Trade for Caitlin Clark? 'Not a chance,' says Lynx coach Reeve
Because the issue is already moot and the question rhetorical, Cheryl Reeve laughed when asked:
Will Caitlin Clark, the Iowa star guard who said she would enter the WNBA draft this spring, be taken with the first overall pick?
"It's a foregone conclusion, isn't it?" said Reeve, the Minnesota Lynx president of basketball operations and head coach. "It's not even close. It's like when Maya Moore (taken first overall by the Lynx in 2011) was drafted. It was always just a matter of her making the decision. There is no doubt Lin is taking Caitlin Clark.''
Lin is Lin Dunn, the Indiana Fever general manager. Her rebuild of the Fever took a big step with Clark's announcement Thursday. Dunn drafted South Carolina star post player Aliyah Boston with the top overall pick a year ago, and Boston was the league's rookie of the year.
As Reeve noted, Clark's history of playing with good posts at Iowa – Megan Gustafson and, more recently Monika Czinano – portends a big jump for the Fever.
The WNBA Draft is April 15, and the Lynx have the No. 7 pick.
Reeve was in the stands for Iowa's win over the Gophers at Williams Arena on Wednesday. She watched Clark start the game scoring 12 points in the first 2 minutes and 45 seconds, score Iowa's first 15 points, finish with 33 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists while becoming the highest-scoring player in women's major college history.
"It was crazy," Reeve said. "Twelve points in three minutes.''
That is a word, by the way, for anyone thinking Dunn will entertain calls to trade that No. 1 pick. Crazy. Again, Reeve laughed.
"How do I say this?'' she said. And then: "Not a chance ... People are going to say, 'Sell the farm to get her.' Well, the farm ain't going to be enough to get her."
