Part owner Sue Bird breaks silence on controversy-stricken Seattle Storm's players going unpicked by Valkyries 

WNBA legend and Seattle Storm part-owner Sue Bird sees all of the jokes on social media surrounding the Golden State Valkyries passing up on an opportunity to draft a player from the team's roster. During the WNBA Expansion Draft last week, the Valkyries drafted 11 players, none of which came from the Seattle Storm.

The WNBA Expansion Draft was held just days after a third-party investigation into the Storm was concluded. Back in November, coaches were accused of mistreating players, which led to the team hiring a law firm to look into the allegations.

While the investigation concluded with the law firm finding no wrongdoing on the Storm's part, the Valkyries opted not to select any unprotected players from the Storm's roster.

On the latest episode of the "A Touch More" podcast, Bird spoke about the situation, explaining how the Valkyries could only select one unrestricted free agent, who wound up being Monique Billings, leaving the Storm's roster untouched.

"Nobody from the Storm got picked. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say they protected Jewell, Skylar, Ezi, Gabby, Jordan, and Nneka," Bird declared.

"Mercedes Russell, Sammy Wickham, Victoria Vivians, and Joiner Holmes. All of these players are unrestricted free agents... I don't view this as a slap in the face to Sades, Sammy, Vivians or Joiner at all it's just, 'Oh we chose Monique Billings for this,'" Bird added.

You can see the four-time WNBA champ's comments in the video above, beginning at the 11:30 mark.

"What you've been seeing online or reading is exactly what we have known," - Bird opens up on the Seattle Storm investigation

Over the past few weeks, there have been many questions regarding the investigation into the Storm. In addition to fans wanting to know the truth, there's been talk about how the whole situation may have impacted the team.

Although Bird is a part owner of the franchise, she stated on her and Megan Rapinoe's "A Touch More" podcast that she knows about as much as fans do.

“Obviously, Megan and I know what's been going on. You know, in the news around the Storm and the allegations and the investigations; and then of course the Chicago Sun Times reporting that Jewell is asking for a trade. We see it. We see you guys in our comments, wanting us to talk about it, but I think we're just gonna keep it real," Bird said.

"Like, I am a part of ownership, so there are just things that, at times, legally, I can't speak on. ... Basically what you’ve been seeing online or reading is exactly what we have known. But as an owner, I did want to have that investigation finished, did want to let the dust settle in a way before speaking on it publicly,” Bird added.

While, as Bird mentioned, Jewell Loyd has reportedly requested a trade heading into the final year of her deal, so far, there have been no updates regarding a potential trade. In the meantime, Loyd is gearing up to play in the inaugural season of Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier's Unrivaled 3x3 league, set to tip off in January.