With the expansion draft in the books, there are still four new teams in need of players -- to say nothing of 12 other WNBA teams. Where will they come from?

	Seattle picked up a solid player in Sonja Henning, who started all 32 games for the Comets in 1999.

Some will come from the annual player draft, scheduled for late-April. And more will apparently come from among the large number of former American Basketball League players who are working out and getting their hopes up that their careers haven't come to end.

But those players aren't going to be put into the draft, according to league officials.

The draft will be the domain of this year's college senior class -- a thin one, at that -- and those players who did not sign with the league last season -- hypothetical names like Teresa Edwards and Katrina McClain -- who would be put into the draft with the college players should they choose to sign with the league.

Players who were eligible for last year's draft (ie. those who signed a contract with the league) will be considered free agents.

Teams will be able to sign free agents during a signing period that will take place in April after the draft.

League sources explain it this way: Teams will notify the league of players they wish to sign, and the league will require those players to sign a contract. If more than one team is seeking the services of the same player, the league will determine where that player ends up. And those determinations will be made based on competitive considerations. Teams may also be asked to list the players they desire in the order of most-wanted to least. If Player X is No. 1 on one list and No. 3 on the other, she will likely to go the team that wants her the most.

The strangest part of this whole scenario is the fact that there will be no free-agent draft camp in which players can display their talents.

Team will be doing a lot of scouting and searching for the best talent and one has to presume that the teams and coaches with a more intimate knowledge of the women's games will know better which players are worth having.

That theory would seem to favor, for example, former ABL coaches Lin Dunn (Seattle), Linda Hargrove (Portland) and Anne Donovan (Indiana) over Miami coach Ron Rothstein.

Revisiting the expansion draft
The Seattle Storm did well, taking a good point guard and leader in Sonja Henning -- who played for Lin Dunn in Portland with the ABL -- and perhaps the best offensive player available in Edna Campbell. Angela Aycock is another former ABL player that Dunn is familiar with.

Meanwhile, Hargrove stocked up on guards with Jamila Wideman, Molly Goodenbour and Coquese Washington, no doubt to use as trade bait. Tari Phillips is a strong post presence -- good enough to build around -- while Alisa Burras is young but full of potential, and Hargrove would know, having drafted Burras for the ABL's Colorado Xplosion.

Indiana covered the basics. The Fire got size with Kara Wolters (although it remains to be seen whether she can play in this league considering her limited minutes with Houston last season), a proven point guard with Gordana Grubin and a hometown hero with Stephanie McCarty. It remains to be seen whether they got themselves the foundation for a competitive team. There are a lot of question marks here.

In the short term, Miami's got some problems. Sandy Brondello, taken from Detroit, is not expected to play this season, staying home to train with the Australian Olympic team. And there's a good chance that Russian star Elena Baranova won't be around, either. Debbie Black was a strong veteran pick, but her age is what made her expendable in Utah.

Michelle Smith of the San Francisco Examiner is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.