The Golden State Valkyries waived forward Marta Suarez on Saturday, less than three weeks after acquiring her in a draft-night trade with the Seattle Storm.
The Golden State Valkyries cut forward Marta Suarez on Saturday, less than three weeks after acquiring her in a draft-night trade with the Seattle Storm.
On April 13, the Valkyries dealt the No. 8 overall pick in the WNBA Draft — used on LSU guard Flau'Jae Johnson — to Seattle for the rights to Suarez and a 2028 second-round pick. The Storm had taken Suarez at No. 16 moments earlier, with the swap finalized shortly after.
Also released Saturday were No. 23 pick Ashlon Jackson, center Mariella Fasoula, guards Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda and Miela Sowah, and forward Cate Reese.
That leaves Kokoro Tanaka of Japan, taken in the third round, as the only player from Golden State's 2026 draft class still with the team. She is not on the active roster.
On draft night, general manager Ohemaa Nyanin praised Suarez but offered little when pressed on why Golden State moved off Johnson.
"Marta is fierce. She's fearless," Nyanin said. "She has a very high basketball IQ. Her high character is off the charts. ... We felt like she would be a great fit."
Asked at the time to explain why Golden State was willing to trade out of the top eight, Nyanin offered little detail.
"I'm going to take a beat to be able to eloquently give a response. I don't have a lot of details to share," she said. "One, because I'm exhausted. Two, because I want to be very thoughtful when I'm talking about other humans and their basketball abilities and how they would or would not show up for our squad."
Suarez appeared in only one preseason game for Golden State, an April 25 contest against Seattle. The 6-foot-3 forward from Spain logged 14 minutes and finished with five points, three rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
She began her college career at Tennessee and spent time at California before landing at TCU, where she earned All-Big 12 honors as a senior. Suarez averaged 17.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game last season while shooting 37% from 3-point range.
It marks the second consecutive year Golden State has cut its second-round pick before opening night. Maryland guard Shyanne Sellers did not stick with the team out of last year's training camp, and the franchise's 2025 first-round selection, Lithuanian guard Justė Jocytė, remains overseas and has yet to make her Valkyries debut.