CT Sun trade Jonquel Jones to New York while reportedly adding ex-UConn player Olivia Nelson-Ododa

Less than a week away from the start of WNBA’s free agency period, the Connecticut Sun are shaking up their roster in major ways – including bringing a former UConn women’s basketball player back to Connecticut.

Olivia Nelson-Ododa will return to Connecticut following a trade made by the Sun with Los Angeles on Monday.

In exchange for Nelson-Ododa, the Sun will be trading longtime point guard Jasmine Thomas and the rights to the Sun’s 2023 first-round draft pick (the No. 10 overall pick). Connecticut will also receive Jasmine Walker and the rights to Kianna Smith (who will sit out the 2023 season due to injury) in addition to Nelson-Ododa.

The trade was the second major roster move for the Sun on Monday. The team announced Monday afternoon that former MVP Jonquel Jones has been traded to the New York Liberty in a three-team deal. Jones reportedly asked for a trade to New York.

Nelson-Ododa graduated from UConn last spring and was selected No. 19 overall by the Sparks in the 2022 WNBA Draft. In her rookie season last summer, she appeared in 30 games with six starts and averaged 4.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 0.8 blocks with a team-high 56.0 field goal percentage in 14.5 minutes per game.

“Olivia is a promising young player that gives us depth and much needed length in the post,” Connecticut’s new general manager Darius Taylor said in the team’s release Monday. “Olivia’s potential to grow as both a player and a person in our organization is limitless. We look forward to her coming back to Connecticut and joining the team.”

As a Husky, Nelson-Ododa helped led the Huskies to three Final Fours and the 2022 National Championship game (the 2020 NCAA Tournament was canceled due to the pandemic). In 2021, she was named to the Big East Co-Defensive Player of the Year and to the conference’s All-Tournament Team and the All-Big East Second Team. As a senior last season, she was named to the All-Big East First-Team.

Nelson-Ododa solidified her spot in UConn’s record books finishing with 262 career blocks, which ranks her sixth all-time in program history. She led the Huskies last year with 7.5 rebounds, a 59.5 field goal percentage, 116 total assists and 55 blocks.

Nelson-Ododa becomes the second Husky to wear a Sun uniform within the last two seasons after Bria Hartley joined the team last summer as a mid-season pickup following Thomas’ season-ending ACL injury. Hartley played three games for the Sun in 2022 before she also suffered a season-ending ACL injury.

Thomas has led Connecticut’s offense for the past eight seasons. The former Duke standout started her WNBA career in 2011 with the Washington Mystics before playing for the Atlanta Dream from 2013 to 2015.

She appeared in five games last season for the Sun before tearing her ACL and sitting out the rest of the year. Thomas was a 2017 WNBA All-Star selection and in 2021 became the Sun’s franchise record for career assists (994).

“Jasmine Thomas’s presence on and off the court has been both a driving force and a calming presence to her teammates,” Taylor said “Her leadership and toughness have gotten the Connecticut Sun franchise to incredible heights over the last 8 years. As we look toward the future, we saw moving her as an opportunity to build, while also remaining as a championship contender for years to come.”

The Sun, who will begin its first season under new head coach Stephanie White after Curt Miller left to coach Los Angeles, is also trading its biggest offensive threat in Jones.

Connecticut is trading Jones in part of a three-team deal with the New York Liberty and Dallas Wings.

ESPN reported that Jones, a four-time All-Star and the 2021 WNBA MVP, requested the trade to New York despite having one more year on her contract with Connecticut.

“Jonquel has been an integral part of the Connecticut Sun’s growth over the last seven years, and we truly appreciate everything she has given to this franchise,” Taylor said in a release. “Ultimately, JJ’s trade was a decision that both parties decided was best. We wish her the best in her future endeavors.”

In return for Jones, the Sun receive New York’s Rebecca Allen and Dallas’ Ty Harris along with the No. 6 pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft. New York receives Jones and Kayla Thornton while Dallas receives New York’s Natasha Howard and former UConn/Liberty guard Crystal Dangerfield.

Allen is a seven-year veteran in the WNBA, spending her entire career in New York. She averaged 7.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists last season. She’s been a member of the Australian National Team since 2014.

Harris was the seventh overall pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft and has averaged 5.2 points, 1.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 0.5 steals per game throughout her three seasons in the league.

Jones led Connecticut with 14.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game last season on top of averaging 1.8 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.2 blocks.

She was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2016 WNBA Draft when she was selected by Los Angeles. However, she started her career in Connecticut and has remained in Uncasville for the past six seasons. She was named the 2017 WNBA Most Improved Player and the 2018 WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year before earning MVP recognition.

“To say I’m excited would be a huge understatement,” Jones said in a release from the Liberty. “To the fans, future teammates and everyone that has welcomed me to New York, thank you! I can’t wait to get this season going and show out in the Big Apple!!”

In her standout career thus far in the W, Jones has recorded 2,657 points, 1,633 rebounds, 315 assists, 178 steals and 270 blocks.

Maggie.Vanoni@hearstmediact.com  @maggie_vanoni