Former Lady Tiger Roneeka Hodges traded to San Antonio
The Minnesota Lynx today announced the team has agreed to a sign-and-trade deal with San Antonio, trading guard/forward Roneeka Hodges to the Silver Stars in exchange for the right to swap second round picks in the 2011 WNBA Draft. Hodges entered the 2010 season as a restricted free agent.
"It feels a bit strange not to be re-signing Roneeka after the great job she did for us last year filling in for Seimone (Augustus)," said Lynx executive vice president Roger Griffith. "She showed last year that she can play in this league. The reality was that with our offseason additions, which added to our depth at the shooting guard and small forward positions, we knew we weren't going to be able to keep everyone. Other teams went after Roneeka and because of how our roster is made up today, we knew that we weren't going to be able to retain her. At that point we started talking to the teams that were interested in her to see what kind of sign-and-trade agreements we could work out, and this trade is the result of those conversations. Again, Roneeka did more than what was asked of her last season and we wish her the best of luck in San Antonio. This is a good scenario for both parties in that we're able to obtain something that could pay dividends for us down the road, while offering Roneeka a chance at playing time in San Antonio. We just weren't in the position to offer Roneeka the type of security that San Antonio was. We are very happy for her."
The Lynx originally acquired Hodges, a 5'10 guard/forward, via a dispersal draft involving former Houston Comets players on December 8, 2008, and then signed her on May 7, 2009. In 33 games with the Lynx in 2009, the five-year veteran averaged 9.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game while filling in for the injured Seimone Augustus. In 136 career games with Houston and the Lynx, the New Orleans, Louisiana native holds averages of 6.0 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 17.6 minutes per game.