Making an in-season trade and inserting a new player into a system halfway through the season comes with a lot of challenges. The fit isn’t always great at first, and it takes time to create chemistry.
The Minnesota Lynx just made a big win-now trade when they sent Diamond Miller, Karlie Samuelson, and a 2027 second-round pick to the Dallas Wings for DiJonai Carrington. So, now they will have to go through the process of easing Carrington into the system and building chemistry with her.
Fortunately, Carrington is already familiar with several players on the Lynx’s roster, which should make her transition easier.
Carrington, Williams, and Hiedeman played together in Connecticut
Before she was traded to Dallas, Carrington played her first four WNBA seasons with the Connecticut Sun. She spent plenty of time with Natisha Hiedeman while she was with the Sun. The two played together for three consecutive seasons between 2021 and 2023. They even played in 23 playoff games together.
In 2022, Courtney Williams joined the Connecticut Sun, starting 34 games and playing over 27 minutes per game. Williams, Hiedeman, and Carrington were the Sun’s three most-used guards. All of them also played significant minutes in the playoffs when the Sun went to the finals.
That experience bodes well for the Lynx to integrate Carrington into their guard rotation without many issues. Especially defensively, Carrington should be able to fit right into the Lynx’s system. She is one of the most talented perimeter defenders in the league, and can bring the effort and energy Cheryl Reeve expects from her players right away.
Carrington also played with Alanna Smith at Stanford
DiJonai Carrington played five seasons of college basketball, four at Stanford from 2016 to 2020 and one at Baylor. At Stanford, she played together with Lynx center Alanna Smith for three seasons. When Carrington joined the team, Smith was a sophomore and a crucial rotational player. Carrington didn’t play much as a freshman, but by her third season in 2018-19, she and Smith were full-time starters together.
Having great chemistry between your guards and bigs is incredibly important. While it has been a while since they played together in college, Carrington and Smith are already familiar with each other.
Napheesa Collier has to miss two weeks
After rolling her ankle in the Lynx’s blowout win over the Aces, Napheesa Collier will be out for two weeks. That means that Carrington and Collier won’t get to build chemistry right away. But, hopefully, by the time Collier comes back, Carrington will be comfortable in her new role and have found a rhythm with the rest of the roster.