The Minnesota Lynx have made a move that will largely impact the look of the team’s second unit heading into the 2018 WNBA season.

The Lynx announced Wednesday that they have executed a sign-and-trade that will send forward Natasha Howard to the Seattle Storm in exchange for draft picks.

Seattle will send a 2018 second-round draft pick, which is pick No. 17, to Minnesota. The Lynx will also gain the right to swap first-round draft picks with the Storm in 2019.

Howard, who is just 26 years old and was a restricted free agent this offseason, spent two years in Minnesota and was one of the key pieces on the Lynx second unit. During 2017’s championship season, Howard averaged 4.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 11.7 minutes in 34 games.

It’s unknown what kind of contract Seattle offered Howard in free agency, but it must have been one the Lynx weren’t willing to match, sparking the two sides to work out a sign-and-trade for the young forward.

Now with four big second-unit pieces from 2017 gone, including Howard, Renee Montgomery (signed with Atlanta), Plenette Pierson (retired) and Jia Perkins (retired), it will be interesting to see who Minnesota goes out and signs as the free agency period continues.

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Mitchell Hansen

Mitchell is a contributing writer at Zone Coverage, primarily covering the Minnesota Lynx and the WNBA and the Minnesota Timberwolves and the NBA. Growing up watching Kevin Garnett bang his head against the basket stanchion in his No. 21 Wolves jersey and yell like a crazy person, Mitchell quickly became a basketball junkie. He comes to Zone Coverage with over seven years of experience in journalism, communications and digital fields, including five years at a newspaper covering various sports teams and a year-plus stint covering the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx as the organization's Web Editorial Associate. Follow him on Twitter @M_Hansen13.

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