Sparks acquire Hamby and a first-round pick from Aces
The Sparks made their second trade of the offseason Saturday, acquiring forward Dearica Hamby and a 2024 first-round draft pick from the Las Vegas Aces.
The Sparks sent negotiating rights to forward Amanda Zahui B. and a 2024 second-round pick to the defending champion Aces.
Hamby, the sixth player of the year in 2019 and 2020 before becoming an All-Star in 2021 and 2022, has spent her entire eight-year WNBA career with the Aces franchise after getting drafted by the team when it was in San Antonio in 2015. She signed a two-year contract extension before last season. Starting 32 of 34 regular-season games last year, Hamby averaged 9.3 points per game, her fewest since 2018, and 7.1 rebounds. A knee injury limited her to 8.7 minutes in six postseason appearances as the Aces defeated the Connecticut Sun in the WNBA Finals.
At the Aces’ championship parade, Hamby announced she was expecting her second child, and her pregnancy appeared to cause a rift between the WNBA veteran and the organization.
In a statement on Instagram on Saturday, Hamby wrote she was “heartbroken” about the way her tenure in Las Vegas ended, accusing the Aces of bullying, manipulation and discrimination. She wrote members of the organization failed to follow through on promises used to entice her to sign the contract extension, questioned her commitment to the team after getting pregnant and told her she “was not taking [her offseason] workouts seriously,” despite working with team and personal trainers throughout her pregnancy.
After Hamby’s statement, the WNBA Players Assn. announced it will “seek a comprehensive investigation to ensure that her rights under the collectively bargained provisions of the 2020 CBA, as well as her rights and protections under state and federal law, have not been violated.”
— Thuc Nhi Nguyen
The Atlanta Dream acquired Olympic gold-medalist Allisha Gray in a trade that sent a pair of first-round picks to the Dallas Wings.
The deal gives the Wings the No. 3 overall pick in this year’s draft, along with the Dream’s first-round pick in 2025.
Gray, the WNBA rookie of the year in 2017, heads to Atlanta after a career-best season with the Wings.
Charlotte point guard LaMelo Ball was ruled out of the Hornets’ game against the Atlanta Hawks with a sore left ankle and right knee soreness . ... Boston guard Marcus Smart and center Robert Williams missed the second half of the Celtics’ game at Toronto because of right ankle and hyperextended knee injuries, respectively.
ETC. Shiffrin remains tied with Vonn for record Mikaela
American skier
Shiffrin’s pursuit of a recordbreaking 83rd World Cup victory is still on hold.
Shiffrin finished seventh, 0.39 seconds behind Slovenian winner Ilka Stuhec in a downhill on the course that will be used for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics in
Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
Shiffrin therefore remained tied with former teammate Lindsey Vonn for the women’s record at 82 wins each.
Aleksander Aamodt Kilde won the second men’s World Cup downhill on the demanding Streif course after overcoming two eventful days in the posh resort in Kitzbuehel, Austria.
Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield will require seasonending surgery on his right shoulder, the team announced. The 22year-old had 36 points, including 26 goals, in 46 games this season.
Pro Football Hall of Fame safety Ed Reed won’t be the next football coach at Bethune-Cookman after the Ed Reed Foundation announced on social media that the university declined to ratify Reed’s contract and “won’t make good on the agreement we had in principle, which had provisions and resources best needed to support the student athletes.”
The decision comes less than a week after Reed ripped the school in a profanity-laced social media post that went viral.
He accused Bethune-Cookman of having a dirty campus and failing to clean his office before he arrived.
He threatened to leave then, saying he was having to “clear out trash” while not even being under contract.
Reed apologized the following day for “my lack of professionalism“and addressed it again Saturday during an emotional farewell news conference.
Jamahal Hill defeated Glover Texeira by unanimous decision to claim the light-heavyweight crown at UFC 283 in Rio de Janeiro. In the flyweight title bout, Brandon Moreno got a TKO victory over Deiveson Figueiredo.
Sal Bando, a three-time World Series champion with the Oakland Athletics and former Milwaukee Brewers executive, has died. He was 78. The family said the former third baseman lost a battle with cancer that began over five years ago . ... Bill Schonely, the longtime Portland Trail Blazers broadcaster who coined the phrase “Rip City,” has died. He was 93.