DiJonai Carrington trade grades: Lynx bolster defense for title push; Wings add another talent for rebuild

Days ahead of the 2025 WNBA trade deadline (Aug. 7 at 3 p.m. ET), the league-leading Minnesota Lynx made a big swing to try and bolster their title chances. Early on Sunday, the Lynx sent Diamond Miller, Karlie Samuelson and a 2027 second-round pick to the Dallas Wings for 2024 Most Improved Player DiJonai Carrington. 

Sunday's trade comes as the Lynx await word on the severity of Napheesa Collier's ankle injury, which occurred late in their 53-point win over the Las Vegas Aces on Saturday. While the Lynx hold their breath on the MVP frontrunner's status, let's grade the trade for both teams. 

Napheesa Collier injury update: Lynx star and WNBA MVP frontrunner out at least two weeks with ankle sprain

Jack Maloney

To summarize:

Lynx receive DiJonai Carrington

Wings receive Diamond Miller, Karlie Samuelson, 2027 second-round pick

Lynx grade: B

The Lynx have been the best team in the league this season. They beat the Las Vegas Aces by 53 on Saturday to improve to 24-5, have a six-game lead over the New York Liberty in the race for the No. 1 seed and rank first in offensive rating (110.1), defensive rating (95.1) and net rating (plus-15.0). 

As constructed, the Lynx had more than enough to compete for a title, but coach and president of basketball operations Cheryl Reeve -- who has come under fire after Collier suffered the ankle injury while the team was up by 43 against the Aces -- did not hesitate at the chance to add more talent. 

Carrington had the best season of her career in 2024, when she won Most Improved Player, was named to the All-Defensive First Team and finished fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting. An offseason trade to the Dallas Wings did not pan out, however, and Carrington struggled to find her footing. She was removed from the starting lineup after 12 games and failed to make the defensive impact the Wings were expecting. 

It's not as if Carrington's defensive abilities suddenly disappeared, and you would expect her to get back to her best in Minnesota. Reeve is one of the best defensive coaches ever, and the team has terrific infrastructure on that side of the ball. Carrington will give them another option to throw at opponents' best perimeter players in the postseason. 

The big question with the trade is how Carrington will fit in the Lynx's five-out offensive system that emphasizes ball-movement and shooting. Over the last two seasons, the Lynx have been borderline unguardable because everyone they put on the court can shoot, which spaces the floor, and make decisions with the ball in their hands, which allows them to take advantage of the spacing. 

Carrington is a career 28.1% 3-point shooter and has made 26% of her attempts this season. She's also never had an assist rate higher than 12.9%, and has had an assist-to-turnover ratio below one in four of her five seasons. In her 20 games with the Wings this season, she had 36 assists and 49 turnovers. 

Come playoff time, teams will be able to ignore Carrington, which will muck up the Lynx's offense when she's on the court. Will Carrington's defense be strong enough to make the trade-off worthwhile? Against certain matchups, possibly, but the Lynx already have the best defense in the league, and it's hard to overstate how bad Carrington has been on offense this season. 

Carrington's accolades from last season will suggest that this is a bigger acquisition than it actually is for the Lynx. For the price, though, it's worth a swing. 

Karlie Samuelson is out for the season with a foot injury and a second-round pick in 2027 is meaningless for the Lynx. There's certainly a chance they regret giving up on Diamond Miller, but it's clear that Reeve didn't trust the former No. 2 overall pick. The Lynx are trying to win a title this season, and Carrington gives them a better chance to do that than Miller, even if the latter could end up being a better player years down the line.  

Wings grade: A

After a disastrous, injury-filled 2024 season, the Wings overhauled the front office, coaching staff and roster during the winter. Curt Miller came in as general manager, Chris Koclanes was hired as coach and they added more than half a dozen new players, including No. 1 overall pick Paige Bueckers and veterans NaLyssa Smith, Myisha Hines-Allen and Carrington. 

The Wings hoped to get back to the playoffs this season while also building for the future. Instead, they started 1-11 and major questions have been raised about Koclanes' ability to be a head coach. While Bueckers has been as advertised and her fellow rookie guards Aziaha James and JJ Quinerly have had some bright moments, this has been a frustrating season in Dallas. 

One of the few things the Wings have done well this season is act decisively when it became apparent they were going nowhere. Back in June, Miller sent Smith to the Las Vegas Aces for a 2027 first-round pick. He's continued the teardown with this deal that sends Carrington to the Lynx for Miller, a former lottery pick. Samuelson was included to make the money work and an extra draft pick is never a bad thing, but this deal was about acquiring Diamond Miller. 

After a promising rookie season in 2023, Miller had to undergo knee surgery early last season. By the time she was healthy, the Lynx had established themselves as title contenders and no longer had time to focus on Miller's development. Since returning from that injury, Miller played 20-plus minutes just three times.

There is clearly still a player there. When Miller did get a chance to play, she often performed. In the four games she received at least 15 minutes of playing time in this season, she averaged 9.5 points on 76.5% shooting, 1.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists. Her outside shooting remains a concern, which is one of the reasons she didn't get much of a chance in Minnesota, but she has the size and athleticism to be a unique two-way force on the wing. In Dallas, she'll get a real chance to prove herself. 

This is another excellent midseason trade by Miller. Carrington was underperforming and was going to be an unrestricted free agent in the winter. Flipping her for Miller, who is under team control through the 2026 season, could be a pivotal moment in the Wings' rebuild around Bueckers.