Determined to keep their championship window open longer, the Minnesota Lynx emerged from the 2016 WNBA draft with a savvy 34-year-old veteran guard.
No, really. Needing backcourt depth to take minutes off Seimone Augustus and Lindsay Whalen, the Lynx drafted James Madison guard Jazmon Gwathmey with the 14th pick, then traded her to San Antonio for Jia Perkins. It was a deal worked out before the Lynx went on the clock.
"She is a person who has been an All-Star [once], another double-figure scorer who has been in the league a long time," Lynx President Roger Griffith said. "She's a great team player, has great character.''
Adding Perkins also will allow coach Cheryl Reeve to play Maya Moore more often at power forward.
The 5-9 Perkins has been top 10 in the league in steals the past four seasons. She has career averages of 11.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists.
• With the 22nd overall pick the Lynx drafted 6-2 forward Bashaara Graves of Tennessee.
• With their final pick (No. 35) the Lynx drafted Temi Fagbenle, a 6-4 center who was at Harvard, then transferred to USC as a grad student. She will finish her graduate degree this summer and not play basketball.
KENT YOUNGBLOoD
