Marta Suarez Waived After Golden State Swaps Flau'jae Johnson

The Golden State Valkyries waived Marta Suarez after trading flau'jae johnson for her on draft night. The move trimmed part of a preseason roster purge, but it still left the team with one more cut to make from a 13-player roster.

Golden State roster purge

Golden State also waived Miela Sowah, Ashlon Jackson, Mariella Fasoula, Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda and Cate Reese. That brought the total to six players cut in the preseason sweep, with Marta Suarez the most recognizable name because of the draft-night swap that brought her in.

The Valkyries’ roster math was still not finished after the cuts. They had 13 players on the roster and still needed to make one more move before the group was set.

Flau'jae Johnson trade return

The draft-night trade for flau'jae johnson is the move that put Suarez on the board in the first place, and now it has ended with her off the roster before the preseason job was done. Golden State had already locked in six guaranteed contracts for Tiffany Hayes, Kayla Thornton, Veronica Burton, Kaila Charles, Gabby Williams and Kiah Stokes.

That left a narrow lane for the rest of the roster. Iliana Rupert, Janelle Salaün and Cecilia Zandalasini were expected to take up three roster spots, while Juste Jocyte was the Valkyries’ first-ever first-round draft pick.

Kaitlyn Chen, Kate Martin

With the cuts made, Kaitlyn Chen, Kate Martin and Laeticia Amihere were the three players most likely at risk of being waived next. Golden State had also not filled its two development spots, so the final roster picture still had room for one more cut and two more openings.

For Suarez, the turn was quick: traded in on draft night, then waived in the preseason purge. For the Valkyries, the bigger roster question is now less about who they added than which names survive the final round of trimming.