Swish Appeal - 2013-14 Connecticut Sun offseason: Alex Bentley acquired from Atlanta, Kara Lawson sent to WashingtonBasketball is basketball.https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/49391/swish-fave.png2014-05-17T11:00:03-04:00http://www.swishappeal.com/rss/stream/49686672014-05-17T11:00:03-04:002014-05-17T11:00:03-04:00Liberty takes opener on the road
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<figcaption>Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE</figcaption>
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<p><strong>Just the Facts, Ma'am:</strong> It was a slow start for the visiting Liberty, but the intensity picked up in the second half in their 75-54 win at Connecticut. Cappie Pondexter led New York with 17 points, while Anna Cruz added 11 with nine rebounds. Chiney Ogwumike led Connecticut with 13 points and was one of four players to notch a team-high five rebounds.</p>
<p>For excitement, the magic touch, cheap heat, friendly staffers, odd smells, decoration, sexy jerseys, and leaping to conclusions, join your intrepid and humid blogger after the jump.
</p> <p>SQUEE! SEASON!</p>
<p>Yes, as a matter of fact, that has pretty much been your intrepid blogger's rallying cry for the last week or so. I have never claimed to be 100% eloquent and erudite at all times.</p>
<p>I'm currently sitting in the box office lobby at Mohegan Sun, as we finished dinner somewhat earlier than I anticipated, so I'm killing time with some pre-game notes. We've already seen some of the Usual Suspects, and more might come out of the woodwork. I've decided to forego wearing the Lobo jersey to Sun games- rocking the Kym Hampton #34 these days. I don't want anyone to even consider that I might have Connecticut sympathies. Not anymore. Just because they have four straight first-round picks of ours, that doesn't mean I have to like them.</p>
<p>Connecticut's pretty in the spring. Lots of young trees growing tall in the woods on the side of the road. You can take that as symbolic of Ogwumike, Thomas, et al if you like.</p>
<p>Every time the bus swoops into the garage, I think wistfully of Margo. The clearance is 7'2", and I always thought they should have had cutouts of her by the entrance to the garage.</p>
<p>Mohegan is currently hosting the Connecticut Republican convention. There are lots of very intent people in stars and stripes and red, white, and blue walking around with large passes about their necks. I don't know what to think of this. I guess it's just a thing. (Unfortunately, the drunken idiot who yelled "AMERICA!" at us and tried to high-five my husband was not affiliated with them. I think he was drunk, saw the word "LIBERTY" emblazoned on our chests, and assumed that we were about to begin a <i>Team America: World Police</i> segment.)</p>
<p>So as a Liberty fan, that was a very satisfying game. There are a couple of questions remaining, but not as many as we expected. Of course, this could change from game to game.</p>
<p>Young Mohegan staff tonight, and they were all really nice. Of course, we made an effort to be nice to them- when you're a fan on the road, always be nice to the arena people. You're in their house, you play by their rules. Special thanks to Brittany from security, who grabbed my backpack out of bag check while we were on the autograph line, and John who was willing to help us out with our unfortunate plight of sitting next to a gentleman marinating in the aroma of stale urine, old sweat, and cheap beer.</p>
<p>Really whiny anthem. The singer didn't have the voice to carry off any of the big notes. At least she got the words right.</p>
<p>Mohegan finally got a center-hung scoreboard! It is shiny. Works pretty well, too, which is always a plus for new shinies.</p>
<p>Toni Young played a little, mostly in the first half, and did not impress- she continues to be remarkably athletic, but with no basketball acumen or demonstrable unique skills. Chucky Jeffery had a pretty good game in the second half, depite the PA guy initially calling her Chucky Jefferson. She ran a little bit of point and hit a couple of sweet jumpers. Sugar Rodgers should not ballhandle, ever, unless your other options are Kara Braxton or a literal shambling corpse. She has a very uncontrolled dribble. She's showing a lot of hustle, but it's not always translating into good plays. She made a great defensive play on the baseline to recover a loose ball, then promptly bounced it off the top of her sneaker- that kind of thing. I think she's meant to be an instant offense player, and whatever else she brigns to the table is gravy, but she got really, really open a couple of times and no one saw her. Also, plans that involve Sugar and Chucky on the floor together are bad plans. We got away with it tonight, but I don't think they go well together. Kara Braxton showed a lot of hustle and fire on defense, more than I've seen from her in a long time. I think Bill might have preferred to see her pull down those balls she batted around, but she fought for loose balls and got them to her teammates. I don't actually know if I've ever seen her hustle after missed shots like that. She kept two or three plays alive. She and Sugar actually had a nice rapport. Alex Montgomery was a demon on the defensive end, flying after shots- she had a resounding deflection on a pass meant for Chiney Ogwumike that had all the force of a blocked shot. She was hot early on offense- I hope the corner three was a harbinger of things to come. It was good to see Plenette Pierson back on the floor, even if she does have the Creature from the Black Lagoon attached to her knee like a limpet. More importantly, it was good to <i>hear</i> her back on the floor- her leadership is very vocal, and she plays a big part in making sure the newcomers find their place on the floor. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if she ended up a coach someday.</p>
<p>¡Anna Cruuuuuuuuuuuuz! She was awesome tonight. She kept a steady hand on the offense, for the most part (there were a couple of boneheaded passes to players in white jerseys). She hassled ballhandlers and came up with some nice boards. I don't think we're going to get this kind of offensive production from her every night (though I am TOTALLY OKAY with that), but if we get half of that from her at the PG spot, I think we'll be ahead of where we expected to be. Plus, Giant fans will have more opportunities to unleash the CRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUZ. DeLisha Milton-Jones had the outside shot working a little bit, but also got up inside with the long arms for inside baskets and three-point plays. She also made life miserable for any Sun player who was around her (to be honest, I thought she should have gotten fouled for hitting Douglas in the face). Kelsey Griffin should know better, and Kelsey Bone should <i>definitely</i> know better. Cappie Pondexter was smooth and efficient. I don't mean to resurrect and rekill a dead horse here, but she's much more suited to the 2- less pressure on her to make plays for everyone else, more of a chance to get to the basket or pop the midrange J. Essence Carson was still a step slower than we're used to from her, and still seems to have trouble with the various lines on the floor (though she did have one perfectly timed long ball: "Five! Four! Threeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-point goal, Esssenccccceeeeeeee Carson!" Defensively she's still strong and still game, but as Bill said, we probably won't see her back 100% on offense until 2015. Tina Charles started a little slow, but was more assertive later in the game. She's still taking some dumb shots- long jumpers that she has no business shooting, forced shots while triple-teamed (isn't that what you whinged your way out of Connecticut to avoid?), that kind of thing. I think some of the alley-oops to Kara were practice for throwing those to Tina.</p>
<p>It's humid out here, pouring down rain as we head south on I-95. The A/C is at that awkward stage where it's just cold enough to be uncomfortable, but not conditioning enough to dehumidify as much as necessary. Something's pounding on the right side of my head, but there are still Game Notes to note. Plus, turning off the light seems to have helped with the headache. Go figure.</p>
<p>Kelley Cain played solid defense for the few minutes that she was in, but good Lord, she could not throw it in the ocean. She tried to use the glass like she was Tim Duncan, but she wasn't even Jessica Davenport. Danielle McCray had a tendency to sneak into the game without proper introduction, and I can't remember a thing she did. Kayla Pedersen put in work on the boards, but that was about it. Renee Montgomery was out there, and ran the offense decently, but she seemed less integrated into the scoring portion of the offense than I would have expected. I feel like Donovan is trying to turn her into more of a distributor, and I'm not sure how effective that is with her skillset and style of play. Then again, she's a more capable ballhandler than most of their other guards. Kelsey Bone played very well- got some strong baskets down low and cleared space. She got most of her scoring done early, though. Alyssa Thomas seemed to be relying heavily on her strength- she's very solidly built, and bulled through several of her baskets, but at the same time, kept trying to fight through heavy contact instead of maybe taking a step back or passing the ball to one of her teammates.</p>
<p>I think Katie Douglas left her shots in the preseason. They weren't looking for her a lot, but she didn't deliver when they were. A fair amount of it was the Liberty defense, especially in the second and third quarters, when the game turned. She might actually have been stronger defensively tonight (which is not to say that Katie Douglas being strong on defense is a surprise). Chiney Ogwumike was excellent tonight, though I thought she hit more shots than she actually did. She gives almost as good as she gets down low- she's not a Bad Girl, but she can grab and hold as well as any savvy veteran down there. Kelsey Griffin got two early fouls and never seemed to have her head in the game after that. Alex Bentley took a lot of shots and committed stupid fouls. I'm not sure how much she facilitated her team's offense. During the preseason, a lot of that fell to Allison Hightower, but Hightower was more focused on defense- she did a lot of deflecting and a lot of running around after Cappie and Essence.</p>
<p>Connecticut's defense was really good to start the game, and showed strong flashes afterwards- but their offense was a hot mess. They missed easy shots, and took some bad ones. I don't think they were ready for the Liberty's big run.</p>
<p>I know Katie was trying to get over with the Connecticut crowd, but really, referring to her years in Indiana with "I took a sabbatical for a few years"? You won a title there, Katie. Do try not to downplay it quite so much.</p>
<p>I think it's a bit of a shame Faris didn't get into the game at the very end. Don't get me wrong, I think there are ulterior motives for her continued presence on the roster, but if you've got the cards, play the cards.</p>
<p>I'm really not sure what to think of Katie Smith with her hair down, black patent heels, and a little black dress. (Other than that, from our upper deck seats, with her hair down like that, at the angle we were at, she looked weirdly like Kim Barnes Arico, and I know that it's blasphemy to compare a Wolverine and a Buckeye. Fortunately, Katie talks with her hands a lot more than Kim. Kim just yells a lot.)</p>
<p>I loved the intensity that the Liberty showed from the second quarter on. They got down a little, then they fired it up and kept the heat on even with the reserves in the game. If we can keep this up, even a little, we'll be fine.</p>
<p>Of course, the two most decked out Liberty fans in the entire arena are sitting in the autograph section. So we grabbed our tickets and Moooose, and Kelly Faris and Alyssa Thomas were kind enough to take a picture with Moooose, which will be posted somewhere on the Internet once my computer decides to acknowledge my memory card. We also bought a pin to add to Moooose's headband.</p>
<p>Looking forward to the home opener!</p>
https://www.swishappeal.com/2014/5/17/5725928/connecticut-sun-vs-new-york-liberty-final-score-pondexter-spearheads-strong-liberty-winQueenie2014-05-08T17:00:46-04:002014-05-08T17:00:46-04:00Connecticut Sun beats New York Liberty, 60-44<h3 class="link-title"><a rel="nofollow" href="/rss/stream/5307189">Connecticut Sun beats New York Liberty,&nbsp;60-44</a></h3>
<div class="description"><p><p>Not the best way to start out things at the Garden. Queenie will have your recap soon.</p></p></div>
https://www.swishappeal.com/2014/5/8/5696450/connecticut-sun-beats-new-york-liberty-60-44Albert Lee2014-04-15T00:00:02-04:002014-04-15T00:00:02-04:00Sun trade Charles, take Ogwumike first overall
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<figcaption>The Connecticut Sun may no longer have Tina Charles, but these three rookies are definitely capable of filling the void. | NBA Images</figcaption>
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<p>Connecticut selects Stanford star Chiney Ogwumike with the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft and trades Tina Charles to the New York Liberty for Kelsey Bone and the rights to Alyssa Thomas.</p> <p>UNCASVILLE, Conn. – The Connecticut Sun went 10-24 in 2013. It was a miserable season for a team with no chemistry. It was obvious that change needed to come, and not just by trading Kara Lawson and adding Katie Douglas.</p>
<p>The Sun made a major splash during Monday's WNBA Draft at Mohegan Sun Arena, trading 2012 MVP Tina Charles to the New York Liberty and a 2015 third round pick for Kelsey Bone, a 2015 first round pick and the rights to Monday's fourth overall pick, Alyssa Thomas.</p>
<p>Connecticut had the No. 1 pick in the 2014 draft, which it used on Stanford star Chiney Ogwumike, and then added Duke's Chelsea Gray at No. 11 and Kentucky's DeNesha Stallworth at No. 25.</p>
<p>Vice president and general manager Chris Sienko said that Charles' agent told them about two weeks ago that the former UConn star would not be playing for the Sun this season.</p>
<p>"It's very vague to us," Sienko said. "She had said that she wanted a change of scenery last year. Then we visited her and it was all about, 'I just want to win.' So we put together all the pieces that she wanted and that we felt were important to us anyways. So we didn't change our team because of Tina, but we made changes that were important to our team.</p>
<p>"And ultimately after that, her agent said that Tina just wants to go home; it's not about winning. I said, 'Well, what happened to the winning part of the equation?' And she said that she was willing to forego winning for a few years to be back in New York, which, you know - I think that's a copout."</p>
<p>The Liberty open the 2014 season on May 16. The opener, Charles' expected debut, is at Mohegan Sun Arena against Connecticut.</p>
<p>In her first season in the WNBA, Bone, a national champion at Texas A&M, appeared in 34 games for the Liberty, averaging 6.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.</p>
<p>Both Bone and Thomas, a three-time All-American and ACC Player of the Year at Maryland, will provide depth for the Sun in the frontcourt. Thomas averaged 19 points and 10.9 rebounds, leading Maryland to the Final Four as a No. 4 seed.</p>
<p>"As it stands, I think we ended up getting really good value out of the trade," Connecticut head coach Anne Donovan said. "But is it something that we were trying to make happen? We were not the drivers of that trade. Tina and New York were the ones that were in the driver seat there, but I think we did pretty well with what we got."</p>
<p>Charles' decision to leave did not have an affect on the Sun's draft strategy with the No. 1 pick, as they were always planning to take Ogwumike, a three-time First Team All-American for Stanford.</p>
<p>"(Charles) knew we were selecting Chiney," Sienko said. "It would have been an unbelievable duo, but ultimately, we move on. That's our job as an organization."</p>
<p>Ogwumike had by far her best season for Stanford during the 2013-14 season, averaging 26.1 points, 12.1 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game, leading Stanford back to the Final Four, where they lost to UConn.</p>
<p>Her sister, Nneka, was the No. 1 overall pick in 2012 by the Los Angeles Sparks. The only siblings to ever both go No. 1 are Peyton and Eli Manning.</p>
<p>"To be picked number one, in front of the Connecticut fans, with my family and with my sister; it's unreal," Ogwumike said.</p>
<p>With their third pick in the first round, Connecticut took a chance on Gray, who has had a history of knee issues at Duke, including an injury in January that will keep her out for this season.</p>
<p>Gray will spend the summer in California working out and preparing to join the Sun next season, but she will be taking every opportunity she can get to watch Connecticut during trips to the West Coast.</p>
<p>"I'm excited; it's a blessing," Gray said. "I'm going to rehab as hard as I can to get back on the court and just get this knee strong so we have no lingering issues."</p>
<p>Donovan does not call this a transition phase for the Sun, despite the massive overhaul. The Sun reloaded, but winning is the expectation right away.</p>
<p>Douglas was with Connecticut for five years before spending the last six in Indiana, and she has always proven to be a leader as well as a star on the floor. Donovan said that Douglas did not come here to rebuild. She did hope that Charles would want to be part of what the Sun are planning to do with Douglas and Ogwumike, but she is excited about the direction of her team entering her second year on the bench.</p>
<p>"I'm disappointed (with Charles)," Donovan said, "but truthfully, you just have got to have people who are committed to winning and want to be here, and that didn't describe Tina anymore. She didn't want to be in Connecticut anymore, she didn't - made it clear.</p>
<p>"So moving forward, we're going to have players who want to be here and will put it all out on the line, night in and night out, and understand about preparing and how important preparation is for success. And I think all of that is going to translate into a really good team."</p>
<p><i>For more on analysis of the Sun's draft and trades, check out <a target="_blank" href="http://www.swishappeal.com/2013/12/12/5204626/wnba-draft-2014-top-pick-connecticut-sun-offseason">our Connecticut Sun offseason storystream</a>.</i></p>
https://www.swishappeal.com/2014/4/15/5615120/wnba-draft-2014-connecticut-sun-trade-tina-charles-chiney-ogwumikeTim Fontenault2014-04-14T22:32:39-04:002014-04-14T22:32:39-04:00Round 3, Pick 1: Sun select DeNesha Stallworth
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<p>With the first pick of the third and final round, the Connecticut Sun selected Kentucky's DeNesha Stallworth.</p>
<p>We're also to the point where it's appropriate to plagiarize myself. From<a target="_blank" href="http://www.swishappeal.com/2014/3/27/5552054/wnba-draft-prospects-2014-ncaa-womens-basketball-tournament-notre-dame"> a pre-tournament post on Stallworth</a>:</p>
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<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph33">Stallworth's stats essentially put her right on the edge of being a pretty solid WNBA prospect: she's not an extremely efficient scorer, but not so inefficient that she's an non-prospect and her three point range might help her; she's not an outstanding rebounder (9% offensive rebounding percentage), but not so poor that it can be considered a weakness; she's not a great free throw shooter, but gets to the free throw line often enough that it shows an ability to play strong around the basket (in one of the best defensive conferences in the nation).</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph34">The major weakness is his her rather low pure point rating (-6.29), but even that moreso reflects the fact that she picks up assists so infrequently rather than a major turnover problem. What will be most interesting is to see who shows interest in her on draft day and how they work with her to refine her game for WNBA competition.</p>
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<p>Not really mentioned there, is that she's obviously developed an increasing comfort with shooting the ball from long distance since leaving Cal after her freshman year and with the team the Sun have assembled, that could be an asset for her.</p>
https://www.swishappeal.com/2014/4/14/5615502/2014-wnba-draft-round-3-pick-1-connecticut-sun-denesha-stallworthNate P2014-04-14T21:51:28-04:002014-04-14T21:51:28-04:00Round 2, Pick 6: Dream select Inga Orekhova
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p>Atlanta Dream drafts Ukrainian wing Inga Orekhova 18th overall <a href="http://t.co/ur8nyVXQxU">http://t.co/ur8nyVXQxU</a> <a href="http://t.co/D38DzEGu04">pic.twitter.com/D38DzEGu04</a></p>
— LoveWomensBasketball (@lovewomensbball) <a href="https://twitter.com/lovewomensbball/statuses/455885132688551936">April 15, 2014</a>
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<p>What I've always like about Orekhova is size with a perimeter skill set...unfortunately, this is why we haven't discussed her much: "She averaged 11.6 points on 35% shooting from the field."; she's not the most efficient scorer available.</p>
https://www.swishappeal.com/2014/4/14/5615362/2014-wnba-draft-round-2-pick-6-atlanta-dream-select-south-floridasNate P2014-04-14T21:06:43-04:002014-04-14T21:06:43-04:00Round 1, Pick 11: Sun select Chelsea Gray
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<p>With the 11th pick in the first round, the Connecticut Sun selected Duke point guard Chelsea Gray.</p>
<p>Wows: Let me begin by saying I love both this pick and what the Sun are doing in this draft. Gray does have a path to recovery ahead of her, but was easily the best distributor in the nation before her injury cut her season short with her ability to pass and score. When you look at the talent that Connecticut has assembled, they're well on their way to being a strong competitor in the future.</p>
<p>Wonders: How long will her recovery take and just how good can she become? She was clearly not at full strength for the games she played this season and if she can ever get back to anywhere near full strength, she could be dominant.</p>
<p>Worries: That she loses more speed or becomes further impeded by her injuries. She's an amazing talent, but let's just hope those knees hold up.</p>
https://www.swishappeal.com/2014/4/14/5615204/2014-wnba-draft-round-1-pick-11-connecticut-sun-select-duke-pointNate P2014-04-14T20:09:15-04:002014-04-14T20:09:15-04:00Connecticut selects Chiney Ogwumike first overall
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<figcaption>Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Spor</figcaption>
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<p>After a blockbuster trade earlier today, the Connecticut Sun don't surprise anyone here.</p> <p>As expected, the Connecticut Sun have selected Stanford forward Chiney Ogwumike with the first pick of the 2014 WNBA Draft.</p>
<p>Ogwumike led the Cardinal to the Final Four in the 2014 NCAA Tournament, which reflects just how dominant a talent she has been in college. <br><br><b>Wows: </b>There wasn't a player in the nation who meant more to her team than Chiney Ogwumike and even as role players stepped up during their tournament run, it's difficult to deny that she was the key to their success.</p>
<p>Her post game was so refined that teams had no choice but to double her and she was a finalist for the national defensive player of the year award after winning the PAC-12's honor again. And anytime you have a player with a true shooting percentage of 63% and an offensive rebounding percentage over 15%, you have a potential WNBA All-Star.</p>
<p>Having traded center Tina Charles earlier today, Ogwumike is set up to be the Sun's featured player moving forward. <br><br><b>Wonders: </b>Even the best prospects usually live on one dominant strength once they make it to the WNBA. what will Ogwumike's be in her rookie year: rebounding, defense, or scoring? <br><br><b>Worries: </b>The only concern about Ogwumike is her jumper: she struggles to score outside of the paint although it's something she's working on.</p>
https://www.swishappeal.com/2014/4/14/5614938/wnba-draft-2014-connecticut-sun-chiney-ogwumikeNate P2014-03-31T17:20:00-04:002014-03-31T17:20:00-04:00Gruda traded to L.A. from CT in exchange for picks
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<figcaption>Richard Mackson-US PRESSWIRE</figcaption>
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<p>Today, the Connecticut Sun and Los Angeles Sparks announced a trade, where the Sparks received the rights to Sandrine Gruda who they signed, and the Sun received the 11th pick in the 2014 WNBA Draft along with a 2015 second round draft pick.</p> <p>The Los Angeles Sparks have made a move for an international player by picking up French post player Sandrine Gruda from the Connecticut Sun. <span>Gruda has not been in the WNBA since 2010, but she has been a force for UMMC Ekaterinburg, which also is home to Sparks superstar and reigning MVP Candace Parker. She's also UMMC's leading scorer, so that's gotta mean something considering that she's on the same team as Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, in addition to the aforementioned Parker.</span></p>
<p>In the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.wnba.com/sparks/sparks_acquire_rights__sign_2014_03_31.html">Sparks' press release</a>, here is what Sparks Executive Vice President and General Manager Penny Toler had to say about the deal:</p>
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<p>I am thrilled about Sandrine joining the Sparks family," said Toler. "She is a powerful player who will not only add scoring power to our already solid offensive game, but will also bring in a solid defensive presence to dominate the boards alongside Nneka [Ogwumike], Candace [Parker] and Jantel [Lavender].</p>
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<p>And here's Gruda's take:</p>
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<p>I am so happy to be with the Sparks and thankful to be back in the WNBA. I can’t wait to get to Los Angeles and wear the jersey I’ve been wanting to wear since I was a young girl. I am grateful that I get to continue playing with Candace, since I’m already with her here in Russia. It’s going to be a great season and I’m looking forward to being part of the Los Angeles Sparks. It’s a dream come true!</p>
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<p>With Gruda now in the mix for L.A., where she will play alongside Parker, Ogwumike and Lavender, that pretty much sets the low post rotation for the Sparks at this point, unless they intend on trading Ogwumike and/or Lavender in the coming weeks. At least that's how I see it.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.wnba.com/sun/sun_trade_sandrine_gruda__sp_2014_03_31.html">Sun's press release</a> didn't sound quite as rosy. Here is what General Manager Chris Sienko had to say:</p>
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<p>Sandrine has not played for the Sun since 2010. At a certain point, we owe it to our fans to bring players to Connecticut who want to be here and contribute to a championship each year.</p>
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<p>Considering that Connecticut is looking to rebuild from last year's 10-24 campaign, I think the organization did get value from a player who had no interest in playing for them, even when the team was playoff bound in 2011 and 2012.</p>
<p>Still, there's a bigger question for the Sun right now. Why isn't Tina Charles re-signed just yet? And at some point, if she's not re-signed, well, you'd have to think that she may be dealt in a "sign and trade"-type deal pretty soon. Charles is a restricted free agent, and the Sun can match any offer sheet she signs, but if she doesn't want to play there, that's just a situation that the organization doesn't want to be in for any lengthy period of time.</p>
<p><b><i>So, what do you think of the trade? And who do you think the Sun may want to pick up at the 11th spot? Let us know in the comments below!</i></b></p>
<p>(* * *)</p>
<p><b>Update at 5:25 p.m. ET: H/T to Shades for putting this out <a href="http://www.swishappeal.com/2014/3/31/5567944/sun-trade-sundrine-gruda-to-sparks-for-11-in-2014-and-second-round" target="_blank">in a FanShot</a> earlier.</b></p>
https://www.swishappeal.com/2014/3/31/5568044/wnba-trade-2014-connecticut-sun-los-angeles-sparks-sandrine-grudaAlbert Lee