Lynx Gain Needed Guard Depth With Addition of Sims

Odyssey Sims is officially a guard for the Minnesota Lynx.

That’s a sentence I don’t think any WNBA fan would have ever expected to say.

The Lynx announced on Monday that they acquired Sims in a trade with their rival the Los Angeles Sparks in exchange for guard Alexis Jones.

Initially, when looking at the trade for Sims, it’s a really interesting and somewhat of an eyebrow-raising move made by Minnesota for a few reasons unrelated to how Sims impacts a team with her skills.

For the past two seasons while she has been in Los Angeles, Sims and the Lynx have engaged in some back-and-forth on the floor in a few different heated exchanges in big moments.

During Game 4 of the 2017 WNBA Finals, Sims and Lindsay Whalen had a heated exchange after Whalen fouled Sims hard while she was going up for a breakaway layup. That play resulted in Whalen — who said after the game she was “just trying to send a message” — receiving a flagrant 1 foul and eventually getting fined by the WNBA.

The next season, in the 2018 regular season opener at Target Center, Sims and Whalen got into it once again after a timeout was called on the floor. The two exchanged some shoves and words as they made their way back to their respective benches, resulting in multiple technical fouls being called on both sides.

Sims even went on to say post-game that she “didn’t even know if (Whalen) was still on the team at one point” during the game.

The beef between the two sides, mainly Sims and basically a majority of the Lynx team, has been interesting to follow over the past two seasons.

But now, Sims is officially joining the team that she long viewed as one of her bitter rivals and enemies. And she could very well be a nice fit in Minnesota this season.

Switching Sides in the Rivalry

As Sims makes her way from the Sparks side of the rivalry over to the Lynx with the trade, her abilities and skills on the court have the ability to help Minnesota right out of the gate in 2019.

Sims is coming off somewhat of a down year in Los Angeles in 2018, averaging 8.2 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 25.5 minutes per game, while shooting 38.8 percent from the field, 27.3 percent from three and 72.2 percent from the free throw line.

Although her numbers were a bit down a season ago with the Sparks, Sims will likely be allowed the opportunity to get more time on the floor in Minnesota this season, especially with the Lynx no longer having Whalen and Maya Moore in the starting lineup.

Sims also fits in fairly nicely within the rotation and personnel in Minnesota, carrying a defensive-minded approach while also being a tough-nosed player than can create her own shot offensively. She has also started to establish more of an outside game that could prove to be an important addition to the Lynx.

Sims has also shown flashes earlier on in her career that she has the ability to hurt defenses with her offensive production, recording a 44.7 shooting percentage from the field in 2017 and totaling a career shooting percentage of 39 percent entering her sixth season in the WNBA.

The 5-foot-8 guard, who will turn 28 years old in the middle of July, could be a nice pairing alongside Danielle Robinson at the point guard position and will allow veteran guard Seimone Augustus to manage her minutes a little bit more to stay fresh as she continues on in her lengthy career.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcwTD2yS-dQ

Considering the history between Sims and the Lynx and the bitterness that has stood between the two sides throughout the years, it’s going to be weird for many to see her suit up for Minnesota for the first time this season.

But overall, this is a trade that made a lot of sense on many levels for the Lynx. And it could be a trade that helps them make the transition without two star players out of the starting lineup this summer.


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