Valkyries general manager Ohemaa Nyanin speaks during a press conference following the WNBA Draft at Chase Center in San Francisco, on Monday, April 14, 2025.

Golden State Valkyries general manager Ohemaa Nyanin was bound to make headlines for the first trade in franchise history on Monday night. But she may have found a way to top the questionable trade with a bizarre press conference.

Nyanin spoke to the media after the WNBA Draft, when the Valkyries had the No. 8 pick in the draft and initially appeared to take LSU wing Flau’jae Johnson. The move excited Valkyries fans, both because Johnson was a standout defender and good 3-point shooter in college and because she gained immense popularity in college for her budding rap career.

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But around an hour after selecting Johnson, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced a trade that stunned folks both online and in the New York City audience: The Valkyries traded the rights to Johnson to the Seattle Storm for the rights to Marta Suarez, the player Seattle had taken with the first pick of the second round at No. 16 overall, as well as a 2028 second-round pick.

The deal was met with immediate uproar from Valkyries fans, who posted their shock on social media, particularly in the team’s comment sections. WNBA reporters and analysts also questioned the move, particularly after Johnson was viewed as such a perfect fit for coach Natalie Nakase’s system.

That set up Nyanin’s press conference, which was held on Zoom after the draft concluded. It’s the first time the general manager has spoken to the media in this whirlwind WNBA month, which has seen free agency get condensed into a single week before the draft. But the trade was the dominant question of the press conference, with a full transcript of the availability at Valkyries Beat.

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Nyanin initially said she was “going to take a beat to be able to eloquently give a response” about the trade. But after a comment on the week of free agency and three players they did draft, Nyanin declined to answer questions about the trade.

“I don’t have a lot of detail to share,” Nyanin 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. And what I can say is, even through all of this exhaustion, I’m extremely excited about all of the athletes that we’ve signed or about to sign.”

Another question focused on the salary cap permutations of the move — as in the new collective bargaining agreement, the No. 8 pick was set to make just under $40,000 more than a second-round pick. Nyanin’s answer: “I don’t talk or comment about salary cap, so wouldn’t be able to kind of answer the question in a way. So if you have a different question, I would happy be happy to answer that.”

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Nyanin brushed off a second follow-up question that focused on Johnson with a contradictory answer: “I would just say that when I’m ready to kind of speak more about what the strategy is behind it, I’ll speak on it. I’ll also say I don’t really speak about my strategy ever publicly, because all other teams are watching to see what our strategy is.”

In a twisted way, Nyanin may currently be a victim of her own success from last season. Golden State became the first WNBA expansion team to reach the playoffs last year and sold out every single home game. The buzz around the Valkyries in the Bay Area has only gotten louder since they arrived last year, but the attention also brings scrutiny.

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A trade that fans and media members are questioning would have been a time to explain the team’s rationale. Instead, Nyanin’s decision to decline to comment on the trade was heavily criticized on social media, both from fans and from media members all across the country.

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Nyanin apparently changed her mind and attempted to do some damage control in a late-night phone call with ESPN on Monday night. Her main clarification was that the deal was agreed to before players were selected, saying the trade had “nothing to do” with Johnson. Still, having to do that mere hours after she could have just said that exact thing in a press conference was a complete misfire for Nyanin and needlessly drew even more attention to the controversial trade. And that explanation isn’t stopping the criticism on Tuesday morning, either.

That spotlight likely won’t go away quickly either. Training camp begins Sunday, and the Storm are Golden State’s opponent for their lone preseason game at Chase Center on Saturday, April 25.

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