NEW YORK — The reigning WNBA-champion Seattle Storm made a number of trades to refashion their roster Wednesday, including sending All-Star forward Natasha Howard to the New York Liberty as part of a three-team trade.
The Liberty acquired Howard as part of a three-team deal with the Seattle Storm and Phoenix Mercury. The three-time WNBA champion provides a solid interior player for New York to pair with last season’s No. 1 draft pick, Sabrina Ionescu. As a designated core player for Seattle, Howard had to approve the trade to New York.
New York sent the No. 1 pick in the draft this year and the Mercury’s first-round pick next year to the Storm.
The Liberty acquired that pick from Phoenix by sending Kia Nurse and Megan Walker to the Mercury for the sixth pick this year and their first-round choice next year.
The No. 1 pick didn’t stay in Seattle long as the Storm traded it to Dallas for Katie Lou Samuelson and the Wings’ second-round pick in 2022. The Wings become the first team in WNBA history to hold the first and second overall picks in the same draft. In addition, Dallas also holds the fifth, seventh and 13th selections in 2021.
It’s only the third time in the league’s history that the top pick in the draft has been traded. It moved in 2010 when Minnesota sent it to Connecticut as part of a deal for hometown star Lindsay Whalen.
The No. 1 selection was also traded on draft night in 2007 by Phoenix to Minnesota.
There is a lot of uncertainty around this season’s draft over who will be available to be picked. The NCAA granted every player an extra year of eligibility, meaning top seniors like Dana Evans of Louisville and Michaela Onyenwere of UCLA could return to college next year.
Also on Wednesday, in a separate trade with Seattle, the Liberty got guard Sami Whitcomb for the rights to Stephanie Talbot.
Howard won the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award in 2019. The 29-year-old forward won titles in Minnesota in 2017 and Seattle in 2018 and last season.
Howard averaged 9.5 points and 7.1 rebounds last season while shooting 53 percent from the field.
Whitcomb was a key member of the Storm’s franchise the last few years. The 32-year-old is a solid 3-pointer shooter.
Finally, the Minnesota Lynx traded forward Mikiah Herbert Harrigan to the Storm for the 2022 first-round pick they had acquired from Phoenix through New York.
