SB Nation Arizona - Mercury Shake Up Roster For Playoff Run, Ohlde Traded For Braxtonhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/46593/arizona-fave.png2010-07-23T10:11:39-07:00http://arizona.sbnation.com/rss/stream/13483422010-07-23T10:11:39-07:002010-07-23T10:11:39-07:00Ohlde For Braxton Trade Is Official
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<p>From the team press release:</p>
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<p>Phoenix - The Phoenix Mercury acquired forward/center Kara Braxton from Tulsa in exchange for forward/center Nicole Ohlde and its 2011 first round draft pick, the club announced today.</p>
<p>"It was a hard decision to make," Head Coach Corey Gaines said. "Ohlde is a part of our championship family and we thank her for all she has contributed to this team the last two and a half years. Braxton is a force that will help us this year and into the future. She has played on WNBA championship teams. She is one of the few bigs in this league who demands a double team, which is what every coach in the world would love to have in a post."</p>
<p>Braxton, a 6-6 forward/center, is averaging 9.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game and is shooting 50% from the field. In four games vs. the Mercury this season she averaged 12.8 points and 4.0 rebounds including 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting last night in the Mercury's 123-91 win over the Shock. The sixth-year veteran holds career averages of 7.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.</p>
<p>"Kara adds a different dimension to our team," Mercury guard Diana Taurasi said, "a low post presence and a big body. She is a winner and has proved it in Detroit winning two championships."</p>
<p>Originally selected by Detroit in the first round (seventh overall) of the 2005 WNBA Draft, the Georgia University product was a part of two championship teams with the Shock (2006, 2008).</p>
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https://arizona.sbnation.com/2010/7/23/1584410/ohlde-for-braxton-trade-officialSeth Pollack2010-07-23T09:51:17-07:002010-07-23T09:51:17-07:00Mercury Shake Up Roster For Playoff Run, Ohlde Traded For Braxton
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<p>As SB Nation's WNBA site <a target="_blank" href="http://www.swishappeal.com/">Swish Appeal</a> originally reported, the Phoenix Mercury are close to announcing a trade that will send backup center Nicole Ohlde and the team's 2011 first round pick to the Tulsa Shock for Kara Braxton.</p>
<p>Multiple sources in Phoenix confirmed the deal as well. Braxton is expected to join the Mercury in Minnesota on Saturday for the second game of their current three-game road trip.</p>
<p>Baxton is a powerful post player who at 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds uses her size to battle in the paint.</p>
<p>The Mercury have struggled this season with interior defense and rebounding, a role that was supposed to be provided by the more mobile and skilled Ohlde.</p>
<p>Gaines said this about Braxton after the teams played last week, "Forget all the fancy step-through - all that bullshit. She (Braxton) goes straight to the basket - which is a force - so we kind of have to watch out on her."</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.swishappeal.com/2010/7/23/1584309/quick-analysis-tulsa-trades-kara">Swish Appeal's Q McCall provides this analysis</a> of Braxton's value to the Mercury:</p>
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<p>Braxton's biggest asset -- and perhaps the most important strength she brings to Phoenix -- is defensive rebounding. Braxton currently has a defensive rebounding percentage of 27% and has been among the top defensive rebounders in the league all season. For a Phoenix team that has been getting beaten on the offensive boards by nearly 8% -- among the highest differentials in the league -- having a center Braxton's size to help control the glass both helps them limit second chance points and trigger the fast break.</p>
<p>More subtly, Braxton's steal percentage of 4.4% places her in the elite among centers and the reason her average isn't higher could easily be attributed to the fact that she has had 10 less minutes a game than top center thieves. In addition, Braxton is reportedly in better shape than usual as a result of Nolan Richardson's rigorous workout regimen. As Phoenix looks to defend their title in the playoffs, Braxton might be something of an asset to bolster their post rotation.</p>
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<p>It will be interesting to see how Gaines uses his new powerful center who wouldn't seem to fit well in his up-tempo system. He will either need to use her in spot situations and key match-ups in the playoffs when things slow down or adjust how his team plays when she's on the floor.</p>
<p>Ohlde was touted by Mercury GM Ann-Meyers Drysdale and Gaines as a player that would play a crucial role this season but clearly never earned the trust of her coach.</p>
<p>Ohlde is only averaging 3 points and 2 rebounds in 11 minutes per game while Braxton gave the Shock 9.3 points and 4.6 rebounds in just under 17 minutes.</p>
<p>Braxton is also on an expiring contract which gives the Mercury some much needed flexibility in the offseason when Tangela Smith is expected to retire and there's a chance the Diana Taurasi will sit out the 2011 WNBA season.</p>
<p>That threat of Taurasi taking a summer off to give herself a break in what has otherwise been a year-round basketball career since turning pro in 2004 certainly could be motivating the Mercury to act now and sacrifice a draft pick to try and make another run at the title this summer.</p>
<p>Both players are making the WNBA max salary according to league sources.</p>
<p>Braxton has been with the Detroit and now Tulsa Shock organization since graduating from Georgia in 2005. She has two WNBA championships (2006,2008) and was an All-Star game starter in 2007 was named to the all-rookie team in 2005.</p>
<p>Ohlde, Kansas State, is in her 7th year as a pro and was acquired by the Mercury in a trade with Minnesota in 2009 that sent guard Kelly Miller and second-year center LaToya Pringle to the Lynx.</p>
https://arizona.sbnation.com/2010/7/23/2318277/mercury-shake-up-roster-for-playoff-run-ohlde-traded-for-braxtonSeth Pollack