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With all 13 WNBA teams looking to trim their rosters to get to the maximum of 12 players, some very good players will be up for grabs. Most teams had already made all the necessary moves ahead of the start of the regular season on May 16, however, the LA Sparks waited until the eleventh hour to make the surprising decision to part ways with Aari McDonald.
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Needless to say, the decision caught plenty of fans by surprise, and they took to social media to call out the Sparks:
"She a starter in this league," one fan said.
"Ain’t see this one coming smh," one fan wrote.
"Yea this is absurd!," another fan added.
"Tbh….. any team could use her," another said.
Others argued that this might have to do with Kelsey Plum's arrival:
"They must really trust Kelsey Plum at point guard, I don’t know if that’s a good idea tho," one fan chimed in.
"This makes sense. KP is going to have the ball in her hands a lot. not many minutes to go around at the backup PG position," another said.
The Atlanta Dream took McDonald with the No. 3 pick in the 2021 WNBA Draft. She spent three years there before joining the Sparks for last season, and she averaged 8.8 points per game in 21.8 minutes a night.
She was one of the first players off the bench and was projected to have a similar role next season. With a salary of just $78,831, per Spotrac, she wasn't going to be expensive, either.
Needless to say, it shouldn't be long before she finds a new home in the WNBA.
Sparks star Cameron Brink is making big strides in her recovery
Cameron Brink's injury and recovery will be one of the biggest storylines for the Sparks this season. She's expected to make her season debut around the All-Star break in June, and she recently told Sara Jane Gamelli of Ball Is Life that she's taking the right steps in the process:
"I'm thankful that I'm not getting any pressure from the org. The Sparks are doing a really good job of just supporting me fully through this process," she said.
Brink, the No. 2 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, excelled in her first 15 games before tearing her ACL against the Connecticut Sun, averaging 7.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game.
She's expected to play a major role because of her rebounding and rim protection, but just like all players coming off such a delicate injury, the team will most likely handle things slowly and ease her back into the fold once she gets cleared to return.
