The WNBA expansion drafts will be a highlight of the offseason, as the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo are set to enter the league in the upcoming campaign. If (or, perhaps, when) the WNBA and the players' union come to terms on a new CBA, it will be full steam ahead for the expansion drafts, which will allow teams to protect just five players.In a piece published Thursday, ESPN's Kevin Pelton predicted that the All-Star trio of Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, and Kelsey Mitchell are shoo-ins for the Indiana Fever's list of protected players. Lexie Hull, a restricted free agent who stepped up in Indiana's injury-riddled 2025 season, is also projected to be on that list.That leaves just one more spot; according to Pelton, it will go to Makayla Timpson, who played 31 games as a rookie this past season.As such, the following players could go unprotected in the expansion drafts: backcourt talents Sophie Cunningham, Sydney Colson, Chloe Bibby, Aari McDonald, and Kristi Wallace; and frontcourt stalwarts Damiris Dantas and Brianna Turner. Meanwhile, Natasha Howard is ineligible to be taken by other teams, as she has already exceeded her "core" designation in her career.Though Cunningham endeared herself to the Fever fanbase last season, Pelton predicts the team will leave her unprotected."They can protect all three players on rookie contracts plus Mitchell and restricted free agent Hull," Pelton wrote. "Unless an expansion team sees Cunningham as a core candidate, that would leave them choosing between a pair of unprotected Aussies, Bibby and Wallace."All this uncertainty will be settled once a new CBA is in place and the WNBA gives the green light for the expansion drafts to get underway.WNBA Expansion: Former Caitlin Clark teammate projected to be unprotected by ValkyriesDuring the offseason heading into the 2025 season, the Las Vegas Aces left Kate Martin unprotected, giving the Golden State Valkyries the opportunity to secure her services. Martin, who played alongside Clark during their college days at Iowa, is also projected by Pelton to not make the protected list in the upcoming expansion drafts.According to Pelton, the Valkyries will likely protect Veronica Burton, Iliana Rupert, Janelle Salaun, Juste Jocyte, and Kayla Thornton."Burton, Rupert and Salaun are locks as the team's best three under-25 players, and last season's No. 5 pick Jocyte is a big part of the Valkyries' future despite not coming to the WNBA last season," Pelton wrote. "Having earned All-Star honors as Golden State's leading scorer at 14.0 points, Thornton is a legitimate core candidate."Aside from Martin, the likes of Temi Fagbenle and Tiffany Hayes are also expected to make the list of unprotected players.