The Seattle Storm have re-signed designated core player Crystal Langhorne.
Langhorne and six other players were designated as their team’s core player prior to the start of free agency. Langhorne has been with the Storm since 2014.
The 6’2 forward/center was drafted sixth overall by the Washington Mystics in 2008 and spent six seasons with the franchise. The Storm acquired Langhorne in a trade with the Mystics in April of 2014. Washington received Tiana Hawkins and Bria Hartley in the deal.
Langhorne won the WNBA’s Most Improved Player award in 2009. She went on to make two All-Star teams (2011, 2013) during her tenure with Washington.
Langhorne has played in all 34 regular season games in seven of her 10 seasons in the WNBA. She has been a starter since arriving in Seattle, missing just one regular season game in that four year span. Last season, she averaged 12.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists in just over 28 minutes per game.
Dan Hughes was named head coach of the Storm this offseason. The team has bolstered its frontcourt rotation with several moves this offseason.
Seattle signed unrestricted free agent center Courtney Paris to a multi-year deal and acquired 6’4 forward Natasha Howard in a sign-and-trade with the Minnesota Lynx. The club also signed Aleksandra Crvendakic to a training camp contract.
Third year forward Ramu Tokashiki will miss the upcoming WNBA season as she prepares to compete for Japan in the 2018 FIBA World Cup.
Seattle’s moves to bolster its frontcourt may indicate that Langhorne will face more competition for minutes up front. The team had to give something up to acquire Howard and made a multi-year commitment to Paris.
But because each player brings something different to the table, Hughes and the Storm front office may simply be preparing to mix and match depending upon the opponent.
The Storm managed to make the playoffs last season with a 15-19 record before being eliminated by the Phoenix Mercury in the first round.
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Seattle holds the fifth overall pick in the upcoming 2018 WNBA Draft. The Summitt’s Howard Megdal has UCLA’s Jordin Canada going to the Storm at that spot in his latest WNBA Mock Draft Big Board.