that the Mystics will not have Bueckers nor a franchise player in 2025. Therefore, I’m not surprised that 45 percent believe the Mystics need to blow it up or “deconstruct.” That said, 40 percent believe the team should still rebuild around the first round pick, whoever she is. Fifteen percent believe the Mystics should still attempt to win now with the core.
Realistically, I think the Mystics will be deconstructing full stop if they do not get the No. 1 pick.
How does this affect the Mystics’ GM and Head Coach searches?
It’s difficult to say how desirable the Mystics’ vacancies are at the moment, given that they are at an inflection point. I don’t think the job is undesirable. Rather, it’s just that the team’s direction over the next four to five years will depend on what happens this Sunday.
Winger may be keen on deconstructing the Mystics right now, but that approach would be foolish if Bueckers comes to Washington for talent and marketing reasons. He knows that too. So perhaps some of the “bigger names” will be interested in taking a front office job if that happens. And my feeling is that more higher level free agents will be interested in coming to D.C. because of Bueckers and who takes the front office job.
If that doesn’t happen — and this is the most likely draft outcome — then that deconstruction is more likely, even if most WNBA teams are effectively deconstructing in 2026 anyway. Does the Mystics General Manager position now look undesirable?
To a candidate who wants to win now, sure. But if a candidate wants an opportunity to build from scratch and implement a truly new vision, this is also a great opportunity to do so.
That said, don’t expect the Mystics to be a true winner in the 2026 free agency period, and any business growth the Mystics have will largely be because of the other teams and stars, like the 2024 season was.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.