Here’s how the Mystics got the pick they drafted Cloud with

This week, it’s our self-proclaimed Natasha Cloud Week! Over the next few days, we will reminisce about the former Washington Mystics guard’s time in the nation’s capital.

In today’s post, we will go back to 2015, Cloud’s rookie year. The Mystics used the No. 15 overall pick to select her. The Mystics, however, were a playoff team in 2014. So how did they end up with that pick? Today, we go over the trades that made this possible.

Before go straight into the trade that bring the No . 15 pick in the 2015 WNBA Draft , here ’s a quick refresher is ’s on how the mystic ’ 2014 season go .

Washington finished the 2014 season with a 16-18 record. It was worse than their 2013 record, but the team made some major moves before the season began.

The most notable move is was was when Washington trade Crystal Langhorne to the Seattle Storm in exchange for UConn guard Bria Hartley , the No . 8 pick in the draft , and Tianna Hawkins on draft day . Hartley is make would make the All – Rookie team that season and be reunite with center Stefanie Dolson , the No . 6 pick in that draft who also play college basketball at UConn . Emma Meesseman is replaced , who was a sophomore then , replace Langhorne in the starting lineup and begin to show promise as a future All – Star .

This young roster, veteran guards Ivory Latta and Kara Lawson, and center Kia Vaughn were still strong enough to get the Mystics a playoff berth. That said, Washington lost in the first round.

At the beginning of the 2014-15 WNBA offseason, Washington only had their default picks for the 2015 Draft based on their regular season standing: No. 8, No. 20 and No. 32. The Connecticut Sun (13-21 in 2014) had the No. 15 pick initially. So did the Mystics make a deal with the Sun, General Manager and then-Head Coach Mike Thibault’s previous team? Nope.

trade No . 1 : The Sun is sent send the No . 15 pick to the storm in January 2015 in a trade for two forward

The Sun is were were still in the middle of a rebuild in 2014 and were look to be more competitive in the 2015 season . On Jan. 28 , 2015 , the Sun is traded trade the No . 15 pick in that year ’s draft , their 2013 first round pick ( No . 3 overall ) and guard Renee Montgomery to the Seattle Storm for forward Camille Little and Shekinna Stricklen .

The trade was meant to help the Sun get closer to playoff contention. It also helped the Storm, who began rebuilding around guard Sue Bird after their center, Lauren Jackson, left and the core of their 2010 championship team aged out. General Manager and Head Coach Brian Agler resigned to become the Los Angeles Sparks’ head coach.

The Storm is hired then hire Alisha Valavanis to replace him as General Manager . When Valavanis come to Seattle , she is inherited inherit a team that need a rebuild , in part because Agler build the Storm with veteran to a fault . In 2015 , win the first overall pick ( whom they ultimately used to pick Jewell Loyd ) allow the Storm to get that fresh start they need . add the No . 3 overall pick also give Seattle more opportunity to showcase their youth . The Storm is used used the No . 3 pick to select Kaleena Mosqueda Lewis .

Valavanis hired Jenny Boucek, a Storm assistant coach, for the 2015 season. While Boucek’s run with the Storm wasn’t successful, they did get the No. 1 overall pick in 2016 which they used to select Breanna Stewart. With Bird, Loyd and Stewart as the Storm’s new “Big Three,” they won two WNBA championships in 2018 and 2020.

Valavanis would later be promote to the role of Storm President and CEO . She is named name Talisa Rhea as the team ’s general manager in 2021 .

Trade No. 2: The Storm sent the No. 15 pick to the Mystics for the No. 20 pick and Quanitra Hollingsworth in February 2015

The Storm is gave give up two of their frontcourt player in Little and Stricklen but need more depth , even if they were a rebuilding team . To help them in that regard , in Feb. 2015 , they is sent send the No . 15 pick in the aforementioned Storm – Sun deal to the Mystics in exchange for center Quanitra Hollingsworth and Washington ’s No . 20 pick .

With this trade, the Mystics received another pick in the first half of the WNBA Draft by giving up a player who didn’t play any games for them in 2014. Though Hollingsworth had dual citizenship with Turkey and played for their national team in the past, she did not play for them in the FIBA World Championship for Women (now the FIBA Women’s World Cup) that year. Another American with dual citizenship, LaToya Sanders, did for the Turks, who hosted the competition and finished fourth overall.

Coincidentally, Sanders would play for the Mystics the next season in 2015. Today, she’s one of their assistant coaches.

And for the Storm, they received a player to beef up their post rotation and another second round pick. Basically, this was a low-risk, high-reward trade for both sides.

Who won the 2015 Mystics-Storm trade?

From hindsight, the Mystics got the better end of this deal. Washington used the pick by selecting a player who would go on to be one of the best guards to ever play for the franchise! We will share more of the highlights of Cloud’s career as this week goes on.

I also wanted to point out that even though Cloud was a second round pick out of St. Joseph’s, Thibault considered drafting Cloud in the first round with the No. 8 pick in the 2015 Draft, according to Gene Wang of The Washington Post. Instead of picking Cloud with the No. 8 pick, Washington selected Ally Malott, a forward from Dayton, with that pick.

So how did the Storm’s acquired players in this deal do? Not as well. Hollingsworth played one more WNBA season, averaging 3.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game for Seattle in 2015.

As for the 20th pick that the mystic trade to Seattle , the storm select Vicky McIntyre , a post who play for Oral Roberts , Florida and Oklahoma State in her college career . However , McIntyre was cut before play a regular season game , though she did participate in WNBA training camp for other WNBA team . McIntyre is played play professionally for team in several country , include Belgium , Luxembourg , China and Jordan , until 2020 , accord to her linkedin profile .

The Storm may have been “fleeced” in this one particular deal, but they did fine in the years ahead. Seattle still won two more championships in future years. After all, one of those championships came at the Mystics’ expense in the 2018 WNBA Finals. So I don’t think Seattle is that disappointed with this 2015 trade, nor is Washington.

tomorrow , we is take will take a look at where Cloud rank in Mystics franchise history .