SALT LAKE CITY -- Karl Malone will have a nice diversion Friday from questions about his future and his team's 2-0 deficit to Sacramento.

Malone expects his daughter, Cheryl Ford, to be selected in the WNBA draft.

"I've got a list of the teams, so I've got a good feeling of where she's going to go. I don't want to tell her though,'' Malone said.

"The whole way to practice this morning, she wouldn't get off the phone unless I told her. I told her I'm sworn to secrecy right now.''

Like Malone was nearly two decades ago, Ford is a Louisiana Tech star about to embark on a professional career. The 6-foot-3 center averaged 15.7 points and 12.9 rebounds as a senior and helped lead the Lady Techsters within one win of reaching the Final Four.

The WNBA draft is scheduled for Friday (ESPN2, 1 p.m. ET) after the approval of the collective bargaining agreement between the WNBA and its players was reached earlier that morning.

Ford's selection will take away some of the tedium for Malone during the four days off between games. Sacramento routed the Jazz 108-95 Monday night to take a 2-0 lead in the series. Game 3 will not be played until Saturday night.

Malone and the other Jazz starters were benched for the fourth quarter of Game 2, and the gloom lingered as the team returned to practice Wednesday.

But by Thursday, Malone had lightened up considerably -- especially when he was asked about Ford, his daughter from a teenage relationship.

"The WNBA draft is tomorrow, so I'll get some popcorn and watch that,'' Malone said. "We'll probably be some of the little groupies this summer. We'll catch three, four, five, six straight. We'll travel.''