Saturday's draft (noon ET, ESPN) is quickly approaching, and there's at least one team still negotiating to put together a major trade to secure a higher pick in the first round.

	Whalen

Ideally, Minnesota would like to send guard/forward Sheri Sam and 6-foot-5 post Janell Burse to Seattle in exchange for the Storm's sixth overall pick. If that happened, the Lynx would most likely then offer their two first-round picks, Nos. 6 and 7, to Charlotte for the third overall pick, where Minnesota would select point guard and hometown favorite Lindsay Whalen.

This could be a great trade for all teams involved. Seattle doesn't have a starting 3 right now, and there's also some concern that Kamila Vodichkova might not return. Burse would fill either of those concerns. Sam would also be a good fit in Seattle. Storm assistant Jenny Boucek coached Sam in Miami, and Sam's defense also is much improved after playing for the Sol under coach Ron Rothstein.

Though Charlotte coach Trudi Lacey is looking to add either Stanford's Nicole Powell or Whalen with the third pick, it will be very tough for the Sting coach to pass up on Minnesota's offer. Shameka Christon will probably be gone by the sixth pick, but Lacey can look at the possibility of adding Rebekkah Brunson and Chandi Jones with back-to-back picks. Everyone is very high on Brunson and Christon right now.

Seattle was also involved in another deal that reportedly fell through. Connecticut, which has the No. 4 pick, wanted to send Katie Douglas to the Storm for the sixth pick. But the Sun didn't have another player to add to the deal to make it juicy enough for Anne Donovan to give up No. 6.

Nancy Lieberman, an ESPN analyst and Hall of Famer, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com's women's basketball coverage. Contact her at www.nancylieberman.com.