Harding Wants Out Back in January, Mystics GM/Head Coach Trudi Lacey announced that her top two priorities for the free agency period were to re-sign Lindsey Harding and Katie Smith.
Not only has Trudi been unsuccessful so far in accomplishing either goal, but, in recent weeks, it’s been a poorly kept secret in WNBA circles that Lindsey, the Mystics’ All-Star point guard, wants to be traded to another team. Until today, however, none of the parties involved in the negotiations had made any public comment.
All that changed this afternoon, as the Washington Post’s Kathy Orton reports here on her interviews with Trudi and with Lindsey’s agent. According to Orton, the Mystics and Lindsey have reached “an impasse,” and Trudi, just in case, is preparing for life without Lindsey. (Oh, and by the way, Katie Smith may not be back either.) It's hard to imagine the Mystics without Lindsey.
In her two seasons with the Mystics, Lindsey has become one of the BCs’ very favorite players. Extremely talented, exciting to watch, a workhorse (33 minutes per game!), and a competitor with a never-give-up mentality. It's a pretty well accepted truth that elite point guards in the WNBA are very rare. Until Lindsey was acquired by the Mystics (thanks to a very successful trade engineered by then-GM Angela Taylor), the team (in our opinion) was really hampered by not having one. And now, it seems, there’s a good possibility the Mystics will be similarly hampered again.
And just when we thought the Mystics’ off-season personnel news could not get any worse . . .
Photo Credit: DC BasketCases
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Saturday update . . . In a move to improve their post presence, the Mystics have just traded away their first round pick in next season's (2012) WNBA draft to the Minnesota Lynx in exchange for 6'3" Forward/Center Nicky Anosike. Nicky is a 2008 graduate of Tennessee, where she played on the 2007 and 2008 National Championship teams. Meanwhile, the Washington Post's Kathy Orton reports that Alana Beard had this to say when asked if she's going to play this season: "I hope so. That’s my goal. I’ll be ready to go.” We hope so too; AB has worked very hard on her re-hab, and it would be terrible if she could not play.
posted by BasketCases @ 8:17 PM
17 comments
17 Comments:
Not good. Query - if Lindsey sits out a year a la Tweety, do the Mystics still retain her rights? Same question re Katie?
I found this article a while ago about Katie being cored by the Mystics right before Free Agency started... http://www.csnwashington.com/pages/landing_v3?blockID=401374&tagID=72707
That's correct; Katie was cored. But being cored only means that a free agent (which Katie is) is no longer free to sign with another team. It does not mean that she must play for the team that cored her; she must still agree to be re-signed (or not play at all). Also, in order for the Mystics to trade Katie, she would have to agree to the deal, in which case the Mystics would then sign and trade her.
Thus far, Katie has not re-signed with the Mystics.
-- BC
Speaking of Mystics bonehead moves, do you know what Julie Plank is up to?
AB is not confident about her ankle. She's been saying for weeks that it feels weird. Even if she plays, don't bet on her being 100%.
Losing Harding would just be terrible. As you stated, elite point guards are so hard to get. This is really bad news. I wonder why she wants out?
I love the Anosike trade, as she fills the void left by Nakia Sanford, and we get younger at that position. But, man, this team has had some turmoil this off-season. We could be staring at a "transition" year for the Mystics because of all the change. That won't make the fans happy after the last two seasons of success.
I agree the Anosike was a great move. She's young, and very talented. Gives us some size inside. But Lindsay leaving?? One step foward... two steps back. Hopefully it will get worked out.....and soon! Draft is tomorrow right?
Anosike is under sized though. Anyone worried about that? So we now have 2 undersized players in the post with Lang and Anosike.
The Anosike trade should have been a positive. But if the Mystics are a bad team this year, and it seems like they will be, that's a lottery pick (maybe even the first overall) they'll have traded away for somebody who will be a restricted free agent after the season and not necessarily improve the team this year.
I do know if none of Plank, Smith, or Harding are a part of the WNBA this season that reflects poorly on not just the Mystics, but the entire league. Not only are they all good for the game of basketball, they're all quality people.
BTW, does this mean the BC's will be writing about the Mystics this year? I wasn't sure, given everything that's gone on during the offseason.
SOOZN: I had a chance to talk with Julie Plank at the W. Final Four last week. I asked her what her plans were and also if she was enjoying her time off. She repsonded by saying, "I want to be in training camp next week!"
Hope she's back coaching sometime soon!
I wonder is we might take Sydney Colsen in the draft knowing we might need a true point guard because of the Harding situation. I know the mock draft has us taking Danielle Adams but she isn't Monique Currie. That's the player they tried to compare her to which is so ridiculous (maybe they should get someone who knows players to write the wnba mock draft). I guess we will find out soon enough. I still wish we could pick up Cheryl Ford.
I read a rumor that the Mystics could trade Harding to move up and select the 6-foot-8 Elizabeth Cambage from Australia. That would be SWEET!
Stewart, if the Cambage move happens that will be very nice in and of itself. However, we still have no one that can adequately take the reins at point guard besides Katie Smith assuming she even re-signs.
First Mo, now Harding. I am not nearly as excited about the new season as I have been in last years. Too bad the cash from Inova didn't come 8 months earlier so we could have at least kept the management.
Sigh.
Mystics select Victoria Dunlap from Kentucky. A defender and rebounder. Not bad.
Victoria Dunlap is a very good player. I guess she will compete with marissa at the wing spot. We needed a point guard though more than anything. Sorry but Ashley Houts is not the point guard of the future. It's interesting that the announcers talked about the sad state of affairs with the Mystics organization. I guess everyone knows.
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