Jackie Powell joins Howard Megdal on this episode of Locked On Women’s Basketball to share new reporting on Li Yueru‘s trade request. Yueru, who plays center for the Seattle Storm, has averaged just 9.1 minutes across the team’s first eight games.
“I had heard earlier that Li Yueru was considering not going to the Asia Cup, which is typically a tournament that happens the same year that Euro Basket does, and in some years it’s a qualifier for the Olympics,” Powell said.
“There was a thought of wanting to commit to the W, but the thing about how playing time has something to do with this–and this is a trends that we’ve seen with Chinese WNBA players over the years–if the Chinese Federation notices that one of their players is not playing meaningful minutes, they get in touch and they want to know why, and they want that player instead to be working with the National Team in China.”
Powell goes on to point out that Seattle essentially has several options at center and power forward on the current roster, including No. 2 overall pick Dominique Malonga, which makes the battle for meaningful minutes much more complicated.
“A trade here could be an easy win for both sides,” Powell argues. “I would not be surprised if Seattle gets some shooting in return from the guard or wing spot.”
In the second segment, Megdal shares his interview with Connecticut Sun guard Jacy Sheldon about adjusting to the league in Year 2 and settling with a new team following an offseason trade.
“I’ve really been trying to slow down and let the game come to me and and it does work,” Sheldon said. “I think just being able to change speeds, and being able to slow down sometimes and use that speed to my advantage even more, has been a focus of mine. But absolutely and then also just being more confident going into year two, being more comfortable, I think that shows out there too. So those are two things that have, you know, helped me in that aspect.”
Tune in to hear more from Sheldon and make sure you are subscribed to Locked On Women’s Basketball for news and interviews throughout the WNBA season.