There has been a stressed relationship between Phoenix Mercury forward/center Kara Braxton for quite some time now and after serving a one-game suspension the team has dealt Braxton to the New York Liberty for guard/forward Sidney Spencer. This is the second consecutive season Braxton has been dealt mid-season.
"This was not an easy decision," president and general manager Ann Meyers Drysdale said. "However, we feel this is the right move in continuing our efforts to build a successful team within a first-class organization."
It is always a tough decision for a franchise to deal a talented player away, but it appears that the situation with Braxton was worse than most originally thought. The Mercury will greatly miss the forward's impact on the game. She was averaging 13.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game this season.
Spencer, 26, is averaging just 2.5 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.3 assist this season.
Make no mistake about it, this move was made purely to remove Braxton from the team. For a player the Mercury gave their 2011 first round draft pick for, this move hurts. The team loses a lot of value in this move.
Best of luck to Ms. Spencer as she makes her way to Phoenix.