Dijonai Carrington traded to Minnesota

[cupcakesnake]

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I was still holding onto some Diamond Miller stock but oh man. Minnesota getting another point of attack defender like that is insane. Took them a minute but this feels like an arms race escalation after New York picked up Natasha Cloud.

[cupcakesnake]

I wonder how Carrington will fit into Minnesota offense. She's not much of a shooter or playmaker, and has typically thrived in a low-usage role next to heavy creators. Minnesota has the creators, but they like to keep everyone involved.

I doubt she starts. She probably takes Natasha Hiederman's minutes (noooo dont break up the Stud Budz!). Karlie Samuelson being in the trade opens up extra backcourt minutes as well.

Defensively this will be pretty hilarious. A -7 rDrtg team, one of the best ever, can now play lineups with extra ball pressure whenever they want. This is some real OKC Thunder type ****.

Glad we'll get to see Carrington in a more competitive situation. Hopefull Diamond Miller gets a chance at minutes in Dallas. She always intrigued as a big ball handling driver, but the turnover problems have made her non-viable on a contender. A bigger role in Dallas should show us whether Diamond is sticking around the W for another contract.

[MrDollarBills]

This shouldn't be allowed.


Just kidding, great trade for Minnesota. They're going for it.

[hermes]

whoa, what the heck??

[hermes]

diamond had been playing pretty good lately, with still the occasional trip up here and there. she's got talent and once she works through the kinks could be pretty good. always felt like she was a bit of a square peg in a round hole for the lynx. and she just wasn't getting the minutes she needs to develop between injuries and all the vets ahead of her. should get some time in dallas hopefully

too bad karlie didn't work out. injured and wasn't really shooting well before that. rough year for her

i don't know how to feel about carrington. she's not exactly my favorite player but maybe its one of those you like them when they are on your team type situations. carrington improves the defense ( ), not sure how she fits in on offense but we needed some more experienced guard depth

[hermes]

why does dallas do this? are they worried about winning too many games and losing the best odds at the top pick?

[Slim Tubby]

Great trade for MIN. Now we just need to package up the 2026 Sky FRP for A'ja Wilson and our build will be complete.

Sent from my N152DL using RealGM mobile app

[ellobo]

why does dallas do this? are they worried about winning too many games and losing the best odds at the top pick?

Well, Carrington hasn't really been helping them win games and is unrestricted after this season. Miller is under team control for two more years, one at rookie scale and then as a restricted free agent. So Dallas gets a cheap developmental player who potentially has a future with the team. And taking on Samuelson's salary has no commitment past this year.

I'm not sure about Carrington's fit in Minnesota; I can see it going either way. She's a great perimeter defender who can guard 1-3, and Minnesota really has no wing off the bench. Shepard and Kliundikova are bigs and Hiedeman is a small guard. So theoretically, there's a lane for her to play in the rotation behind Carleton and McBride, but I can't see Carrington taking Hiedeman's minutes because Hiedeman is their only backup point.

But Carrington's shooting efficiency is abysmal, 35.5% FG, 26% 3P, 38.5% eFG, and 44.4% TS (TS% is a little higher due to good FT%). I feel like Carrington is going to really have to lean into a limited offensive role that plays to her strengths and not try to do too much (as she often has in Dallas), and accept limited minutes.

In her limited minutes, Miller's stats per 100 are very comparable to Carrington's, but on lower usage and much better efficiency, although Carrington is certainly the more proven defender and experienced playoff player.

[TheSuzerain]

Seems like a steal for Minny. Nothing of value for Carrington.

[BlacJacMac]

Karlie Samuelson being in the trade opens up extra backcourt minutes as well.

I believe Samuelson is likely done for the season with injury.

[Green Chile]

why does dallas do this? are they worried about winning too many games and losing the best odds at the top pick?

I like Dijonai, but don't think Dallas trading her away really changes much for them.
Haley Jones has basically stolen her minutes (not to mention the 3rd round rookie), and both have looked better this year.

Nai is a fantastic complementary piece around established stars and a strong coach. She was great with AT (AT makes a lot of people look really good), and I'm sure she'll be great in Minny.

Culture changer on a young team with a new coach? Obviously not.
The reason she originally got benched is something you cannot have out of a player you are hoping will be a real team leader.

The return they got for her?
Not in love with that, but I'm not sure how much 17 games of an expensive Nai was worth on the trade market.
And Diamond is a plenty solid prospect to get back.

But to answer your question, no, I don't think Dallas is terribly interested in winning this year.
This doesn't affect that, though. She's a bench player on an 8-21 team. She can be more than that on a good team, but that's what she's been in Dallas.

[cdubbz]

Great trade for Minnesota. They're a defensive monster!!!

[BlacJacMac]

With her strong play, the Lynx decided to close the game with Carrington on the court, and that decision paid dividends. In the fourth quarter, Carrington scored 10 of her 13 total points to go along with a steal, a block, and a pair of rebounds, immediately showcasing why the Lynx made the move to acquire her.

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[Green Chile]

.

[MrDollarBills]

With her strong play, the Lynx decided to close the game with Carrington on the court, and that decision paid dividends. In the fourth quarter, Carrington scored 10 of her 13 total points to go along with a steal, a block, and a pair of rebounds, immediately showcasing why the Lynx made the move to acquire her.

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Dijonai's intangibles make up for her lack of offense.

I'd gladly take her here in NY

[BlacJacMac]

With her strong play, the Lynx decided to close the game with Carrington on the court, and that decision paid dividends. In the fourth quarter, Carrington scored 10 of her 13 total points to go along with a steal, a block, and a pair of rebounds, immediately showcasing why the Lynx made the move to acquire her.

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Dijonai's intangibles make up for her lack of offense.

I'd gladly take her here in NY

You guys got Emma. We're keeping Dijonai!

[MrDollarBills]

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Dijonai's intangibles make up for her lack of offense.

I'd gladly take her here in NY

You guys got Emma. We're keeping Dijonai!

For now

All jokes aside, great pick up. Dijonai is an intense competitor.

[hermes]

With her strong play, the Lynx decided to close the game with Carrington on the court, and that decision paid dividends. In the fourth quarter, Carrington scored 10 of her 13 total points to go along with a steal, a block, and a pair of rebounds, immediately showcasing why the Lynx made the move to acquire her.

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its nice being on a team with a goal??

what the heck is going on in dallas? they don't have goals down there?

[MrDollarBills]

With her strong play, the Lynx decided to close the game with Carrington on the court, and that decision paid dividends. In the fourth quarter, Carrington scored 10 of her 13 total points to go along with a steal, a block, and a pair of rebounds, immediately showcasing why the Lynx made the move to acquire her.

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its nice being on a team with a goal??

what the heck is going on in dallas? they don't have goals down there?

Dallas is a mess unfortunately.

[Sealab2024]

T'was a terrible idea to let Cheryl Reeves anywhere near Nai Carrington.