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We know our players. As a Shock player, family is always 1st, winning is second. If you don't want to be in Tulsa, we have to move forward.
— Tulsa Shock (@tulsashock) February 23, 2013
After years of holding on to Deanna Nolan's rights, the Tulsa Shock have chosen to part ways with the five-time WNBA All-Star.
Naturally, all it took was former Detroit Shock coach Bill Laimbeer returning to the league with the New York Liberty.
In a deal that will feature a few professional and collegiate reunions, New York, Tulsa, and the Minnesota Lynx have agreed to a three team deal that will reunite Nolan with Laimbeer in New York as well as Janel McCarville with former University of Minnesota teammate Lindsay Whalen in Minneapolis.
The terms of the trade are as follow:
| Team | Gives: | Receives: |
| Minnesota | Candice Wiggins | Janel McCarville 2014 Tulsa pick |
| New York | Janel McCarville Nicole Powell 2013 draft pick |
Deanna Nolan 2013 Tulsa pick (15th) 2013 Tulsa pick (27th) |
| Tulsa | Deanna Nolan 2013 draft pick (15th) 2013 draft pick (27th) 2014 draft pick |
Nicole Powell Candice Wiggins 2013 N.Y. pick (29th) |
Nolan has been out of the league since the Shock moved from Detroit to Tulsa after the 2009 season, but the franchise has held her rights since. However, as reported by Love Women's Basketball last year, her contract with UMMC Ekaterinburg might have a clause that prevents her from playing in the WNBA that may need to be negotiated. Michigan Live reporter Josh Gordon has also reported on her interest in playing for the Russian National team as recently as December. The move not only reunites Nolan with Laimbeer, but also former Detroit teammates Kara Braxton, Plenette Pierson and recently-signed free agent Katie Smith.
McCarville has also been out of the league for a while, last appearing with the Liberty in the 2010 season. In a mid-February Q&A, Laimbeer suggested that McCarville was intrigued with playing for him with the Liberty. But clearly the opportunity to play with her former college teammate would be more intriguing.
I feel like I am on my way back to the U to play some college ballwith @lindsay_13 twitter.com/JanelMcCarvill…
— Janel McCarville (@JanelMcCarville) March 1, 2013
While contract details presumably needed to be worked out for McCarville and Nolan, Tulsa finally gets closure to that Detroit past: considering Nolan obviously had no intention of playing for them, getting a pair of players in return for her rights and draft picks is a huge boon. And this will also represent a college reunion of sorts: Wiggins and Shock forward Kayla Pedersen were teammates at Stanford and, for whatever it's worth, Powell left Stanford the year before Wiggins arrived.
Overall, there's a lot to dissect there, but for now, who do you think go the best of this trade? Vote in the poll below and feel free to leave any further thoughts in the comments.
To reiterate: Winning Championships is the reason our organization exists. In conjunction, family is always the top priority.
— Tulsa Shock (@tulsashock) February 23, 2013