The LA Sparks loaded up their frontcourt before the WNBA trade deadline. They added 6-foot-2 forward Alissa Pili off the free agency market. Pili was waived by the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx last month, allowing her to move to the Sparks, which currently stands in the 10th seed.The Sparks announced the signing on their social media account with a simple welcoming message for Pili.“Welcome to LA, Alissa Pili!” the team wrote. View this post on Instagram Instagram PostShe will be reunited with her college coach and current Sparks tactician Lynne Roberts, who guided Pili to the 2023 Pac-12 Player of the Year award while she was at the University of Utah.Pili has played 14 games with the Lynx this season, averaging 1.9 points and 1.2 rebounds in 5.5 minutes. Pili was picked by Minnesota as the eighth pick last year, but she struggled to secure a slot in the rotation during her time with the Lynx. Overall, she played 36 games with the Lynx in the past two seasons and averaged 2.2 points (on 43.3% shooting) and 1.2 rebounds per game.Pili was also known as the first Alaskan woman to play in the WNBA. She is expected to add to the Sparks' toughness in the forward position, which is bannered by Dearica Hamby, Rickea Jackson and Azura Stevens, as they look to boost their playoff push.Led by two-time WNBA champion Kelsey Plum, the Sparks currently boast a 12-15 record, about 1.5 games behind the eighth-seeded Las Vegas Aces.Sparks coach Lynne Roberts expresses love for Alissa Pili before snagging her in free agencyFollowing her release from the Minnesota Lynx last month, Alissa Pili’s future looked bleak in the WNBA after two seasons of lackluster play. However, Sparks coach Lynne Roberts kept her trust in her former college player before snagging her in free agency.On July 14, Roberts expressed her love for Pili, trusting her to move forward with her career following her release from the Lynx.“I love her like a kid of my own," Roberts said. "I don’t know what we’re going to do. She’ll end up somewhere and maybe someday I’ll get to coach her again … She’s a hell of a player. She’ll land on her feet.”With her signing in LA, Pili gets to continue her professional career with a coach she has worked with in the past.