Lynx trade Hollingsworth, cut two Minnesota-raised rookies

With their season opener just a week away, the Lynx got their roster down to 11 players, the maximum allowed.

The Lynx traded 6-5 center Quanitra Hollingsworth to the New York Liberty. The price? Not much -- the right to swap third-round picks in the 2012 WNBA draft. So, at best, the Lynx will have the 25th overall pick that year. Usually third-rounders don't make WNBA rosters.

The Lynx also waived two rookie guards, Angel Robinson and Kachine Alexander. Robinson was obtained in a draft day trade last month with the Liberty who took her in the second round, 22nd overall. The Lynx picked Alexander in the third round, 26th overall.

"They both had solid training camps," said Roger Griffith, the Lynx executive vice president. "They both came in and performed well as rookies. There are things we liked about both of them. Cuts usually are hard and this was no exception.

"But in the end run, rookies have things to learn. Both are solid basketball players and if they keep working who knows where they will end up."

Robinson played high school basketball for St. Paul Central, then attended Marquette. Alexander played for Benilde-St. Margaret's, then went to Iowa.

Robinson was hoping to make the roster as a backup for Lindsay Whalen at point guard or Seimone Augustus at shooting guard. But those two positions may be the team's two strongest.

Hollingsworth played two seasons for the Lynx after they drafted her with the ninth pick overall in the 2009 draft. She had played for Virginia Commonwealth. She averaged 3.5 points and 2.6 rebounds in 59 games.

"For us, Jessica Adair was winning the battle for that post position," Griffith said. "For the role that position will play, she was better suited [than Hollingsworth] and a little more versatile. She can play both [post] positions. She has really improved her game and kept working at it.

"Last year in Indiana, you saw what had happened. She won that spot outright, so we went looking for a spot that would give Q a chance."

Late last season, center Nicky Anosike left the team with a knee problem and the Lynx signed Adair on Aug. 18. Adair, a training camp cut, had five points and a team-high eight rebounds as the Lynx beat Indiana in overtime in their last game on Aug. 22.

"The roster really took shape long ago in the offseason with the Taj move and the Nicky move,"Griffith said.

"The No. 1 and 4 picks [Maya Moore and Amber Harris], we knew were probably going to be on the team," Griffith said. "The second and third-round picks were longshots even before we have their names."

As for Q, Griffith said, when teams pick near the bottom of the first round, those picks don't necessarily excel.

"Did we hope for more from [Hollingsworth]?" Griffith said. "Ya, we did. But that did not work out."

So here is how the Lynx roster shapes up:

Centers: 6-2 Taj McWilliams-Franklin, 6-4 Jessica Adair

Guard: 6-0 Seimone Augustus, 5-9 Lindsay Whalen, 5-9 Candice Wiggins, 5-10 Monica Wright, 5-11 Alexis Hornbuckle

Rookies: Moore, Harris

1-year veterans: Wright, Adair

3-year: Wiggins, Houston, Hornbuckle

5-year: Augustus

12-year: McWilliams-Franklin

Total years of WNBA experience: 40, or average of 3.6 years per player skewed by McWilliams-Franklin's long career.

Team averages just under 6-1.

The Lynx players had Friday off, but had practices scheduled the next three days before their exhibition at the Indiana Fever on Tuesday.