LOS ANGELES — Sparks head coach Curt Miller is the right person to bring the franchise their first No. 1 pick since 2012 on Sunday because he’s the team’s good luck charm, according to the team’s chief administrative officer and general manager Karen Bryant.
“He is our leader on the court,” Bryant said. “I think Curt is also a very excitable guy and he’s super committed to what we’re doing here out in L.A.
“He’s anxious to get to work and anxious to figure out who he’s going to be coaching and who he’s going to battle with, so we just felt like him being out there and continuing to advocate for what we’re doing out here with our build and just talk a little bit about the direction of the team, so he’s our good luck charm for sure.”
For those reasons, Miller will represent the Sparks when the WNBA draft lottery airs live at 1:30 p.m. PST Sunday on ESPN from Bristol, Connecticut. The winner of the lottery will secure the No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, which is scheduled to take place April 15, 2024, eight days after the NCAA championship game.
According to the ESPN 2024 WNBA mock draft, Iowa senior point guard Caitlin Clark is projected to be the No. 1 pick and UConn junior point guard Paige Bueckers is projected go second. Stanford senior forward Cameron Brink is projected to go third, the pick for which the Sparks currently hold the best odds. South Carolina senior center Kamilla Cardoso is projected to be the fourth pick.
“We’re excited about one through four, but certainly that No. 1 pick, you’re in full control,” Bryant said. “You have the opportunity to be really aggressive in your recruiting efforts because you know you’re in the driver’s seat with that first spot and you also don’t have to have as much contingency plans because you’re not following behind other teams and trying to have to factor in what they might do.”
However, there’s uncertainty around those top prospects because they have up…
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