On a June 8 episode of StudBudz, Dijonai Carrington joined Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman on their Twitch stream. The three former Connecticut Sun teammates from 2022 chatted throughout the episode, and at one point, Williams started yelling while holding Carrington’s dog and demanded Hiedeman do a backflip.
Hiedeman jumped on the bed and did a backflip.
“What’s happening?” Carrington muttered.
“Ws in the chat,” Williams screamed in response.
What’s happening also happened to be the vibe of Minnesota Lynx Twitter on Sunday. It was in response to the news that the Lynx had traded for Carrington, who was the most improved player last season and made the first-team all-defense.
It was a stunning trade on its surface. However, the Lynx only sent the Dallas Wings Karlie Samuelson, who’s injured and out for the season, Diamond Miller, and a second-round pick in 2027.
Miller arguably is the headlining outgoing piece, given she’s the former No. 2 overall pick out of Maryland in 2023. However, injuries have plagued her past two seasons, relegating her to a bench role in 2025. For the Wings, Miller will have a chance to regain her footing as a talented up-and-coming star.
While Miller has upside potential, landing Carrington indicates that the Lynx are in win-now mode. Carrington will be an immediate upgrade over Miller coming off the bench, bringing defensive ferocity and toughness the Lynx have been missing recently.
Admittedly, Carrington has had a poor start to the season with Dallas. Her field goal percentage (35.4%) is the second lowest of her career. Her three-point percentage (26.0%) is the third lowest of her career and 11.0% lower than her career high of 37.0% in 2023. She has also posted career highs in turnovers per game (2.5) and defensive rating (110.2).
Minnesota’s assumption could be that Carrington’s fall off is related to playing on the 8-21 Wings. By returning to a contending Lynx team, Carrington can play a lesser offensive playmaking role and benefit from getting better shot opportunities playing with Napheesa Collier.
Carrington has had a sub-95.0 defensive rating in each of her first four seasons before her lone season in Dallas. She also never posted a negative net rating or a plus/minus in her first four years.
Carrington has an exceptional ability to lock down players on defense, capable of guarding four positions, from point guard to power forward. Her on-ball defense truly shines. She possesses an exceptional ability to move laterally and pick off errant passes, which has earned her the “seatbelt” moniker.
Carrington will likely come off the bench for the Lynx and give Cheryl Reeve more flexibility. The Lynx currently have a six-game lead for the top overall seed in the playoffs. The move will allow Reeve to adjust the minutes of her rotations to reduce the load on the Lynx starters, ensuring they remain healthy for the postseason.
The Lynx have championship goals. Therefore, it makes sense that they made a championship-caliber move to bolster their top-ranked defense. It will only be a matter of time before Carrington appears on StudBudz again, but Lynx fans should expect her debut on Tuesday against the Seattle Storm.
