Tag: dijonai carrington

DiJonai Carrington trade grades: Who won the Sun-Wings deal?

Who won the Sun-Wings deal?

Stop me if you’ve heard this within the last week. We’ve got another WNBA trade.

WNBA free agency has lived in an alternate universe this week. Kelsey Plum and Jewell Loyd got things started. Alyssa Thomas followed. Then, Satou Sabally entered the chat with a ginormous three-team swap.

Now, DiJonai Carrington is moving on to Dallas, effectively ending whatever was left of Connecticut’s era, which included two WNBA finals and six consecutive semi-final appearances.

She joins the Wings after four seasons in Uncasville and brings an impressive resume with 2024 Most Improved Player honors and a WNBA All-Defensive First Team nod.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DFiRTirOyrU/?igsh=MXhkc251bmxpZzdzNw==

Trade details:

The Wings get: Guard DiJonai Carrington, the No. 12 Pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, the rights to swap picks with Connecticut in the second round of the 2026 draft

The Sun get: Guard Jacy Sheldon and the No. 8 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft

May 15, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale (24) looks to shoot as Chicago Sky guard Dana Evans (11) defends during the first quarter at College Park Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Dallas Wings grade

Alright, new general manager Curt Miller. You’ve got my attention.

In the last week, the Wings lost three starters (Satou Sabally, Natasha Howard and Jacy Sheldon) plus part of its second unit (Sevgi Uzun and Kalani Brown).

But, through some wheeling and dealing, Miller netted Ty Harris (from Phoenix), NaLyssa Smith (from the Fever), DiJonai Carrington, and the No. 12 draft pick. Now, we’re cooking a bit. We’re simmering, even.

Here’s that starting lineup change again.

  • Old lineup:
    Jacy Sheldon
    Arike Ogunbowale
    Satou Sabally
    Natasha Howard
    Teaira McCowan
  • New lineup:
    Ty Harris
    DiJonai Carrington
    Arike Ogunbowale
    NaLyssa Smith
    Teaira McCowan

The re-tooled starting lineup is something tangible the Wings can work with during so much change. (Sorry, new head coach Chris Koclanes. You’ve got a lot happening here.) It’s hard to replace a Satou Sabally. But drying your tears with DiJonai Carrington and friends should help.

The best part of this trade is snagging Carrington from Connecticut, which probably wasn’t too hard considering the franchise’s state and former teammate Ty Harris and girlfriend NaLyssa Smith were already onboard.

Carrington is an immediate upgrade to Dallas’ backcourt. She’s a highly intuitive player with an out-of-this-world motor. Her two-way abilities are some of the best in the league and helped Connecticut become one of the league’s powerhouses last season.

DiJonai plays much bigger than she is, and that’s going to be a treat in Dallas. Get ready for lightning-quick buckets and stellar defense with plenty of steals and blocks.

In other words, IT’S SEATBELT SEASON. (Sorry, I had to.)

Also, Arike Ogunbowale has to be thrilled right now. Miller’s moves help soften the blow of a season of change. She doesn’t have to be everything all at once and can lean on her teammates to help bring Dallas back to prominence.

Keep an eye on how Dallas moves in the 2025 WNBA draft to sure up this roster. They could be an under-the-radar playoff team.

Trade Grade: B+

Oct 6, 2024; Uncasville, Connecticut, USA; Connecticut Sun guard Marina Mabrey (4) reacts after her basket against the Minnesota Lynx in the second half during game four of the 2024 WNBA Semi-finals at Mohegan Sun Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images

Connecticut Sun grade

Now, Connecticut Sun. I want you to come in and sit down. I’m going to hold your hand when I say this.

This is a rebuild. I don’t care what you tell yourself when you wake up in the morning; your actions say otherwise.

Say it with me. Rebuild.

Losing four starters (I’m including DeWanna Bonner in this) plus a head coach all in one offseason is truly something. From the outside looking in, it’s easy to assume it’s because of failed playoff runs or lost WNBA Finals. That’s the easy stuff. But it’s tough to ignore that so many people walked away from the franchise.

Is it a culture issue? Is it that they don’t feel valued? Is it that your players shouldn’t have to share the practice facility with a child having a birthday party?

You see where I’m going here. This is more than change. This is a mass exodus eyesore that you will have to fix.

How do you keep newly acquired Natasha Cloud, Rebecca Allen and Jacy Sheldon from bolting? What do you tell poor Marina Mabrey, who came to Connecticut to compete?

Whatever you do, you’re going to have to fix it fast. Reality is setting in, and you just handed your new head coach, Rachid Meziane, one heck of a mess.

Trade grade: C-

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Sun reportedy trade DiJonai Carrington to Wings, signaling end of an era in Connecticut

It’s the end of an era in Connecticut. DiJonai Carrington is going to Dallas.

DiJonai Carrington, you are a Dallas Wing.

Yep. Connecticut is in a full-on rebuild. Carrington was the last puzzle piece of a era for the Sun that included Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner, and Bri Jones as starters.

Alyssa Thomas is in Phoenix. DeWanna Bonner is likely going with her. Bri Jones went to Atlanta. And now, Carrington is reportedly going to Dallas, joining former Sun teammate Ty Harris and girlfriend NaLyssa Smith, who were both moved as part of the Satou Sabally trade.

Carrington’s run with Connecticut ends after four seasons. During 2024, her first season as a starter, she churned out quite an impressive year. The two-way guard won 2024 Most Improved Player honors and made the WNBA’s All-Defensive First Team.

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DiJonai Carrington gifted Marina Mabrey cooking seasonings in sweet but hysterical gesture

DiJonai Carrington gifted Marina Mabrey cooking seasonings, and we can’t stop laughing.

This story has been updated with new information about Marina’s cooking.

Dijonai Carrington gifted Marina Mabrey with cooking seasonings because friends don’t let friends suffer.

DiJonai and Marina have been cool since the latter was traded to the Connecticut Sun last year. Their enemies-to-friends redemption story is one of the best in sports, producing some pretty wholesome content. And the terrific shenanigans have continued now that both are down in Miami preparing for Unrivaled’s first season.

As you might expect, players have downtime when not training or practicing, which means things will be cooked. Marina shared a Gif photo to X (formerly Twitter) of her, uh, “spices,” thinking she was ready to throw down in the kitchen. But DiJonai had to intervene because Y’ALL. Marina had avocado oil spray, pepper and Himalayan pink salt. THAT’S IT.

Hours later, DiJonai shared a video of her gifting Marina some proper seasonings. “Alright, y’all. I had to run to the store and get my girl right!” Just a little starter pack,” Dijonai said.

Once Marina had her seasoning starter kit, she was ready to go. First, she tried eggs and then some pasta, which she shared with DiJonai.

News of her pasta found its way to Angel Reese, who provided some hysterical commentary that said the quiet parts out loud.

“Do you know I thought those were frosted flakes?” she told Marina.

Unfortunately, DiJonai won’t have Marina’s pasta either because she accidentally left it in a locker.

Maybe we’ll get more food adventures soon.

This is the kind of content we need in our lives. Marina versus the cooking seasonings is an underrated Unrivaled subplot. 10/10. No notes.

UPDATE: Apparently, Jackie Young and NaLyssa Smith have been involved with Marina’s cooking adventures. (See the final slide of the Instragram post for NaLyssa’s commentary.)

https://www.instagram.com/p/DE1EufWvfiZ/?img_index=3&igsh=eXNycHdwZjRqZnF4

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DiJonai Carrington and Marina Mabrey’s enemies to friends redemption arc is the best

This is the BEST plot twist.

Given the history, it’s still hard to comprehend Marina Mabrey and DiJonai Carrington on the same team. But their redemption arc is fantastic, and I’m totally here for it.

Marina and DiJonai weren’t exactly friends before her trade to the Connecticut Sun. They have a well-documented history of jawing at one another and getting very spicy — so spicy that fans created hysterical memes about them having to get along. But on Wednesday, we saw why Marina and DiJonai have worked so well together.

For context, DiJonai was doing everything that earned her Most Improved Player honors (steals, deflections, big shots), and when the Sun needed it most, Marina showed why the Sun traded for her. As Connecticut and the Indiana Fever were in a down-to-the-wire playoff game, she launched the COLDEST dagger 3-point shot, ending the Fever’s season.

Marina’s clutch shot had DiJonai totally hyped, and the pair pulled out Carmelo Anthony’s famous 3-point celebration on the sideline.

After the game, Marina and DiJonai were still hyping each other up, and it was actually pretty fantastic. This is wholesome activity, and I love it.

Fans were all in on Marina and DiJonai as well. Here’s what they said:

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DiJonai Carrington wins 2024 WNBA Most Improved Player honors after stellar season

DiJonai Carrington’s stellar season continues with Most Improved Player honors.

DiJonai Carrington is the 2024 WNBA Most Improved Player, and she deserves every bit of praise that comes with that honor.

Carrington was inserted into the Connecticut Sun’s starting lineup, and the rest is history. All season long, she’s been a pest on both sides of the ball, daring opponents to ask her to shoot 3-point buckets, get downhill to the basket or get caught sleeping so she could block a shot into oblivion and pick a pocket faster than lightning.

The 5-foot-11 guard averaged career highs in points, rebounds and assists and had a career-high in 25 games with 10 or more points. On defense, her career-high numbers in steals per game elevated her to ninth in the WNBA and pushed Connecticut’s defense to third in steals per contest. With DiJonai as one of the Sun’s driving forces, the team lead the league in fewest points allowed (73.6 per game) and defensive rating (94.1). Simply put, her signature seat belt celebration is WELL-EARNED.

https://twitter.com/WNBA/status/1838994851305504899

Here’s DiJonai’s reaction to winning her award:

https://twitter.com/DijonaiVictoria/status/1838993249203012055

 

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Caitlin Clark adamantly dismissed that there was any intent behind DiJonai Carrington poking her in the eye

She refused to blame Carrington for it.

Caitlin Clark’s first WNBA playoff appearance obviously didn’t go the way she would have hoped. The Fever dropped Game 1 against the Sun in a 24-point blowout, but on top of that, Clark struggled after taking an accidental poke to the eye from DiJonai Carrington.

Yet, given the narrative that has surrounded Clark and her treatment from WNBA players for much of the season, bad-faith arguments were made that Carrington intentionally poked Clark in the eye.

But you have to give Clark credit: She wasn’t willing to entertain that notion at all. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, she refused to blame Carrington for an accident that happens occasionally in basketball.

https://twitter.com/MatthewByrne1/status/1838636207338668466

Clark said:

“It wasn’t intentional by any means. You just watched the play. It wasn’t intentional.”

Carrington also told reporters that she was just trying to make a play on the ball.

https://twitter.com/MatthewByrne1/status/1838631673124261930

That should really be the end of it, and hopefully that proves true in Wednesday’s Game 2.

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Caitlin Clark refused to blame underwhelming game on DiJonai Carrington’s accidental eye poke

“I felt like we just played a crappy game.”

Caitlin Clark had the most Caitlin Clark response ever to accidentally being poked in the eye by DiJonai Carrington.

As playoff basketball goes, things get intense and physical. That includes Clark accidentally knocking out Carrington’s contact lens during a first-round Fever-Sun playoff matchup and Carrington accidentally hitting Clark in the eye during the same game.

But Caitlin knows that it’s part of basketball and postgame, she didn’t make any excuses when asked about it. (Clark finished the game with just 11 points and eight rebounds on 23 percent shooting and 2-of-13 from distance.) This is what she told the media about the accidental eye poke:

“Obviously, got me pretty good in the eye. I don’t think it affected me. I felt like I got good shots; they just didn’t go down. Obviously, a tough time for that to happen…”

“I felt like we just played a crappy game. The flow of the game was really bad…Overall, it didn’t bother me. Obviously, it didn’t feel too good when it happened. But it is what it is.”

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DiJonai Carrington grossly put her dirty contact lens back in after accidental Caitlin Clark smack

This was SO GROSS. I think I’m gonna hurl.

Caitlin Clark and DiJonai Carrington matchups have become must-see television. But fans probably DON’T want to see either of them do something gross — like put a contact lens back in after it fell on the floor.

During Sunday’s opening round of the playoffs, the Sun and the Fever were locked in a tense battle. Part of that matchup included DiJonai Carrington guarding Caitlin Clark. As previous history has shown, the two go at each other, often trading buckets and being physical.

During the first quarter, DiJonai inadvertently hit Caitlin in the eye while attempting to defend a made shot. In the fourth quarter, DiJonai was defending Caitlin again when Caitlin accidentally hit DiJonai in the head, knocking out a contact. Most fans assumed she would get some saline solution on the sideline and return to the game. However, DiJonai did not. She popped the contact lens back in, grossing out everyone.

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DiJonai Carrington correctly predicted (in April!) Caitlin Clark would set the WNBA assist record

DiJonai Carrington knew Caitlin Clark was going to be good before she ever hit the WNBA.

DiJonai Carrington correctly predicted Caitlin Clark would set the WNBA single-season assist record when Caitlin was still in college.

It’s no secret that DiJonai and Caitlin’s matchups have been intense. Early in the season, DiJonai was a locked-down defender on the rookie and even trolled Caitlin for flopping. As the season progressed and both players got better, they eventually exchanged 3-point shots in a later matchup.

But, it seems the two have even more history than many previously thought. Some craft internet sleuths uncovered a DiJonai tweet — from April 2024 — that correctly predicted Caitlin would break the WNBA single-season assists record when she entered the league.

Of course, many fans think DiJonai was likely trolling Caitlin before she even stepped foot on a WNBA court.

But DiJonai’s past tweets suggest that’s likely not the case. She tweeted complimentary things about Caitlin well before she became a pro.

However, in the comment section of Carrington’s April tweet, fans noticed her teammate Alyssa Thomas — who set the WNBA single-season assist record in 2023 — telling DiJonai, “Don’t play with me.”

To put some context on the situation, Thomas was saying to respect her name for leading the league in assists as a center. Essentially, it was very ironic that AT’s teammate didn’t choose her, and AT responded by seemingly laughing and telling her not to play about her skills. (For what it’s worth, Thomas is currently second in assists this season.)

Of course, fans also noticed that Sheryl Swoopes, who has had alleged beef with Caitlin in the past, was in the comment section as well. It is unclear whether Swoopes was seemingly laughing about Caitlin possibly leading the league in assists or Alyssa Thomas’s response to DiJonai.

DiJonai Carrington rips Fever fanbase for being the WNBA’s ‘nastiest fans’

DiJonai Carrington made it clear how she feels about Fever fans.

DiJonai Carrington has never been shy about how she feels and isn’t going to start now.

After the first-ever WNBA game in Boston’s TD Garden — a sold-out Los Angeles Sparks-Connecticut Sun matchup — wasn’t televised, Carrington came down hard on the WNBA. She wasn’t pleased with the marketing surrounding the event.

Following a tense back-and-forth matchup with the Indiana Fever Wednesday night, during which she traded buckets with Caitlin Clark, Carrington took to X (Formerly Twitter) to share some apparent frustrations. She ripped the Fever fanbase, calling them the WNBA’s “nastiest” fans. It’s unclear what the tweet may be referencing.

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