The Dallas Wings won the WNBA draft lottery that was widely expected to result in Paige Bueckers being selected with the top overall pick, but the college star apparently wanted to go elsewhere.
ESPN's Michael Vaupel reported that the Buccaneers have another team they would like to partner with.
“Based on information from league sources, the Los Angeles Sparks, who acquired the No. 2 pick in the lottery, would have been the Buccaneers' preferred option.” Vaupel wrote.
“Like the Wings, the Sparks don't have a head coach right now, but Los Angeles is a huge market and a team that could use a guard like the Buccaneers.”
Unlike the NBA and men's college basketball, whose seasons run simultaneously, the women's college basketball season and the WNBA are essentially held back-to-back.
So Bueckers will play his final season in college, be drafted in April, and be thrown into the vortex of the WNBA's rookie season, which begins in May.
The Sparks, who had the league's worst record of 25-55 over the past two seasons, had a 44.2 percent chance of winning the WNBA draft lottery.
However, because the Wings also had the right to trade picks with the Chicago Sky, their chances of winning the lottery were actually slightly higher, at 45.4 percent.
When the lottery results were announced, groans could be heard at the Sparks' viewing party, and someone off-camera asked in the background, “Seriously?”
According to the latest odds from FanDuel, Bookers and the Huskies have +450 odds to win this season's Women's National Championship.
They are only chasing defending champion South Carolina, which has +200 odds.
