Days forward of the 2025 WNBA commerce deadline (Aug. 7 at 3 p.m. ET), the league-leading Minnesota Lynx made a big swing to try to bolster their title probabilities. Early on Sunday, the Lynx despatched Diamond Miller, Karlie Samuelson and a 2027 second-round choose to the Dallas Wings for 2024 Most Improved Participant DiJonai Carrington.
Sunday’s commerce comes because the Lynx await phrase on the severity of Napheesa Collier’s ankle harm, which occurred late of their 53-point win over the Las Vegas Aces on Saturday. Whereas the Lynx maintain their breath on the MVP frontrunner’s standing, let’s grade the commerce for each groups.
Napheesa Collier injury update: Lynx star and WNBA MVP frontrunner out at least two weeks with ankle sprain
Jack Maloney
To summarize:
Lynx obtain DiJonai Carrington
Wings obtain Diamond Miller, Karlie Samuelson, 2027 second-round choose
Lynx grade: B
The Lynx have been one of the best workforce within the league this season. They beat the Las Vegas Aces by 53 on Saturday to enhance to 24-5, have a six-game lead over the New York Liberty within the race for the No. 1 seed and rank first in offensive score (110.1), defensive score (95.1) and web score (plus-15.0).
As constructed, the Lynx had greater than sufficient to compete for a title, however coach and president of basketball operations Cheryl Reeve — who has come beneath fireplace after Collier suffered the ankle harm whereas the workforce was up by 43 towards the Aces — didn’t hesitate on the probability so as to add extra expertise.
Carrington had one of the best season of her profession in 2024, when she received Most Improved Participant, was named to the All-Defensive First Group and completed fourth in Defensive Participant of the Yr voting. An offseason commerce to the Dallas Wings didn’t pan out, nevertheless, and Carrington struggled to search out her footing. She was faraway from the beginning lineup after 12 video games and didn’t make the defensive impression the Wings have been anticipating.
It isn’t as if Carrington’s defensive talents immediately disappeared, and you’d count on her to get again to her greatest in Minnesota. Reeve is without doubt one of the greatest defensive coaches ever, and the workforce has terrific infrastructure on that facet of the ball. Carrington will give them one other choice to throw at opponents’ greatest perimeter gamers within the postseason.
The massive query with the commerce is how Carrington will match within the Lynx’s five-out offensive system that emphasizes ball-movement and taking pictures. During the last two seasons, the Lynx have been borderline unguardable as a result of everybody they placed on the courtroom can shoot, which areas the ground, and make choices with the ball of their arms, which permits them to reap the benefits of the spacing.
Carrington is a profession 28.1% 3-point shooter and has made 26% of her makes an attempt this season. She’s additionally by no means had an help price larger than 12.9%, and has had an assist-to-turnover ratio under one in 4 of her 5 seasons. In her 20 video games with the Wings this season, she had 36 assists and 49 turnovers.
Come playoff time, groups will be capable to ignore Carrington, which is able to muck up the Lynx’s offense when she’s on the courtroom. Will Carrington’s protection be robust sufficient to make the trade-off worthwhile? Towards sure matchups, presumably, however the Lynx have already got one of the best protection within the league, and it is laborious to overstate how unhealthy Carrington has been on offense this season.
Carrington’s accolades from final season will counsel that it is a greater acquisition than it really is for the Lynx. For the worth, although, it is price a swing.
Karlie Samuelson is out for the season with a foot harm and a second-round choose in 2027 is meaningless for the Lynx. There is definitely an opportunity they remorse giving up on Diamond Miller, however it’s clear that Reeve did not belief the previous No. 2 general choose. The Lynx are attempting to win a title this season, and Carrington offers them a greater probability to do this than Miller, even when the latter might find yourself being a greater participant years down the road.
Wings grade: A
After a disastrous, injury-filled 2024 season, the Wings overhauled the entrance workplace, teaching employees and roster in the course of the winter. Curt Miller got here in as common supervisor, Chris Koclanes was employed as coach and so they added greater than half a dozen new gamers, together with No. 1 general choose Paige Bueckers and veterans NaLyssa Smith, Myisha Hines-Allen and Carrington.
The Wings hoped to get again to the playoffs this season whereas additionally constructing for the longer term. As a substitute, they began 1-11 and main questions have been raised about Koclanes’ potential to be a head coach. Whereas Bueckers has been as marketed and her fellow rookie guards Aziaha James and JJ Quinerly have had some vibrant moments, this has been a irritating season in Dallas.
One of many few issues the Wings have achieved nicely this season is act decisively when it turned obvious they have been going nowhere. Again in June, Miller despatched Smith to the Las Vegas Aces for a 2027 first-round choose. He is continued the teardown with this deal that sends Carrington to the Lynx for Miller, a former lottery choose. Samuelson was included to make the cash work and an additional draft choose is rarely a nasty factor, however this deal was about buying Diamond Miller.
After a promising rookie season in 2023, Miller needed to endure knee surgical procedure early final season. By the point she was wholesome, the Lynx had established themselves as title contenders and now not had time to concentrate on Miller’s improvement. Since getting back from that harm, Miller performed 20-plus minutes simply 3 times.
There’s clearly nonetheless a participant there. When Miller did get an opportunity to play, she typically carried out. Within the 4 video games she acquired at the very least quarter-hour of taking part in time on this season, she averaged 9.5 factors on 76.5% taking pictures, 1.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists. Her exterior taking pictures stays a priority, which is without doubt one of the causes she did not get a lot of an opportunity in Minnesota, however she has the dimensions and athleticism to be a novel two-way pressure on the wing. In Dallas, she’ll get an actual probability to show herself.
That is one other wonderful midseason commerce by Miller. Carrington was underperforming and was going to be an unrestricted free agent within the winter. Flipping her for Miller, who’s beneath workforce management by way of the 2026 season, may very well be a pivotal second within the Wings’ rebuild round Bueckers.