Entering the WNBA offseason with some larger contracts coming off the books and cap space available to address needs on the roster, the Minnesota Lynx were determined to add to the team and build off a year where they returned to the postseason in 2023.
The Lynx were aggressive early on in what turned out to be an active free agency period. They not only dipped into free agency but also via the trade market to add to the roster ahead of the 2024 campaign.
A few days before free agent signings could be announced, Minnesota made its first move of the offseason. The Lynx added 27-year-old forward Alanna Smith, who spent the 2023 season with the Chicago Sky.
With one area of the roster addressed, the Lynx shifted their focus to point guard—a position of need ever since Lindsay Whalen retired in 2018. Minnesota did just that with not one, but two point guard additions. First they acquired Natisha Hiedeman from the Connecticut Sun and later signed veteran Courtney Williams, following one year with the Sky.
The three will fit nicely around the existing Lynx core of Napheesa Collier, Kayla McBride, second-year players Diamond Miller and Dorka Juhász, and will join fellow newcomer, rookie Alissa Pili, who was drafted eighth overall by Minnesota in the first round of the 2024 WNBA Draft. The process of learning to play together might not take as long as some may think for the newest additions to the team.
In fact, Smith, Hiedeman and Williams already have ties together, having spent time as teammates elsewhere before landing in Minnesota. They are ready to build on that existing familiarity and chemistry to help the Lynx take the next step in 2024.
“I’m super hyped about it,” Williams said on the Hitting the Hardwood Podcast with Mitchell Hansen. “I think they were amazing additions and I’m super excited to be playing with both of them again.”
Williams and Smith
Williams and Smith joined forces for the first time a season ago when they both signed with Chicago as free agents prior to the 2023 season. While with the Sky, both players put together career years and also had success on the court together, playing over a total of 818 minutes.
In her eighth WNBA season, Williams put together a strong season in her first year primarily at point guard, averaging 10.4 points, a career-high 6.3 assists, 6.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals over 40 games. Smith had a breakout season in her fifth year as a pro, tallying career-highs of 9.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks in 38 appearances.
“Playing with [Smith] last year, I tell everybody that her energy is just contagious. She’s one of those players where you could tell her to run through a brick wall and she’ll do it,” Williams said. “She is going to do whatever the team needs, and those are the type of players you need on your team.”
While on the court together, Williams and Smith led their team to an offensive rating of 104.7 and a defensive rating of 104.9. They did this while shooting 48.6% from the field and 37.3% from three, according to PBP Stats.
“I had the pleasure of playing with Courtney last year, so I’m excited to go for a second year with Court,” Smith said. “I think we can only do bigger and better things and build off of what we did last year together.”
Williams and Hiedeman
Williams and Hiedeman spent the 2019 and 2022 seasons together with the Connecticut Sun, taking the court together for a total of 744 minutes together over the two-year span.
The 2019 campaign marked Williams’ fourth WNBA season and Hiedeman’s rookie year. Over that season, Williams averaged 13.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.4 steals over 34 contests, while Hiedeman tallied 3.7 points, 1.9 assists and 1.5 rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench.
“That was my rookie coming into the league,” Williams said of her time with Hiedeman as Hiedeman entered the WNBA. “To see her growth, to see how she has elevated her game. I think being in this system—having Cheryl [Reeve] and all of her experience—it’s going to do nothing but elevate her game more and more. She’ll be able to really hoop. I’m excited for what she’s going to bring out there.”
The 2022 season was Williams’ most recent — and last — stint with Connecticut, returning to her former team after a two-year stint in Atlanta. Williams posted 11.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.0 steals in 34 contests over that year, while Hiedeman averaged 9.1 points, 3.3 assists, 1.8 rebounds and a career-best 1.2 steals over 36 appearances.
While on the court together, Williams and Hiedeman helped their squad compile an offensive rating of 107.7 along with a defensive rating of 99.8. They achieved this while shooting 51.6% from the field and 35.4% from three, according to PBP Stats.
“I’m super excited about this transition, it’s a full circle moment for me, especially with me being drafted by the Minnesota Lynx,” said Hiedeman, who had her rights traded by Minnesota to the Connecticut Sun on draft night in 2019. “I’m super excited for what I can bring to the team and also have a familiar face in playing with Courtney again.”
Desire to Reunite
The Lynx are excited to bring some familiar faces back together again in Minnesota, and that feeling is mutual for the newest members of the Lynx.
When it comes specifically to the free agent additions of Williams and Smith, Minnesota stood out in free agency after showcasing belief in them and making the players feel wanted. Another enticing aspect of joining the Lynx was the desire to reunite and build onto chemistry established on previous teams.
“Just that feeling of being wanted so much and being needed on a roster,” Smith said of what stood out for her. “A big part of me was looking for a place where I could call home. Talking to everyone from Minny, just that feeling I got from them, I feel like Minny could be that second home for me and somewhere I can feel very comfortable.”
Not only was feeling comfortable with their next team an important aspect to their free agency decisions, but Williams and Smith also valued the relationship they have together—as well as the relationship they will build alongside Hiedeman and the rest of the Lynx roster. So much so that Williams and Smith reached out to each other as free agency began to gauge where the other was considering in an attempt to join forces once again.
“I remember I got a text from Courtney pretty early on saying ‘hey, what’s up? Where are you going? Let’s do it again together’,” Smith said. “This type of free agency, this time around, it was kind of new. …To hear from Courtney was really special for me and made me feel really good about my decision to go to Minny, because I knew Courtney wanted me there and I really enjoyed playing with Courtney.”
Regardless of how they arrived in Minnesota, either free agency or via trade, three players with ties to one another are back together again with the Lynx. They believe they will help the team not only duplicate the type of season put together in 2023, but excel beyond that this summer.
“They already have that chemistry, now we just have to come in and adapt to what they already have built and in place,” Williams said of the new additions joining the Lynx roster. “They already have that foundation, so it’s about us getting on board with what they are already building. I’m excited about that.”
Unless otherwise noted, all stats courtesy of WNBA.com.
