Yet in the two weeks since drafting former North Carolina point guard Ivory Latta, the Detroit Shock head coach and director of player personnel has made a series of moves to dwindle the roster to the 11 players he will take into the 2007 season. He did so nearly a full week before training camp opens April 22.

It began April 6, two days after the draft, with the release of guard Angelina Williams. That was followed by the April 13 announcement that guard Kedra Holland-Corn, a member of both Shock championship teams, had retired after six WNBA seasons. It concluded with the April 16 release of guard Dionnah Jackson.

Sabrina Palie, a first-year guard from France, has informed the Shock she plans to stay overseas this summer. The Shock retains her rights, but Palie will not count on the roster or against the salary cap, finalizing the Shock roster at 11.

Laimbeer may have preferred to enter training camp with all 15 in hopes of increasing their trade value or better assessing his team, but it was a scenario that he simply could not afford to play out. Players injured in WNBA training camps must be compensated by the team they are in camp with, which then counts against the team’s salary cap. The Shock, which has several veterans making more than the league minimum, could not risk losing salary cap space that way.

It was Laimbeer’s plan to trade this year’s No. 11 overall draft pick for a 2008 first-rounder, but that was before Latta, widely considered a top-four pick a month before the draft, fell in his lap. With the additional free-agent signing of Shannon “Pee Wee” Johnson to back up current starters Katie Smith and Denna Nolan, Laimbeer had to clear room in the backcourt.

Jackson was a Shock first-round draft pick in 2005 but never played a game for them. She was released prior to the season and just re-signed Mar. 15. Williams, acquired last May from the Phoenix Mercury, averaged 2.0 points in 21 regular season games and 1.4 points in seven playoff games.

Holland-Corn, however, played a substantial role in the Shock’s first championship team, averaging 9.2 points as the team’s top reserve. Holland-Corn was traded to Houston after the season but returned in 2006, playing in all 34 games and again playing a key supporting role. She retires with career averages of 8.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.35 steals per game.

The final Shock roster has two centers (Kara Braxton, Katie Feenstra), four forwards (Jacqueline Batteast, Swin Cash, Cheryl Ford, Plenette Pierson) and five guards (Johnson, Latta, Nolan, Elaine Powell, Smith).