With the rest of the WNBA world focused on free agency, the Connecticut Sun and Minnesota Lynx shook things up with an unexpected trade. The Sun will send Natisha Hiedeman to the Lynx in exchange for Tiffany Mitchell and the No. 19 overall pick in the 2024 draft, both teams announced Wednesday.
"It's never easy to part ways with someone that has been a part of your organization for as long as Natisha," Sun general manager Darius Taylor stated in a press release. "We would like to thank her for her dedication and contributions on the court and in the community. We wish her success with her new organization."
The Lynx did not offer any quotes or insight in their trade announcement.
Now that the deal is official, let's grade the trade:
Sun receive
- Tiffany Mitchell
- No. 19 pick in 2024 draft
The Sun surprised everyone last season by establishing themselves as the clear "best of the rest" behind the Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty. With Alyssa Thomas leading the way in an MVP-caliber campaign, the Sun went 27-13 to earn the No. 3 seed in the playoffs and took the Liberty to four games in the semifinals.
One of the more notable aspects of the Sun's postseason was that Tyasha Harris stole a bunch of Hiedeman's minutes. While Hiedeman maintained her starting spot, her minutes dropped from 26.7 per game in the regular season to 22.0 in the playoffs as she struggled mightily. Harris, meanwhile, jumped from 16.7 minutes a night in the regular season to 21.9 in the postseason, and shot 54.2% from 3-point land over the seven games.
With Harris seemingly on the ascendency at the point guard position, Hiedeman became expendable. And when veteran shooting guard Tiffany Hayes announced her surprise retirement earlier this winter, the Sun had a clear need to fill. So they decided to swap Hiedeman for Tiffany Mitchell, who has a connection to both Taylor and head coach Stephanie White. (Taylor was an assistant coach at South Carolina when Mitchell played there and White coached the Indiana Fever when they drafted Mitchell in 2016).
"It's been fun to watch her career unfold," White said. "I'm excited to be on the same sideline with her again. She's a competitor and fits the grit and toughness that permeates our franchise."
Mitchell gives them more size on the perimeter and the ability to guard multiple positions, something Hiedeman could not do. She's also a more natural fit alongside Harris (or a potential free agent signing), DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas. The Sun's length and athleticism defensively will be a major problem for opponents, just as it was last season when they finished second in the league with a defensive rating of 98.8.
There are questions on the offensive side of the ball given Mitchell's lack of shooting ability, however. For her career she's at 27.6% from downtown and has only been above 30% once. Thomas largely refuses to shoot outside the paint, as does Brionna Jones (assuming she comes back at some point). It will be difficult to play all three of them in a playoff series at the same time.
Overall, this is a solid trade for the Sun, especially if Hiedeman was going to be usurped by Harris this season anyway. Getting an extra second-round pick certainly doesn't hurt either.
Grade: B
Lynx receive
- Natisha Hiedeman
The Lynx are coming off a strange season in which they got off to an 0-6 start before rallying to make the playoffs and taking the Sun the distance in the first round. They have a franchise corner stone in Napheesa Collier, some exciting young players in Diamond Miller and Dorka Juhasz and key veterans such as Kayla McBride.
Overall, they are pointed in the right direction, but did have some clear needs heading into 2024. The most glaring was a point guard. Lindsay Allen was the only true point guard on the roster last season, but she's an unrestricted free agent and it's unclear if she'll be back.
In any case, they needed an upgrade there and hope they've found one by swapping Mitchell for Hiedeman. The sixth-year guard started to fall out of favor in Connecticut during the playoffs last season during a tough run, but has played in big games throughout her career and will add to Minnesota's experience.
Though she's never put up big assist numbers playing alongside point-forward Alyssa Thomas, Hiedeman can run an offense, shoots it well from behind the arc and takes care of the ball. During her career she's never shot below 35.9% from 3-point land or turned it over more than 1.4 times per game.
Both aspects will be a big boost to a Lynx team that ranked 11th in 3-point percentage (32.5) and eighth in turnover percentage (17.8) last season. Meanwhile, Hiedeman's lack of size won't be as much of an issue in Minnesota given their other perimeter personnel.
The Lynx will miss Mitchell's toughness and physicality, and had to include a second-round pick to get the deal done, but now have a starting lineup that makes more sense.
Grade: B
