Veteran forward Tamika Whitmore, the centerpiece in the 2008 trade which sent Katie Douglas to Indiana, was waived by the WNBA's Connecticut Sun on Thursday.

The odds of Whitmore, who averaged 9.2 points and 3.6 rebounds in 58 games with the Sun, making the 2010 Connecticut roster were not promising with DeMya Walker claimed in a dispersal draft and the trade which brought former Nebraska All-American Kelsey Griffin to Connecticut.

“We thought this was the best course for both Tamika and the Connecticut Sun,” Vice President and General Manager Chris Sienko said in a statement. “Doing this now gives Tamika the best opportunity to find a spot on another team."

Give the Connecticut Sun hierarchy credit for making the WNBA draft interesting.

The three trades Connecticut made landed the Sun the No. 1, 3 and 7 picks. It essentially cost them Lindsay Whalen, Amber Holt, Chante Black and next year's No. 1 pick.

The result is that Kelsey Griffin and Danielle McCray hold head coach and player personnel director Mike Thibault's future in their hands. If they have the impact that Thibault thinks they will, the moves will be lauded. If they have the impact of former Connecticut first round picks Holt, Black and Ketia Swanier, it's likely that Thibault's run with the Sun could be over.

Personally, I think it was an incredible day for the Sun especially when you add in second-round pick Allison Hightower who I couldn't believe slipped out of the first round.

There will be some growing pains but I think the additions of No. 1 overall pick Tina Charles, Griffin and Hightower (McCray is still recovering from a torn ACL and won't play this season) to new additions Renee Montgomery, Kara Lawson and DeMya Walker change the Sun for the better. However, if the Sun miss the playoffs and the pick ends up turning into the No. 1 overall pick, Griffin will always be known as the player traded for the rights to Maya Moore.

I don't think that is going to happen. I expect Sandrine Gruda and Anete Jekabsone-Zogota to raise the level of their games as the two European stars continue to get more comfortable to the WNBA game. Asjha Jones is simply one of the best players in the league and should have more help in the frontcourt than she did last season.

The moves should make for an interesting training camp. Assuming Jones, Gruda, Jekabsone-Zogota, Lawson, Montgomery, Walker, Charles and Griffin make the team that leaves three spots for Hightower, Tamika Whitmore, Kerri Gardin and Tan White to fight over. If Hightower is as good as I think she is, I think that the final spot may come down to Whitmore and White. Connecticut Sun coach Mike Thibault said guard Erin Phillips will not be back with the Sun this season so she won't figure into the fight for the 11 roster spots.

On a side note, New York Liberty second-round pick Kalana Greene had some fun with Hartford Courant UConn/Sun beatwriter John Altavilla during her conference call with the Connecticut media today. John has periodically asked Charles and Greene about their thoughts on the upcoming WNBA draft and neither player would answer other than saying that they are focused on leading UConn to a national title. So when Kalana took a question from John today, her response of "now I can finally answer some WNBA questions" brought the house down.

EUROLEAGUE FINAL FOUR STARTS ON FRIDAY
Three-time defending champion Spartak Moscow Region, led by ex-UConn stars Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird, face the Gruda-led UMMC Ekaterinburg in the first EuroLeague semifinal on Friday while Ros Casares plays Wisla Can-Pack in the other semifinal in Valencia, Spain. The winners play in the championship game on April 11.

Connecticut Sun forward Asjha Jones will miss two weeks to rest her ailing left Achilles tendon. Jones, who has missed just six of 259 games since entering the WNBA in 2002, is Connecticut's leading scorer (16.7 points per game) and is second in rebounding and assists.

The top candidates to replace Jones (Amber Holt, Tamika Whitmore, Kerry Gardin and Chante Black) have all started at least one game for Connecticut this season.


Jones' former UConn teammate Diana Taurasi, who averaged 25 points, 4 assists and 3.5 rebounds for the Phoenix Mercury, was named the WNBA's Western Conference Player of the Week.

There's a chance that Amber Holt will play her first regular-season game with the Connecticut Sun on Saturday night.

Holt has been out since breaking a bone in her right hand in a May 27 preseason game against Atlanta. She practiced without restriction for the first time since suffering the injury on Thursday and went again on Friday.

Connecticut Sun coach Mike Thibault and head athletic trainer Jeremy Norman will meet before the game to decide whether to let Holt play against Detroit or hold her out until Tuesday when Los Angeles comes to Mohegan Sun Arena.

"The doctor said it is my decision if I want to play tomorrow but I am going to leave it up to Coach (Thibault)," Holt said. "Hopefully I’ll play."

Holt is not the only player who will be a game-time decision. Tamika Whitmore missed half of Friday's practice as one of the muscles under her knee is still a bit tender.

"Some days it feels great, some days it is pretty sore," Thibault said of Whitmore.

If Whitmore sits the game out, that would be noteworthy based on her ironwoman reputation.

Whitmore missed five games as a rookie with the New York Liberty in 1999 with a left ankle sprain. Since the beginning of the 2000 season, she has missed just one game (on June 25, 2003 when the Liberty played the Phoenix Mercury because of a sprained right foot.) Whitmore has played in 169 straight regular-season games.

ALL-STAR PRACTICES OPEN TO PUBLIC
Mohegan Sun Arena will host open practices for the East and West All Stars on Friday, July 24th, the day before the 2009 WNBA All-Star Game.

The East All Stars are scheduled to practice from 3-3:45 p.m. The West All
Stars will follow, practicing from 4:15-5 p.m. Arena doors will open at
2:30 p.m. and there will be no admission charged.

The All-Star lineups will be announced on Tuesday during the nationally-televised game between Connecticut and Los Angeles.

With Anete Jekabsone-Zogota, the 2007 FIBA Europe Player of the Year, taking part in her first practice with the Connecticut Sun on Sunday one player had to let go.

Former UConn star Barbara Turner, who at this point last year was being touted as a candidate for the WNBA's Sixth Player of the Year award, got the bad news that her run with team was over.

Turner was acquired in a trade with the Houston Comets last season and provided a spark off the bench. She worked hard on improving her perimeter game, spending time working with former NBA guard John Lucas the last two years. However, she never could get going offensively this season and even more damaging to Turner's chances of staying with the squad, she began to hesitate when given an open look. With the addition of Kiesha Brown, who can also play point guard, and Tan White, who were both picked up off waivers, something had to give. Although Connecticut Sun coach Mike Thibault loves Turner's toughness, the fact is that with shortened rosters in the WNBA, he could not afford to keep a reserve wing reluctant to shoot.

The Sun are not done adjusting its roster. With Sandrine Gruda expected to join the team later this week in Indiana, another player will need to be let go.

If the Sun let go rookie Lauren Ervin as expected, the roster will be rather imposing with Jekabsone-Zogota and Gruda joining starters Asjha Jones, Lindsay Whalen, Erin Phillips, Kerri Gardin and Chante Black (who may be back in time for Thursday's game at Indiana). Add in veteran Tamika Whitmore, Amber Holt (expected back at some point in July after suffering a hand injury in the preseason), Brown and White and the Sun have a roster capable of securing the franchise's elusive first WNBA title.

At some point in the next five, one member of the Connecticut Sun will be let go as Anete Jekabsone-Zogota will be activated.

Maybe I was imagining things, but I could have sworn that former UConn star Barbara Turner received louder cheers last night than at any other game I have been at. Perhaps the Sun faithful realize that it could be Turner's swan song? Connecticut Sun coach Mike Thibault, who handles all the player personnel decisions, wasn't about to spill the beans if he has already made his decision.

It is not a moment Thibault is looking forward to. Making matters worse for Thibault, a second player will need to be let go when Sandrine Gruda joins the team when they are in Indiana later this week.

Here are the options listed alphabetically:
Kiesha Brown: The guard was picked up in the preseason after she was waived by Washington and has made an impact both on the court and in the locker room. She gives the Sun another point guard which enables Thibault to rest both Lindsay Whalen and Erin Phillips and utilize Phillips more at the off guard. Brown is also emerging as a team leader in the short time she has been in Connecticut. I'd be surprised if she was let go.
Lauren Ervin: Showed some range on her jumper last night but with Chante Black possibly back for the Thursday game at Indiana and Gruda also coming in, Ervin like a likely choice to be cut although she may be the second one waived just in case Gruda and Black aren't available.
Barbara Turner: Turner was acquired last year to give the Sun some instant offense off the bench. However, Turner has become a shooter who either is reluctant to shoot or can't find the range. That's a tough combination. Turner is shooting 20.9 percent from the field and is 4 for 25 from 3-pointer range (16 percent). Ouch. Thibault loves her toughness. Turner was the first sub he summoned last night when Kerri Gardin was struggling to guard Chamique Holdsclaw and Turner's physical play seemed to bother Holdsclaw.
Tan White: Another veteran picks up off the waiver wire, White is a gifted offensive player who trails only Asjha Jones in shots per 40 minutes which is just fine by Thibault. She understands her role and has added a spark off the bench since she joined the Sun.
Tamika Whitmore: The longest of the long shots to be let go. Whitmore has struggled at times offensively this season but she is fourth on the team in minutes played. She just offers too much in the leadership department and getting caught short with post players is never a good thing so expect her to stick around.

We should know in a few hours but I believe Turner will be the first cut and Ervin will be the second to go. Then again, I thought second-round pick Lyndra Littles was going to make the team out of training camp.

One last thought - Latvia certainly takes its basketball seriously. There was a member of the media from Latvia at Mohegan Sun Arena awaiting Jekabsone-Zogota's arrival. She was supposed to be touching down in New York around the time the Sun's game was wrapping up. With the Sun expected to take the floor at about 3, look for the move to be announced before that since the team will need to stay at the 11-player limit.

The good news is that the elbow injury suffered by Connecticut Sun center Chante Black does not appear to be a season-ending one. The bad news is that the Sun will be without its tallest player when the Atlanta Dream, which headed into today's game against Chicago second in the WNBA in rebounding and rebounding margin, comes to the Mohegan Sun on Saturday.

According to team officials, Black suffered a moderate sprain of her left elbow during Sunday's victory over San Antonio. She is not expected to play on Saturday against Atlanta. Her condition will be evaluated following that game by team
physician Ammar Anbari.

Black was injured in the third quarter of a 71-58 Connecticut victory when
she tried to brace herself while falling after colliding with a San Antonio player. She scored a career-high 11 points and her eight rebounds was one shy of her career high. Black started the first six games of the season. She was averaging 4.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 0.5 blocks for the 3-3 Sun. Veteran Tamika Whitmore, who started 33 games for Connecticut last season, is a likely choice to replace Black in the starting lineup.

With Amber Holt still sidelined with a hand injury, the Sun will only have nine healthy players until either Black or Holt are cleared to play. Following Saturday's game two players will need to be let go as Anete Jekabsone-Zogota and Sandrine Gruda are expected to report to the team before the Sun plays its next game on July 2 at Indiana. It is safe to say that neither Black nor Holt are being considered as possibilities to hit the waiver wire.

Just got off the phone with Connecticut Sun general manager Chris Sienko who said the final bit of paperwork on Barbara Turner's contract came through and she is signed up for the upcoming season.

Turner's signing means that the Sun have its top six scorers returning. Turner, who averaged 8 points and 3.2 rebounds for the Sun in 2008, becomes the 10th player under contract for the coming season joining Lindsay Whalen, Ashja Jones, Tamika Whitmore, Amber Holt, Kerri Gardin, Sandrine Gruda, Erin Phillips, Ketia Swanier and Danielle Page on the roster. They accounted for 87 percent of Connecticut's points, 82 percent of the rebounds and 84 percent of the assists.

The Sun have offers out to unrestricted free agents Tamika Raymond and Svetlana Abrosimova and restricted free agent Jamie Carey. The team is continuing to negotiate with Anete Jekabsone, the fourth-leading scorer in the 2008 Olympics. Sienko said "we are not worried" about coming to terms with the 25-year-old guard. Lauren Ervin, the Sun's third-round pick, is also expected to be in training camp according to Sienko.

Although the roster limits have been cut from a maximum of 13 to 11, the training camp roster rules have not been altered. No WNBA team can have more than 15 players at camp at any time. With so many of the Sun players having European commitments, that should not be an issue or prohibit them from signing all the players from last year's team they want to.