{"id":470090,"date":"2026-02-12T11:34:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T11:34:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/470090\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T11:34:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T11:34:17","slug":"valkyries-natalie-nakase-optimistic-amid-wnba-offseason-cba-negotiations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/470090\/","title":{"rendered":"Valkyries, Natalie Nakase optimistic amid WNBA offseason, CBA negotiations"},"content":{"rendered":"

OAKLAND \u2013 During a WNBA offseason with no end in sight<\/a>, Natalie Nakase<\/a> is treating the circumstances like business as usual.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Valkyries\u2019 coach is checking in on players \u2013 Veronica Burton and four other Valkyries<\/a> are currently playing in the Unrivaled League \u2013 and meeting with coaches to plan out every possible scenario.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The fact that there may not be a season as the league and the players\u2019 union have been unable to agree on a new collective bargaining agreement?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nakase was not unnerved by the uncertainty, at least publicly when asked about it on Tuesday at the Oakland screening of Warriors star Steph Curry\u2019s new movie, \u201cGOAT\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know me, what am I going to say? Control the controllables,\u201d Nakase said in perfect coach-speak. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t faze me, whether it\u2019s offseason or in season. We\u2019re preparing, and we\u2019re going to be prepared no matter what.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, standing next to her on the red carpet at Grand Lake Theater was Valkyries president Jess Smith, who expressed optimism that a new CBA will be agreed upon in time for the season, which is slated to start in May.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is really a big moment for the league and the players,\u201d Smith said. \u201cIt\u2019s something they have to get right, so we\u2018re confident they\u2019re going to continue to work towards.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Valkyries are coming off an inaugural season in which they shocked the basketball world by making the playoffs.<\/p>\n

Aside from her team responsibilities, it has been a busy offseason for 2025 WNBA Coach of the Year Nakase.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She has been involved in Warriors practices and seen spending time around the Boston Celtics, who are coached by her friend and mentor Joe Mazzulla.<\/p>\n

In March, she will be an assistant coach for Team USA during the 2026 FIBA Women\u2019s World Cup Qualifying Tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"GoldenGolden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase stands on the red carpet before the screening of \u201cGOAT\u201d at the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. The film, \u201cGOAT,\u201d a story about a young goat trying to make his way into professional sports, was produced by Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry. (Ray Chavez\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, on the business side of the operation, the Valkyries are operating as if the season \u2014 set to open May 8 in Seattle \u2014 will proceed, even as rules and dates for an expansion draft, free agency and the college draft remain unsettled.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last week, the WNBA sent the players\u2019 union its latest CBA counter-proposal<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Wednesday morning, the Valkyries announced that the team expects to play its one home preseason game on April 25 against the Seattle Storm.<\/p>\n

Should that game go on as scheduled, that would mean a new CBA has been reached and the team will have survived a free-agency frenzy. The majority of the WNBA\u2019s players are free agents this offseason.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Expect the Valkyries to be a factor in Year 2, whenever the madness begins.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are working every day, all day, and all scenarios (are accounted for),\u201d Smith said. \u201cSo we\u2019re ready and prepared for those moments.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"OAKLAND \u2013 During a WNBA offseason with no end in sight, Natalie Nakase is treating the circumstances like…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":470091,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[461,62657,49,3335,48,1612,62656,4245,62658,5886,62659,82,630],"class_list":{"0":"post-470090","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-bay-area","10":"tag-ca","11":"tag-california","12":"tag-canada","13":"tag-golden-state-valkyries","14":"tag-inside-sports","15":"tag-latest-headlines","16":"tag-peninsula","17":"tag-san-francisco","18":"tag-san-francisco-county","19":"tag-sports","20":"tag-wnba"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=470090"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470090\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/470091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=470090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=470090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=470090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}