Connecticut Sun trade rights to Asjha Jones, Lynx’s Janel McCarville to sit out
The Connecticut Sun traded exclusive negotiating rights to Asjha Jones to the Minnesota Lynx in exchange for a second round pick in the 2016 WNBA Draft. Meanwhile, Lynx center Janel McCarville informed the team that she will not play this season. She is in the last year of a multi-year contract with the franchise. Additionally, the Lynx signed guard Darxia Morris.
Jones, 34, has not played for the Sun since the 2012 season. That season the 6-2 forward missed 14 regular season games with a strained Achilles tendon. After she returned, she averaged 13.6 points and 6.4 rebounds in the playoffs. She sat out the 2013 and 204 seasons due to nagging injuries.
“This was a trade that made sense for us,” said Connecticut Sun vice president and general manager Chris Sienko. “Asjha did not want to return to Connecticut so we found what we believe is the best available deal, especially as we continue to add and develop young talent.”
McCarville, 32, was the first overall draft pick in 2005, selected by the now defunct Charlotte Sting. She has also played for the New York Liberty. However, she did not play for New York in 2011 after asking for time off during training camp. The Liberty denied her request and suspended her for the season. She did not play in the league in 2012. She arrived to the Lynx in a trade prior to the 2013 season in a trade from New York. Last year she averaged 7.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists.
The Lynx’s statement about signing Morris:
Morris, 25, averaged 1.5 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists in four games with the Los Angeles Sparks last season. Morris also played with Artego Bydgoszcz (Poland BLK) in the 2014-15 season, averaging 13.8 points and 1.2 assists in 25 games. Prior to signing with the Sparks, Morris averaged 19.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 21 games with Azzurra Orvieto (Italy) in the 2013 season. In her undergraduate career at UCLA, the 5-8 guard averaged 12.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 33 games as a senior.
In other player news in the league, the Indiana Fever announced that Shavonte Zellous and Natalie Achonwa will miss part of the season due to national team commitments.
Zellous, a six-year WNBA veteran and a three-year starter with the Fever, recently became a naturalized citizen in Croatia in order to compete for a spot in the 2016 Olympics. She will compete with Croatia in the FIBA European Championships, June 11-28, in Hungary and Romania. She will be absent from Fever team activities beginning May 25.
Achonwa, a first-round draft pick by the Fever in the 2014 WNBA Draft, will compete in a pair of similar tournaments this summer while returning to the Canadian National Team. Achonwa averaged 7.2 points per game as a member of the 2012 Canadian squad that qualified for the Olympic quarterfinals in London. Canada is the host nation in this year’s Pan Am Games in Toronto, July 16-20; as well as the 2015 FIBA Americas Championships in Edmonton, August 9-16.
The European Championships in June and the Americas Championships in August both are qualification events for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
