It’s a new day in Los Angeles. The sun is still shining, but the Storm got the best of the Sparks, with Nneka Ogwumike taking her talents to Seattle and leaving the City of Angels star-less.
She’s not the only key player leaving the Sparks. Katie Lou and Karlie Samuelson also have exited the team, while Atlanta acquired Jordin Canada and the the No. 12 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft in a trade that sent guard Aari McDonald and the No. 8 pick back to the Sparks.
The trade indicates that the team is rebuilding and focusing on getting as many picks as possible in this year’s draft, and given the pool of players the might be available, that’s not such a bad idea. Los Angeles now has three first-round picks, two of which are in the lottery.
On social media, the team highlighted those picks, along with an image of Azurá Stevens and Zia Cooke, to signal the exciting future of the franchise. Nevertheless, Ogwumike is irreplaceable.
New faces in LA
The Sparks did make some good moves, signing Lexie Brown to a two-year contract extension, re-signing Rae Burrell and Layshia Clarendon, bringing in new players Kia Nurse, Aari McDonald, Monique Billings and offering training camp contracts to Virág Kiss and Taylor Mikesell.
Nurse averaged 5.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists…
