Lynx Acquire Odyssey Sims in Trade with Rival Sparks

The Minnesota Lynx and the Los Angeles Sparks added another storyline to their always entertaining rivalry on Monday afternoon.

The Lynx announced on Monday that the organization has acquired guard Odyssey Sims from Los Angeles in exchange for guard Alexis Jones.

Sims, who is 27 years old, is coming to Minnesota has provided some Lynx fans with mixed feelings. The guard, who isn’t afraid to display her physical style of play throughout the course of a game, has been well-known to get into a few heated exchanges notably with former Lynx guard Lindsay Whalen throughout the course of the Minnesota vs. Los Angeles rivalry.

“We have gotten to know Odyssey Sims up close and personal from a competitive standpoint in our rivalry with the LA Sparks over the last few seasons,” Lynx head coach and general manager Cheryl Reeve said in the teams statement. “Odyssey brings us physical toughness and the ability to score at the guard spots. We look forward to her time as a Minnesota Lynx.”

Initially, the trade looks like a good one in favor of the Lynx. Sims provides Minnesota with a tough-nosed, physical guard that can come in and contribute in the rotation right away.

Sims, who has played in Los Angeles for the last two WNBA seasons, played in all 34 games with the Sparks a season ago. In 2018, she averaged 8.2 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 25.5 minutes per game.

A former No. 2 pick in the 2014 WNBA Draft, Sims has spent time with Tulsa, Dallas and Los Angeles in 156 career games in her career so far. She contains career averages of 12.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game, while also coming to Minnesota with some key playoff experience that could be very useful come postseason play.

Leaving Minnesota in the trade is young guard Alexis Jones, who was the 12th pick in the 2017 Draft by the Lynx and has been in Minnesota for the last two seasons.

Jones, who has played in 55 total games while recording averages of 2.9 points in eight minutes per game, has struggled to make some traction in cracking the rotation in Minnesota. While she could still prove to be a solid young player in her WNBA career, maybe a fresh start elsewhere could provide a jumpstart to Jones’ career.

“I want to thank Alexis Jones for everything she gave to the Lynx over the last two seasons, including being a member of our championship team in 2017,” Reeve said in the statement. “We wish her well in her new venture with the Sparks.”

Over the years within the rivalry between Minnesota and Los Angeles, Sims has been known to get under the skin of the Lynx and their fans with her physical and heated style of play.

Now, she makes the jump over to the other end of the rivalry and looks to carry that intense style of play to Minnesota in 2019.


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