![]() Our game is so different than college.”Ĭooke, the 10th overall pick in last month’s draft, is the lone rookie on the Sparks roster, and the only Sparks first-round draft pick since Nneka Ogwumike in 2012 to still be in the WNBA this season. Because it’s a veteran’s league … the veterans are going to have an advantage because we know the game. “I’m heartbroken for the rookies who don’t get a fair shot. “The mental and emotional labor of doing this job is something that’s hard to tell the average person about what it takes to show up and perform on a nightly basis,” Clarendon said. The team initially cut Karlie Samuelson, a WNBA journeywoman who starred in Australia this past offseason, before bringing her back Thursday on a hardship contract because Thomas (knee) and Stevens (back) are out for Friday’s season opener.Īfter delivering the cut news to Samuelson on Tuesday, Miller grabbed general manager Karen Bryant’s arm and half-jokingly slammed his head on Bryant’s shoulder out of frustration as Samuelson walked off the practice floor with her head bowed. This week, the Sparks waived second-year, former first-round draft pick forward Rae Burrell and rookies Monika Czinano and Yang Liwei. Agreeing to a tryout where any small mistake could have cost them a job required a maddening level of vulnerability, Clarendon said, but while standing in the shower after the Sparks’ first preseason game against Phoenix last week, Clarendon was overcome with emotion realizing that returning to the WNBA was a reality again. 12 pick in the 2022 draft was waived by the Connecticut Sun, where she played 28 regular-season games for Miller last season.ĭespite earning All-Star honors in 2017 and playing nine consecutive seasons across five different teams, Clarendon had to re-earn a spot in the league after getting waived by the Minnesota Lynx in 2022. With forward Katie Lou Samuelson still on the roster but unable to play this season as she is expecting her first child, the Sparks claimed guard Nia Clouden off waivers after the No. (WCIU-26.2, Marquee Sports Plus).Clarendon, guard Jordin Canada and third-year forward Joyner Holmes survived the uncertainty of non-guaranteed training camp contracts to make the final cut along with rookie Zia Cooke. In 2021, she helped lead Mali to its first semifinal appearance in the U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup.Īccording to her agent, Mike Cound, Koné is hoping to get from New York to Minnesota early Friday morning to play in the Sky’s season opener against the Lynx at 7 p.m. ![]() ![]() Selected 29th by the New York Liberty in the 2022 draft, Koné developed remarkably with the Mali national team. The 20-year-old already has excelled on the world stage but has yet to play in a league as competitive as the WNBA. Wade is in a win-now mindset, bringing into question if developing a player such as Koné will be a priority. Koné could be a foundational piece, but only if Wade and his staff are able to develop her, which is a big ask. ![]() Signing Koné could end up paying dividends now - preventing disaster from taking place this season - and in the long run as the franchise tries to return to championship contention. But as Wade has proved in the past, the league’s last remaining coach/GM always has something up his sleeve. Harrison’s absence threatened to derail what was already shaping up to be a precarious first season in the Sky’s rebuild era. ![]() Regardless, one of the pieces tasked with replacing a championship frontcourt that included Candace Parker and Azurá Stevens will not see the court for the foreseeable future. ![]()
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