Lynx cut three, prepare for media day on Monday

Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve was a happy person on Friday.

Guards Seimone Augustus and Lindsay Whalen were in camp for the first time.

And, come Monday, she should be even happier. Because on the ninth day of camp everyone should be there. The last two arrivals are center Taj McWilliams-Franklin and forward Amber Harris.

"All your offenses look a lot better when you throw the ball to Seimone and she can score it," Reeve said after Friday's practice.

Reeve was joking with Augustus the first day, like two old friends who had re-united.

"We told her, you win a championship and you are the MVP of the [WNBA] Finals and you get your own shoe," Reeve said. "So you guys [TV cameramen] got to make sure you get a shot of her shoes, [with] Money Mone on it. She has that swag about her, Money Mone."

APPROACH TO OLYMPIC BREAK

Augustus, Whalen and Maya Moore will be playing for the U.S. team there.

"I hope their luggage is really heavy when they come back with the gold medal," Reeve said. "That is really first and foremost a priority. I really would like them to come back healthy, understanding that they are traveling across the waters. It is a long season, so when we get back here, we will really check to see where they are. We won't change a thing going into the Olympics. That is for sure.

"We really want to be good in those 18 games and then when they get back, get a measure of how they feel physically. We have a team that is deep enough where [if] we have to cover for them for a little bit until they get their legs back under them, we will do that. But we will see how they are once they get back from London."

Reeve said Whalen, who had offseason surgery on her left ankle for bones spurs is 100 percent. "Her physical went well," the third-year Lynx coach said. "We have no concerns for either Lindsay or Seimone. They both can go full tilt."

AUGUSTUS GOOD EXAMPLE

Handle? Ballhandling skill. Sweet J? Sweet jumper.

"More than anything, they can learn from Seimone is that she is a great story. After the first five years of struggles, and then in your sixth year, if you stay with it, you can to believe in what you are doing and you continue working at it, great things happen to you. Mone is a great story."

HIGH EXPECTATIONS

Reeve said she expects the Lynx to be considered the preseason favorite to win the WNBA title.

"That is what we want," she said. "We are the reigning champs. We won't talk about it a lot because our mindset is about us. Everything we do is about us. We control our own destiny. We understand that all those cliches are going to be thrown out there and we will read about it all the time. The opposing teams are going to talk about it.

The Houston Comets repeated as WNBA champions in the second year of the league, 1998, and then won two more titles in a row. The Los Angeles Sparks also won back-to-back titles in 2001 and '02. But nobody has done it since.

FRESH FACES

So what new players are looking good in camp? "The very natural one to talk about is [Devereaux] Peters; she has done really well," Reeve said of her team's first pick in the recent WNBA draft last month.

The Lynx took Peters with the No. 3 overall pick. She is a 6-2 forward from Notre Dame.

The only other draft picks in camp were Julie Wojta of Wis.-Green Bay and Kayla Standish of Gonzaga, taken No. 18 and 19, respectively, in the second round. Wojta is a 6-0 guard or forward. Standish a 6-2 forward.

"Both of them are coming on. Wojta is now going from just trying to watch and learn into now competing. The same thing for Standish. They are getting more and more comfortable the more [camp] goes.

"And Wojta is a competitor. Anytime you compete, you have a chance to stand out."

It was not a surprise Standish was cut. She wasn't expect to make the team. But what is unusual is that she was cut so early. Two rookie free agents are still with the team, which has 14 players and still needs to get down to 11 players for the season.

Sunday's other cuts were 5-7 guard Tavelyn James from Eastern Michigan and 6-2 center/forward Jasmine Lee of Memphis. Both were rookies signed as free agents.

Here is the Lynx roster today:

6-4 Jessica Adair 2 8

Comments: Can rebound, score inside as backup

6-2 Taj McWilliams-Franklin 13 Expected Monday

Comments: At 41, oldest player in WNBA

6-2 Devereaux Peters R 8

Forwards

6-5 Amber Harris 1 Expected Monday

Comments: Showed flashes of talent as rookie

6-2 Rebekkah Brunson 8 2

Comments: One of best rebounders in league

Comments: WNBA rookie of the year

5-11 Queralt Casas R 8

Comments: Free agent from Spain

Guards

6-0 Seimone Augustus 6 3

6-0 Julie Wojta R 8

Comments: Versatile, also F, from Wis.-Green Bay

6-0 Brittany Rayburn R 8

Comments: Free agent from Purdue

5-11 Candice Wiggins 4 8

5-10 Monica Wright 2 8

Comments: Strong, two-way player

5-9 Lindsay Whalen 8 3

Comments: WNBA assists leader last season

5-9 Erin Thorn 9 8

The other likely camp cuts are Casas, Rayburn and Wojta, but Wojta might be hard to let go. Reeve seems to be high on her.

CAMP'S PURPOSE

Reeve gave Whalen a week off before she reported to training camp. So does a veteran like Whalen need training camp?

"What training camp is about is getting back with your teammates and establishing [things] for the the new year, for 2012," Reeve said.

"For me, this is my 12th season in the league. Tthe thing I learned very early on is, what you do in training camp really is a good indicator of how the season is going to look. So that's why training camp is so important. And more than anything it is just about timing, what plays you are going to run, understanding what the points of emphasis are going to be.