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WNBA News: Atlanta Dream Waive Maggie Lucas

By Joseph Zucker

WHITE PLAINS, NY - JUNE 19: Atlanta Dream guard Maggie Lucas (33) during the first half of the WNBA game between the Atlanta Dream and New York Liberty on June 19, 2018 at Westchester County Center in White Plains, NY. (Photo by John Jones/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
WHITE PLAINS, NY - JUNE 19: Atlanta Dream guard Maggie Lucas (33) during the first half of the WNBA game between the Atlanta Dream and New York Liberty on June 19, 2018 at Westchester County Center in White Plains, NY. (Photo by John Jones/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The Atlanta Dream waived guard Maggie Lucas, the team announced Saturday.

Lucas played a total of 36 minutes in seven games for the Dream to start the 2018 WNBA season. She scored three points and collected three rebounds.

Before the Phoenix Mercury selected her 21st overall in the 2014 WNBA draft, Lucas was a two-time Big Ten Player of the Year with the Penn State Nittany Lions.

She left Penn State averaging 19.0 points and shooting 41.5 percent on three-pointers. However, her impressive scoring in college hasn’t translated to the WNBA.

Injury problems didn’t help matters. Lucas suffered a torn ACL in June 2016 four games into the season with the Indiana Fever. The Fever then announced in April 2017 she would be out for the remainder of the 2017 campaign as well.

“I never envisioned the injury side of it,” Lucas said in an interview with the Philadelphia Daily News‘ Mike Jensen last June. “When you’re going along — you haven’t had any injuries — you start to feel pretty invincible.”

The Dream proved to be a less than ideal fit for a player coming off a major knee injury and trying to work her way back into a groove.

After winning 12 games in 2017, Atlanta had clear playoff expectations coming into 2018. The team signed Renee Montgomery and Jessica Breland in the offseason and got Angel McCoughtry back from her yearlong hiatus.

Compounding matters for Lucas, the Dream have the worst offensive rating in the WNBA (89.9). That, in turn, means head coach Nicki Collen is even more likely to rely on her more experienced veterans to turn the offense around. Second-round draft pick Monique Billings, for instance, is averaging just 8.4 minutes per game.

Earlier this month, Lucas agreed to a deal with French team Landerneau Bretagne Basket. She could parlay a strong season overseas into another opportunity in the WNBA in 2019.

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