The Minnesota Lynx today announced the team has agreed to a sign-and-trade deal with San
Antonio, trading guard/forward Roneeka Hodges to the Silver Stars in exchange for the right to swap second round picks in
the 2011 WNBA Draft. Hodges entered the 2010 season as a restricted free agent.
"It feels a bit strange not to be re-signing Roneeka after the great job she did for us last year filling in for Seimone," said
Lynx executive vice president Roger Griffith. "She showed last year that she can play in this league. The reality was that with
our offseason additions, which added to our depth at the shooting guard and small forward positions, we knew we weren't
going to be able to keep everyone. Other teams went after Roneeka and because of how our roster is made up today, we
knew that we weren't going to be able to retain her. At that point we started talking to the teams that were interested in her
to see what kind of sign-and-trade agreements we could work out, and this trade is the result of those conversations. Again,
Roneeka did more than what was asked of her last season and we wish her the best of luck in San Antonio. This is a good
scenario for both parties in that we're able to obtain something that could pay dividends for us down the road, while
offering Roneeka a chance at playing time in San Antonio. We just weren't in the position to offer Roneeka the type of
security that San Antonio was. We are very happy for her."
The Lynx originally acquired Hodges, a 5'10 guard/forward, via a dispersal draft involving former Houston Comets players on
December 8, 2008, and then signed her on May 7, 2009. In 33 games with the Lynx in 2009, the five-year veteran
averaged 9.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game while filling in for the injured Seimone Augustus. In 136
career games with Houston and the Lynx, the New Orleans, Louisiana native holds averages of 6.0 points, 1.8 rebounds
and 1.1 assists in 17.6 minutes per game.
The Minnesota Lynx will tip off the team's 12th season of basketball in the Twin Cities with their Home Opener on Sunday, May 16 at 6:00 p.m. against the Washington Mystics. Lower-level tickets are available for as little as $10 a game for the 17-game home season and can be purchased by calling 612-673-8400, e-mailing tickets@lynxbasketball.com, or visiting the Lynx website at
www.lynxbasketball.com.
For more news and notes on the team follow the
Minnesota Lynx on Twitter.
