Natalie Nakase, now donning the violet gear of the Golden State Valkyries, is no stranger to the whole building roster and honing players. But we have to admit that it’s a whole different ball game when you’re doing it from scratch. Building a team from the ground up is a huge task, even for a seasoned coach. As you’d expect, the expansion draft was just the very first step in what promises to be an exciting (and challenging) journey.

Now, almost two months later, the Valkyries have officially signed their first-ever three players directly to the team. And, well, two of them are on Training Camp Contracts. But, if you’re scratching your head wondering what exactly that means, let’s break it down.

What does a training camp contract mean?

Okay, so Training Camp Contracts. Sounds like some serious lingo, right? You won’t believe how simple it is unless you know it!

In the WNBA, a Training Camp Contract is a one-year, non-guaranteed deal that players get to show what they’re made of during training camp. These contracts are typically used to evaluate players who are trying to secure a spot on the regular-season roster. But, one thing, there’s no financial commitment from the team unless the player makes the cut, and there’s no long-term deal in place. As Columnist Richard Cohen wrote on X, “It’s not an insult, it doesn’t mean it’s just a tryout. Basically just CBA phraseology.”

Key features:

• One year, non-guaranteed.
• Minimum salary as per the WNBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
• Allow teams to get a good look at a player’s skills in real-time during the preseason without the commitment of a long-term, guaranteed contract.

If we look at its strategic use, these training camp contracts are a team’s best friend when it comes to salary cap management. They provide flexibility in making decisions about who stays and who doesn’t—without messing up the budget. Teams can evaluate a bunch of players, make decisions, and still stay within their salary cap. It’s a win-win.

For players, though, these contracts are kind of like an audition. Sure, it doesn’t guarantee anything, but it’s a foot in the door to show what they’ve got. For many, it’s the first step toward securing a regular-season roster spot, especially if they’ve been on the outside looking in before.

So… that’s Training Camp Contracts. Now, let’s circle back to the Valkyries’ first-ever signings.

Guess who’s leading the charge? Veteran forward Monique Billings. After being selected in the Expansion Draft, it was a no-brainer that she’d be one of the first signees. Still, some of you might be wondering, why to pick Billings in the expansion draft if Golden State Valkyries wasn’t planning to offer her a core contract. Well, that’s a bit odd. Most might have thought they’d make a core offer to secure her, considering other teams could jump in to negotiate with her. 

Billings is a solid player, no doubt, but she’s probably not the franchise superstar that the Valkyries were hoping for in free agency. The 28-year-old forward wrapped up her 2024 season with the Phoenix Mercury and spent her winter balling out in China for Guangdong in the WCBA.

But it seems they are happy to have her. As GM Ohemaa Nyanin said in the team’s statement, “Monique brings veteran experience and elite rebounding ability to our frontcourt. Her energy and physicality align perfectly with the style of play we’re building, and her seven years of WNBA experience will be invaluable to our inaugural team.”

Then, there’s Julie Vanloo and Veronica Burton—two more players selected in the expansion draft. But you know, the Natalie Nakase-coached Valkyries didn’t just take any players. They also took a few reserved players. For those not in the know, reserved players are those who’ve been in the league for at least three years. And in this scenario, the Valkyries have exclusive rights to them. 

If they want to play in the WNBA, they have to negotiate with the Golden State. So, for players like Burton and Vanloo, the Valkyries have a bit of leverage there. As for Cecilia Zandalasini? Well, she has only played one of the last six years she was eligible to play in the WNBA, so don’t expect to see her in a Valkyries uniform, either. You never know, though!

The rest of the players are confirmed to be in training camp, fighting for a spot on the team. So, how is the Golden State Valkyries going about shaping their roster?

Golden State Valkyries’ winning approach to roster building

The franchise is currently ‘the’ talk. After all, this is the first new team to join the WNBA since 2008. The initial 11-person roster announced back in December, was just the beginning. There’s a lot more to be done. Nakase, Ohemaa Nyanin, and vice president of basketball operations Vanja Černivec have been working behind the scenes, trying to balance all the moving pieces of roster construction while staying under that $1.5 million salary cap for 2025. 

After the expansion draft, the Valkyries ended up with just $305,595 in salary, giving them loads of cap space to play with heading into free agency—about $1.2 million, to be exact. If this sounds familiar, it’s because Nyanin did something similar with the New York Liberty. She and GM Jonathan Kolb set their sights on three major names. They went ahead, wrote them on a whiteboard, and landed all of them. It was a game-changing “hard reset” that turned the Liberty into the super team they are today.

And this time, too, she’s got her sights set on specific athletes who will align with the team’s values and culture. As she put it, “We are being a lot more thoughtful about which athletes we want to bring in and why, because our culture is going to be representative of them, and we want them to be active participants.”

Looking ahead, the Valkyries are eyeing several near-max contracts worth around $250,000 each. And not to forget the No. 5 pick in the 2025 draft, which comes with a $75,643 contract. The only issue currently has to be that the Golden State Valkyries have signed seven international players. And the catch is, the WNBA’s prioritization clause means many of these players might not suit up.

If these international stars want to play in the WNBA, they have to commit to training camp and the regular season. Or else they risk being suspended. So the Valkyries’ next moves will be critical. With all this, it’s going to be fascinating to see how they round out their roster. Can they build a contender in their inaugural season itself? Let’s see when they hit the court in May!