Finally, the Liz Cambage saga reaches a conclusion
After months of starts and stops, Liz Cambage has finally reached a conclusion. The Las Vegas Aces have acquired Cambage for Moriah Jefferson, Isabelle Harrison, and their first and second picks in 2020. Multiple sources with knowledge of the matter have confirmed this to High Post Hoops. Doug Feinberg reported it first.
The deal provides Bill Laimbeer with a massive additional star to pair with A’ja Wilson in a frontcourt that will present virtually insurmountable obstacles in matchups, while freeing playmaking guards like Kayla McBride, Kelsey Plum and rookie Jackie Young to wreak havoc at both ends.
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Cambage, 27, is coming off one of the best individual seasons in the history of the WNBA. As part of a Dallas Wings team she helped lift into the playoffs in 2018, she posted a player efficiency rating of 30.7, 12th-best mark of any single season in league history, while leading the league in scoring.
Cambage is more than just an offense-only threat, though, finishing second in the league in rebounding percentage last season, fifth in blocks per game, and posting an elevated assist percentage of 16.5, quite high for a center.
The deal that ultimately landed Cambage was similar to one available to Dallas for some time, depending on Cambage’s willingness to come to Las Vegas. The Aces had offered Jefferson, Harrison and the first overall pick in the 2019 draft for Cambage, pending her approval.
Once the draft came and went, and talks broke down between Los Angeles and Dallas, Cambage shifted her position on Las Vegas, and the two sides began again. However, with Arike Ogunbowale picked by Dallas, and Skylar Diggins-Smith expected back later this season, a deal including Jackie Young, who the Aces selected with the top overall pick, no longer made sense.
Accordingly, the conversation shifted. Both Jefferson and Harrison would fit long-term in Dallas, though a league source tells High Post Hoops it is still very possible Jefferson will sit out the 2019 season.
But the window in Dallas, starting in 2020, is an intriguing one: a healthy and rested Jefferson, paired with Ogunbowale and Diggins-Smith for a dangerous three-guard combo, with Harrison, who dominated in Italy this past overseas season, ready to step in as a Natasha Howard-type right away.
And so, the rebuild in Dallas continues, finally moving forward. As for Las Vegas, the serious business of contending for a WNBA title just got that much closer.
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