Letter to Lynx Fans from Roger Griffith, Lynx COO
July 30, 2005The Minnesota Lynx today announced the team has traded guard Katie Smith and a second-round draft pick (2006) to the Detroit Shock for the Shock’s first-round pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft, guard Chandi Jones and forward Stacey Thomas.
Jones, a 5-11 guard, has appeared in 21 games this season for the Shock and is averaging 6.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg and 1.0 apg in 15.7 mpg. Jones ranks second in the WNBA in three-point field goal percentage at 48.6%, and is seventh in the league in three-point field goals per 40 minutes (2.2). In one-plus seasons in the WNBA, Jones has appeared in 52 games (eight started) and has averaged 4.5 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 14.0 minutes per contest.
Jones, who starred at the University of Houston, was the eighth overall draft pick in the 2004 WNBA Draft by Phoenix and was acquired by Detroit in a four-player draft day deal (April 17, 2004). She finished as Houston’s all-time leading scorer with 2,692 points, and posted career averages of 23.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.89 steals in 35.6 minutes per game. During her junior season, Jones led the nation in scoring with 27.5 points per game. Additionally, she was a 2004 Kodak All-American, a three-time Conference USA Player of the Year (2004, 2003, 2002) and a four-time Conference USA First-Team member.
Thomas, a 5-10 forward, has played five-plus seasons in the WNBA and has career averages of 3.0 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 16.0 minutes per game in 144 contests (39 starts) with Portland (2000-02), Phoenix (part of 2003) and Detroit (part of 2003, 2004 and 2005). In 17 games in 2005, she has averages of 0.7 ppg, 1.2 rpg and 0.5 apg in 7.8 mpg. Thomas, a University of Michigan product, posted career highs of 5.1 ppg and 3.9 rpg in 32 games (31 started) in 2000 with Portland.
Smith, a member of the Lynx since the team’s 1999 inaugural season, has appeared in 22 games (all starts) in 2005 with averages of 13.8 ppg (39.1 FG%, 34.3 3FG%), 2.4 rpg and 2.7 apg in 33.3 mpg. In 204 career WNBA games (203 started), the 5-10 guard has averaged 17.7 points (41.4% FG%, 37.2% 3FG%), 3.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 35.5 minutes per game. Smith, the all-time leading scorer in the history of women’s professional basketball (WNBA/ABL), became the first player to reach the 5,000-point plateau in a July 13th victory over Detroit at Target Center. A five-time WNBA all-star, Smith is also the WNBA’s career leader in three-point field goals with 460.
Prior to joining the Lynx, Smith played two-plus seasons (1996-97 - 1998-99) in the American Basketball League with the Columbus Quest, and was a member of back-to-back ABL championship teams. After the ABL ceased operations, Smith was allocated as a free agent to the Lynx by the WNBA on May 3, 1999.
