WNBA expansion team Toronto Tempo is looking to build for the future while actively shopping its future first-round pick for frontcourt help.

The Athletic's Annie Costabile reported on July 28, citing multiple league sources, that Toronto has been shopping a future first-round pick since the start of the season. According to Costabile, deals were presented to the Los Angeles Sparks and the Connecticut Sun but were turned down, with the Connecticut proposal coming earlier in the season and the Los Angeles offer more recently.

Costabile added that Toronto's target is specific: a young post player who can complement guards Marina Mabrey, Brittney Sykes, who is currently sidelined with an injury, and guard Kiki Rice, who recently returned to the lineup. The pick most likely on the table is a 2028 selection, because WNBA lottery odds are cumulative over two seasons and only the current season counts toward an expansion team's odds.

Based on The Athletic's report, the Tempo attempted to acquire Cameron Brink, who is trying to figure out her niche in Los Angeles. Costabile identified Brink, who is averaging 9.1 points and 4.4 rebounds in less than 20 minutes off the bench and has started one game in 2026, as fitting the profile Toronto wants. Toronto prides itself on having depth at multiple positions and playing the next woman up.

However, the strength of the Tempo's trade package may have posed an issue if the Sun declined to part ways with a post player. Costabile also identified Aaliyah Edwards, a Kingston, Ontario, native, as a fit, and Connecticut's frontcourt group includes Brittney Griner, Aneesah Morrow, Olivia Nelson-Ododa, and Raegan Beers. Needless to say, if Toronto targeted Morrow or Edwards, there may be some reluctance to move on from the young talent.

The trade deadline is Aug. 2, and reports also surfaced on July 28 from Costabile about Kelsey Plum not intending to re-sign with the Sparks.

Despite Toronto's trade offers being declined by Connecticut and Los Angeles, it still has a few options to evaluate. Washington Mystics center Lauren Betts could be an option because of the team's starting frontcourt of forward Kiki Iriafen and center Shakira Austin.

In addition to Iriafen and Austin, the team plays positionless basketball, and forward Michaela Onyenwere is in the mix for frontcourt minutes, which limits the number of minutes for Betts, who was drafted with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2026 draft.

Granted, the Mystics may decline any trade offer for Betts, considering that she is averaging 16.4 minutes per game. However, Washington has depth at all five positions, and there is precedent for the squeeze. The Mystics took Aaliyah Edwards with the No. 6 pick in 2024, watched her fall out of the rotation behind Iriafen and Austin, and traded her to Connecticut before she finished two seasons in Washington.

Toronto has already pushed at Washington's frontcourt once. The Tempo signed Austin, a restricted free agent, to a three-year offer sheet valued at $1.19 million per year during free agency, and the Mystics matched inside the 48-hour window to keep her. Because an offer sheet was on the table, Toronto cannot acquire Austin by trade in the same calendar year.

Another option could be Seattle Storm forward Ezi Magbegor, who could find herself out of the rotation when she returns from a facial fracture that has her being reevaluated over a period of weeks. Magbegor also missed the first 20 games of the season with a right foot injury and has appeared in only four games since, averaging a career-low 3.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in 13.5 minutes. Dominique Malonga has already taken over as Seattle's starter and leads the team at 16.3 points and 8.5 rebounds, which further limits Magbegor's playing time.

If the Tempo attempts to land Magbegor, they could entice the Storm to move off her three-year max deal worth $3.75 million, which she signed in the offseason. Seattle is in a rebuild, and it could use that money to possibly land a veteran who helps this team score and facilitate the ball.