Mechelle Voepel asked Suzie McConnell Serio if getting the no. 1 pick in the college draft changed Minnesota's plans about which 6 players it would protect in the expansion draft.

"We haven't finalized it yet," McConnell Serio said. "We'll have to talk about it to see if anything has changed. But I know our first four or five [protected] players won't change."

McConnell Serio said the Lynx might be a player away. "Is the player we get at No. 1 that player? To not just make the playoffs, but have a viable option of winning the championship? That's what we hope." She nodded to consensus on the draft's top 4 players - LSU's Seimone Augustus, Rutger's Cappie Pondexter, Baylor's Sophia Young and Duke's Monique Currie.

Voepel guessed that most folks expect the Lynx to take Augustus or Pondexter, barring injury, and tossed out the names of some other seniors who could be high on the board when the Lynx cash in their second (no. 7) first-round pick.

Over at Reb's, PUMatty posted a 'Ridiculously Early Mock Draft', assigning Augustus to the Lynx at no. 1, and at no. 7, Texas Tech's Erin Grant.