Shekinna Stricklen signs with the Atlanta Dream; what’s next?

Star three-point shooter headed to Atlanta

In 2019, the Atlanta Dream registered the lowest three-point accuracy in the league.

Enter 2019’s three-point contest winner.

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The Dream signed Shekinna Stricklen to a two-year,  $345,100 contract.

Stricklen will be missed in Connecticut, both on and off the court for the fans. Her threes have changed the momentum inside the arena and will surely be missed from the fans. Mohegan Sun Arena would always go wild whenever Stricklen hit a three (or two, or three or seven).

Stricklen, who will be making more money than the Sun would have likely been able to pay her, will be leaving the Sun after five seasons, after spending her first three seasons in Seattle.

Stricklen’s ability to stretch the defense should have huge implications for the Dream, who will see more open floor spacing for Tiffany Hayes to create and even Elizabeth Williams and new center Kalani Brown to finish.

Meanwhile, in Connecticut, key 2019 cog Courtney Williams remains unsigned.

The Sun will need to find a way to replace her scoring behind the arc, as she made 76 threes last season and won the three-point contest at the All-Star Game. During her career in Connecticut, she made 283 shots from behind the arc.

Her three-point shooting transformed the Sun’s offense, something the Sun will need to find a solution for. The team could look to re-sign Rachel Banham, who has played in a more limited role in Connecticut.

Banham is first in Minnesota Gophers’ history in points and made-threes, demonstrating she is more than capable of stepping up her scoring and three-point shooting.

There does not appear to be any ill will between Stricklen and the Sun, something that has been a common theme for the team and their players this off-season.

As the pieces continue to fall into place the 2020 Sun team continues to take shape, unfortunately, without some of the key pieces of the 2019 season.

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