The Atlanta Dream waived Lovelace, who is joining her sixth team in seven WNBA seasons, on July 8. She averaged 6.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game for Atlanta. In three games against Detroit this season, Lovelace had her best performance on June 29, when she had eight points and four rebounds.

In two weeks, Lovelace went from a first-year franchise that lost its first 17 games to join the Shock, who are positioned for a third straight Eastern Conference title. Lovelace is the kind of hungry veteran that can spark a team that has gotten used to success. She hasn’t been on a playoff team since 2004, and her teams have gone 35-84 over the past three and a half years.

Lovelace was born and raised in Detroit, starring at St. Martin DePorres before becoming one the Big Ten’s top players at Purdue University.

“Man, it feels incredible,” Lovelace said before her Shock debut Tuesday. “It’s like a dream come true for me to have an opportunity to play at home. Hometown is where it all began. I’ve been all over the world, all over the league and just to end up back here is a great feeling.”

Lovelace’s strengths are exactly what Shock GM and head coach Bill Laimbeer likes to see in his frontcourt. She has size, an ability to run the floor (see keeping Kara Braxton over Katie Feenstra in the off-season) and can stretch defenses with her shooting touch. Lovelace is shooting a career-best 41.7 percent from 3-point range in 2008.

“I think it gives us a veteran presence,” Laimbeer said. “We have [Tasha] Humphrey and [Olayinka] Sanni, who are rookies; really unsure what’s going to happen down the stretch with their mind-sets, so I brought in a veteran player who is long at 6-5 and can shoot from the perimeter to free up the inside for us.”

Lovelace’s shot-blocking ability is also a bonus. Her 0.7 blocks per game is second on the Shock behind Plenette Pierson (1.4 bpg).

Lovelace fits in nicely with the frontcourt players already in place. She could potentially join the starting lineup, given Laimbeer’s penchant for veterans. Like current starter Humphrey, Lovelace’s main asset would be her ability to shoot from the perimeter. But the vet is also a better rebounder and defender at this point in her career than the rookie from Georgia.

“Our 4 spot, where Tasha Humphrey’s right now, is potentially a rotating spot depending on matchups and who’s playing well at that time in the season,” Laimbeer said. “I told Stacey when she came in that there are minutes to be had; she has to earn them, and I expect her to compete for them.”

Signing Lovelace also allows Laimbeer to solidify former starter Kara Braxton in her backup role. Braxton is enjoying her best season coming off the bench after mixed results in 2007.

Sanni started eight games earlier in the season, but the ’08 second-rounder has been an energy player off the bench for the past month. Though she’s very much in the team’s future plans, Sanni does not appear to have a major role this season, outside of a two- to three-minute burst each night.

“I think rookies every now and then, depending on who you are and what opportunities you’re given, will find a niche and fall out of that niche sometimes,” said Laimbeer, referring to Humphrey’s recent struggles but depicting Sanni’s predicament as well.

Lovelace had a season-high 18 points on 8-of-19 shooting in a loss to San Antonio June 18, then grabbed a season-high eight boards two nights later at Washington. She became expendable after the Dream acquired 6-foot-7 center Alison Bales from Indiana on July 4. Laimbeer said an expansion franchise will often retool its roster toward the end of its inaugural - and typically loss-ridden - season.

“They’ll identify players who won’t be there long term and hopefully let them go and we were fortunate to get her,” he said.