Friday links: Tough loss for the Mystics is a positive experience for a new fan, Yolanda Griffith on the move, and the NBA Draft

Since the 2013 NBA Draft occurred last night, I'm admittedly a bit behind on WNBA links today - my beloved Golden State Warriors managed to buy their way into the draft and made a whirlwind of moves that I was trying to keep up with at Golden State of Mind.

But anyway, with the NBA Draft circus dying down, I'm turning my attention back to the WNBA in advance of this evening's games.

• Mark Giannotto of the Washington Post reports that Washington Mystics star Ivory Latta probably wasn't able to sleep last night after the team's fourth straight loss. But they'll have to shake it off quickly: they're right back at it tonight in Atlanta. Read more >>>
• Travis Waldron of Think Progress was at the Mystics game last night with some of his colleagues to see Mercury star Brittney Griner, but left realizing that the league has far more talent than Griner alone (including Candice Dupree, who he had never heard of). The two takeaways from the game for him: putting the future of the league on the rookie's shoulders to heavy a burden to bear and basketball fans who simply love the sport can appreciate the WNBA even more if they take in a game. Read more >>>
• Lanel Chambers of the Gary Crusader reports that a back injury will sideline Indiana Fever guard Katie Douglas for "several more weeks" while Tamika Catchings is listed as day-to-day. This team needs to get some good news at some point. Read more >>>
• UTSports.com had a summary of ESPY "Best WNBA Player" nominees Tamika Catchings and Candace Parker. Who do you think should win? To vote - and maybe give the Fever some good news? - visit ESPN.com/ESPYS. Read more >>>
  
• Christian Mordi of Slam Online has some MVP rankings up and has Atlanta Dream wing and ESPY nominee Angel McCoughtry at the top of the list. The major surprise in my opinion is the ranking of Cappie Pondexter as sixth. Read more >>>
• Jayda Evans of the Seattle Times reports that the Seattle Storm's ticket sales are struggling with stars Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson out for the season. Their 4, 579 fans on June 18 against the Mystics was their fewest fans since 2004. Without Bird around, the Storm are using Tanisha Wright as "the face of the team". Read more >>>
• The Allentown Morning Call reports that former Olympian and WNBA All-Star Yolanda Griffith has joined the Lafayette women's basketball staff after spending the last two seasons as an assistant at Dartmouth. Griffith will continue the role she had at Dartmouth: developing post players. Read more >>>
• SB Nation continues to show off the breadth of its new media tools with a slick draft grades page with links to reaction from each SBN-NBA site (including my responses to the Golden State Warriors' "bewildering series of moves" that resulted in a player I had no idea they were interested in). Check it out. Read more >>>
• Nilay Patel of SB Nation's The Verge chronicled Orlando Magic selection Victor Oladipo's draft day experience wearing Google Glass. As much as it is a cool ad for Google Glass - that was exclusive to SB Nation - it's also a cool way to see a view of the draft from a top prospect's perspective. Read more >>>

• Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reported on the role of third pick Otto Porter's family in helping him develop as a player, including his mother Elnora who was a star at Scott County Central High School in Missouri and, "...led the Bravettes to the first of seven girls state titles." I have been trying to figure out if his mom pursued basketball after high school to no avail, but it was one of the draft day stories that stood out. Orlando chose to pass on Porter in favor of Oladipo. Read more >>>

Obviously, there are probably other links of interest out there that I've missed so feel free to drop them in the comments below or create a fan post if you have extended thoughts on a subject.