A draft of the players for the defunct Sacramento Monarchs will be held on Dec. 14 with the Connecticut Sun getting to pick third. Unfortunately, Nicole Powell and Rebekkah Brunson figure to be headed to New York and Minnesota leaving the Sun to pick between DeMya Walker, Courtney Paris and Laura Harper.

What this does mean is that the Sun will move up and get the No. 2 overall pick. Originally slated to pick third, Connecticut was in a position of hoping that either UConn's Tina Charles or Jayne Appel of Stanford would drop to them. With Sacramento, which was slated to pick second, out of the way, the Sun will get to take either Charles or Appel.

New York has the top pick in the dispersal draft followed by Minnesota, which also happens to have the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft.

Another ramification of the Monarchs' demise is that Minnesota will figure to stay in the Western Conference. There was some chatter about Minnesota moving to the Eastern Conference now that the Detroit Shock franchise was being relocated in Tulsa, Oklahoma. My guess is that Atlanta, Chicago, Connecticut, Indiana, New York and Washington will make up the Eastern Conference with Los Angeles, Minnesota, Phoenix, San Antonio, Seattle and Tulsa comprising the Western Conference. That is good news for the Sun as a Minnesota team featuring Seimone Augustus, Candice Wiggins, Nicky Anosike, ex-UConn stars Renee Montgomery and Charde Houston to go with either Powell or Brunson and either Charles or Appel as well as another lottery pick could be downright nasty. If Minnesota stays in the West, that's one less team Connecticut needs to contend with for a playoff spot.

My last thought on this matter is actually a question of whether the Tulsa franchise will look to make a splash with the fan base by trading up in the dispersal draft to get Paris, a four-time All-American at Oklahoma. If they are willing, I would think the Sun wouldn't be afraid to make a deal especially if Powell and Brunson are gone. Tulsa currently holds the No. 7 pick in the dispersal draft. It should be noted that Kara Lawson, Ticha Penicheiro and Hamchetou Maiga-Ba are unrestricted free agents and not eligible to be selected in the dispersal draft.

Right on cue, here are some quotes from Connecticut Sun general manager Chris Sienko from Sun PR guru Bill Tavares (although the final call on who to pick or whether to trade will be made by head coach Mike Thibault, who handles all the team's personnel decision).

"It is unfortunate that the league has lost such a valuable franchise in Sacramento, but the circumstances are understandable and certainly not unprecedented in this economic climate," Sienko said.

"There are some very talented players on the Sacramento roster. However, we need to evaluate what our options might be with regard to whether we use the pick, or to trade it."