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Seattle Storm acquire Natasha Howard in sign-and-trade with Minnesota Lynx

By Ben Dull

LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 29: Natasha Howard
LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 29: Natasha Howard /
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The Seattle Storm have acquired restricted free agent forward Natasha Howard from the Minnesota Lynx in exchange for Seattle’s own 2018 second round draft pick (No. 17 overall) and the rights to swap first round picks in 2019.

As holder of those swap rights, the Lynx will get the better of the teams’ first round picks in 2019. Minnesota has finished with the best regular season record in the league in each of the last two seasons.

Seattle finished eighth in the standings in 2017. If the Storm fail to climb up to the middle of the pack or higher, it will sting when Minnesota exercises those swap rights. Giving out swap rights, though, is much better than dealing away that pick outright. At worst, the Storm will have the 12th overall pick in the first round of the 2019 WNBA Draft.

Howard was a restricted free agent, meaning the Lynx held exclusive rights to match any offer sheet Howard signed with another WNBA team. This sign-and-trade move allows the Lynx to get a valuable return on a player that may have been prepared to sign an offer sheet with the Storm, which would have put the Lynx on a four-day clock to either match the offer or to let Howard go for nothing.

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Howard was selected with the fifth overall pick in the 2014 WNBA Draft by the Indiana Fever. She was originally acquired by the Lynx in a Devereaux Peters sign-and-trade deal in 2016. Howard appeared in all 68 regular season games over two seasons with Minnesota, also logging minutes in 15 playoff games.

“We appreciate Natasha’s valuable contributions to our team over the last two seasons and wish her well in her new journey with the Seattle Storm,” said Lynx head coach and general manager Cheryl Reeve in Wednesday’s release.

Howard brings much-needed depth to the Seattle frontcourt, which had just been hit with the news that Ramu Tokashiki would miss the 2018 WNBA season in order to fulfill her commitment to the Japanese National Team, which will be preparing for the 2018 FIBA World Cup.

“We are excited to welcome Natasha to the Storm family,” said Storm head coach Dan Hughes. “She brings a very athletic, mobile interior package; she runs the floor, actively rebounds, is a dynamic scorer and athletic defender. Natasha has continued to develop her skills on a Minnesota team that defined success in the WNBA over the past few years and is ready for the opportunity to be a successful part of our future.”

A second round pick and swap rights on a first rounder with the number one seed of the past two years is a hefty price to pay for a pure backup. Seattle clearly has a bigger vision for Howard and her role.

We’ve yet to hear any news on Seattle designated core player Crystal Langhorne, who struggles to matchup against big centers. As a move to potentially complement Langhorne at that spot, Seattle announced the signing of veteran center Courtney Paris to a multi-year deal last week.

Howard, too, is slight of build, but she is a long, athletic and versatile 6’4 forward. Expect Dan Hughes to experiment early and often with Howard and Breanna Stewart as a frontcourt pairing. Howard is just 4-for-22 on three-pointers in her career, but she can face up beyond the arc and attack the basket, which would allow more flexibility with the offense to open up the floor for Stewart to maximize her face up game.

Restricted free agent Kelsey Bone was also dealt in a sign-and-trade to the Las Vegas Aces this offseason.

Howard fetched a bigger haul than Bone. It would be tough to grade this trade in February with so much basketball to be played by both teams before the results of that 2019 pick swap are known.

Related Story: Seattle Storm Offseason Primer

Minnesota has now seen four of its top 2017 reserves depart, though they have ample room to sign players that can help them off the bench in 2018.

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