MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL – The Minnesota Lynx today announced the team has acquired exclusive negotiating rights to Asjha Jones from the Connecticut Sun in exchange for Minnesota’s 2016 2nd round draft pick.
Jones, a 6-3 forward, has played 11 seasons in the WNBA, the last nine with Connecticut. She spent two years in Washington after being selected by the Mystics in the 1st round (4th overall) of the 2002 WNBA Draft, and was subsequently traded to the Sun on Mar. 25, 2004 in a three-team deal that also included Phoenix. Jones did not play during the 2013 WNBA season due to lingering injuries and missed the 2014 season after suffering a rupture of her left Achilles tendon.
A two-time WNBA All-Star (2007, 2009), Jones set a then-franchise single-season record for scoring average in 2008 (17.0 ppg) while grabbing 6.1 rpg and hitting a career-best 48.4% en route to being named to the All-WNBA Second Team. In 337 career games, Jones is averaging 11.4 ppg (45.1%), 5.0 rpg and 1.7 apg, while adding 9.6 ppg and 4.4 rpg in 39 postseason appearances.
Jones earned gold medals with Team USA at both the 2010 FIBA World Championship for Women and the 2012 Summer Olympics. She was also named MVP of the FIBA EuroLeague Final Eight in 2012 while playing for Spanish club Rivas Ecópolis. Most recently, Jones finished the 2014-15 winter campaign with Elitzur Ramla (Israel), where she tallied 12.1 ppg (47.4%), 5.3 rpg and 2.2 apg in 18 games. She has also played professionally in Russia, Italy, China, Turkey and Slovakia.
The Lynx will kick off their 2015 season at home against Tulsa on Friday, June 5 at 7:00 p.m. Full-season and half-season memberships are available by visiting www.lynxbasketball.com/lynxtix or by calling 612-673-8400.
Contact information: Ashley Carlson, Minnesota Lynx, (612) 673-1208, acarlson@lynxbasketball.com Kara Hille, Minnesota Lynx, khille@lynxbasketball.com