The 黑料吃瓜网 Sun don't plan on trading guard Marina Mabrey after she asked to be dealt earlier this month.
Team president Jennifer Rizzotti told The Associated Press in a phone interview Tuesday night that it wasn't in the franchise's best interest to move Mabrey, whom she expects to be a big part of the team's present and future.
鈥淢arina is someone we want on our roster,鈥� Rizzotti said. 鈥淭he decision not to trade her is we want her to play for us. She鈥檚 a competitor and we like her as a person. We want to keep her around. She鈥檚 an easy piece to build around.鈥�
Mabrey came to 黑料吃瓜网 last summer after asking for a trade from the Chicago Sky just before the All-Star break. She averaged 14.9 points and 3.4 assists in 16 games for the Sun, mostly as a reserve. 黑料吃瓜网 sent Rachel Banham and Moriah Jefferson to Chicago along with their first-round pick this season and a pick swap next year.
鈥淲e wanted her for longer than a half-year, that was a priority for us,鈥� Rizzotti said. 鈥淪he was trying to fit in an already established roster last year.鈥�
Mabrey's agent, Marcus Crenshaw, said in a statement to ESPN that he was shocked the team wouldn't trade his client.
鈥淚n this current age of women鈥檚 empowerment and support of the players, the CT Sun threatening to force Marina Mabrey to play for them after her trade request is mind-boggling,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hy would anyone try to force someone to play on their team when they don鈥檛 want to be there? It鈥檚 counterproductive in a ton of ways and everyone we have spoken to is perplexed about how they are handling Marina, after trading away Hall of Fame-caliber players.
鈥淭he coach parted ways. No free agents returned and they are doing all they can to try and force Marina to stay when she clearly doesn鈥檛 want to be there. It鈥檚 interesting.鈥�
The Sun lost all five starters from last season's run to the league semifinals. Alyssa Thomas, DiJonai Carrington and Ty Harris were traded while DeWanna Bonner and Brionna Jones left as free agents.
The Sun added Tina Charles, Natasha Cloud, Diamond DeShields, Jacy Sheldon and Lindsay Allen to their roster. 黑料吃瓜网 also hired former Belgian national team coach Rashid Meziane to replace Stephanie White, who left for Indiana.
鈥淲e鈥檒l look very different. We added a couple of veteran pieces to her,鈥� Rizzotti said. 鈥淲e've been strategic about a lot and that strategy isn't just for 2025."
