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Dallas Wings star DiJonai Carrington has opened up about the shocking trade of her partner, NaLyssa Smith, at the end of June to the Las Vegas Aces. Carrington was in tears when the Wings sent Smith to the Aces for a 2027 first-round pick to help build Dallas' rebuilding efforts.
Speaking to Andscape, Carrington shared the emotions she felt about being separated from Smith. They had to act fast as she helped her partner pack and move to Las Vegas. She also encouraged the former number two pick that the trade was the best for her career.
"It was really an emotional day, and there was less than 10 hours for her to pack and be on the plane," Carrington said. "So, it was a lot of tears, a lot of (it). I'm excited for her, basketball-wise, and I told her, 'Go crazy, do your thing. This is a great move for you basketball-wise.'"
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DiJonai Carrington added that the hardest part of the move was going back to having a long-distance relationship with NaLyssa Smith. It's all about doing FaceTime with each other and finding the time together during a busy WNBA season.
"Off the court, it's hard to separate," Carrington said. "Like, now we're not gonna be able to be living our lives together every single day, and we've got to go back to FaceTiming all the time, and find a way to hang out with each other when we have off days."
The Dallas Wings acquired both Carrington and Smith in the offseason to build a solid roster around Paige Bueckers. However, the Wings got off to an awful start, having the second-worst record in the WNBA as of this writing.
NaLyssa Smith makes Aces debut against former team
Three days after her trade to the Las Vegas Aces, NaLyssa Smith made her debut for her new team on Thursday. It was against a familiar team, the Indiana Fever, the franchise that drafted Smith second in 2022. She spent three years in Indiana before getting traded to the Dallas Wings.
Smith came off the bench, providing four points and seven rebounds in 23 minutes. She was primarily brought in as a backup frontcourt player, though the Aces were generally bad against the Fever, with A'ja Wilson as the only exception.
Wilson outscored all of her teammates, 29-25, in the Aces' embarrassing 81-54 defeat. It was Las Vegas' first loss to the Fever since 2019, snapping a 16-game winning streak.
