With the WNBA trade deadline coming up on Thursday, contenders are starting to get serious about upgrading their rosters within the narrow confines permitted by the league’s hard salary cap.
On Sunday, the league-leading Minnesota Lynx made a key move, picking up reigning Most Improved Player DiJonai Carrington from the Dallas Wings in exchange for Diamond Miller, injured Karlie Samuelson and a 2027 second-round pick.
Carrington, who didn’t find the success she was anticipating after joining Dallas via sign-and-trade as a restricted free agent last offseason, should provide a bigger boost to Minnesota with the defensive skills that have earned her the nickname “Seatbelt” because of her ability to slow opposing stars.
Meanwhile, the Wings are looking to the future as they build around No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers. Miller, taken second overall in 2022, has a chance for more playing time than she has gotten on a Lynx team that is more focused on winning trophies than developing young talent.
We break down what Sunday’s trade means for both teams.
Lynx get:
G DiJonai Carrington
Wings get:
F Diamond Miller
G Karlie Samuelson
2027 second-round draft pick
Minnesota grade: A-
Barring an extended absence from MVP front-runner Napheesa Collier, who left Saturday’s record-setting win over the Las Vegas Aces with an ankle injury, Minnesota should cruise to the top overall seed with a six-game cushion over the rest of the WNBA.
That gives the Lynx the benefit of focusing on how they match up in the playoffs, particularly in a potential Finals rematch against the defending champion New York Liberty. Carrington could play a key role with her on-ball defense if that series comes to pass.
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Carrington’s time in Dallas was a useful reminder that defensive stoppers tend to do more to improve a defense’s ceiling than its floor. Adding Carrington wasn’t enough to lift the Wings beyond 10th in the WNBA in defensive rating, part of the reason she lost her starting job after 12 games and has seen reduced playing time.
In Minnesota, Carrington joins a rock-solid system like the league-leading one the Connecticut Sun employed when she got a Defensive Player of the Year vote and earned All-Defensive first team honors en route to winning Most Improved Player honors last season. In fact, the Lynx’s 95.1 defensive rating is nearly three fewer points per 100 possessions than any other team in the WNBA.
Second to Connecticut in defensive rating last season, Minnesota has accomplished that without the benefit of a true perimeter stopper. Kayla McBride got the defensive assignment on Sabrina Ionescu in last year’s Finals, a role she played more than capably. But taking that off McBride’s plate could help her offensively.
Depending on how matchups go, I could even see Carrington starting in the playoffs alongside McBride. As well as things have gone for the Lynx this season, small forward Bridget Carleton hasn’t been as effective as when she finished third in Most Improved voting behind Carrington last year. Carleton is making 36% of her 3s, down from 44% in 2024.
That shooting is still better than Carrington, who’s shooting 26% on 3s this season, putting her in the WNBA’s bottom 10 among players with at least 50 shot attempts. Maintaining spacing has been key to Minnesota’s offense, which has seen all five starters average at least one 3-pointer per game. It will be interesting to see how Carrington fits in that regard.
Even if Carrington is strictly a reserve for the Lynx, she fills a need. After newly acquired Samuelson suffered a foot injury that required season-ending surgery, Cheryl Reeve’s rotation was short a player she trusts. Minnesota boasts two of the WNBA’s top reserves in Natisha Hiedeman and Jessica Shepard, but there’s a positional gap in between the 5-foot-8 Hiedeman and the 6-foor-4 Shepard.
Miller, the second overall pick in 2023, could never earn Reeve’s trust. After Miller underwent knee surgery last May, she fell out of the rotation and played just 456 total minutes over the past two seasons. Miller had some better efforts recently, but Wednesday’s game against New York was a playoff preview in terms of playing time. Miller played four minutes as Reeve essentially tightened her rotation to seven players. With the Finals expanding to best-of-seven this season, the Lynx were probably a player short.
Besides Miller, the long-term cost here was minimal for Minnesota. The team’s 2027 second-round pick will likely come at the end of the round, and Samuelson will be an unrestricted free agent next offseason. Barring an unexpected change to the WNBA collective bargaining agreement, the Lynx had no advantage in re-signing Samuelson by keeping her on the roster the rest of the season.
Dallas grade: B
We’ll ultimately look back on Carrington’s brief time with the Wings as a poor fit for both sides. Carrington didn’t get the expanded role she might have hoped after playing with a contending team and Dallas didn’t get the improvement it was seeking. With Carrington headed toward unrestricted free agency and the Wings headed back to the lottery, anything Dallas could get is a positive.
It’s possible that after the trade, Miller could show more of the skills that made her an All-American at Maryland. She has been effective in sporadic playing time this season, making 43% of 2s and 14-of-26 from 3 as compared to 37% on 2s and 5-of-26 on 3s in 2024. Miller gave Minnesota an important lift last Sunday in a loss to Atlanta, scoring eight points in 16 minutes to help the Lynx get back in the game.
Miller’s combination of size (6-foot-3) and perimeter skills fit well on a Wings team with one of the WNBA’s smallest backcourts. The 6-foot Bueckers has been the team’s only non-post taller than 5-11 much of the season, with the 5-8 duo of Arike Ogunbowale and JJ Quinerly emerging as starters and 5-10 rookie Aziaha James off the bench.
Looking ahead, I’m curious how Dallas’ protected list shakes out for the upcoming expansion draft. Assuming the league follows the same rules as for last year’s Golden State Valkyries expansion, the Wings have six spots available. Bueckers and Maddy Siegrist are the most obvious options for Dallas. That leaves four spots between Arike Ogunbowale — an unrestricted free agent who could be selected as a core player — Miller, three starters (Quinerly, Luisa Geiselsoder and Li Yueru) and key reserve James.
Already, the Wings had to waive veteran center Teaira McCowan to make room for two newcomers on their roster. Although Dallas might not keep Samuelson on the roster due to her injury, there must be a spot for her at the time of the trade. McCowan had averaged a career-low 12.9 MPG and did not seem to be a part of the Wings’ long-term plans.