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The Connecticut Sun are one of many WNBA teams that feels like it just needs to get all the puzzle pieces together at the right time. The Las Vegas Aces and Washington Mystics missed out on that opportunity last year, for example, but will both have their top two stars together this season. The Sun, on the other hand, missed out on having their big three together in 2020 and will miss out on it again in 2021 with Alyssa Thomas out for the season with a torn Achilles. Jonquel Jones and DeWanna Bonner will get to play together for the first time, though, and we’ll see if they can give an always-scrappy Connecticut team enough talent to be in the middle of the pack even if it can’t be near the top like it would be with Thomas.
There are several reasons why a player’s year-by-year production might improve: health, a change of scenery or simply that player’s own growth. Here are a group of WNBA players we expect to take their games to the next level in 2021.
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Once again, the Connecticut Sun head into a WNBA Draft without a first-round pick and will wait until late in the second round of Thursday s draft to make their first selection.
The Sun do have back-to-back picks in the second round (20th and 21st overall), meaning they won t have to sweat choosing between two players.
“You would think back-to-back picks is a little bit of relief,” Connecticut head coach and general manager Curt Miller said with a grin during a Zoom call Monday. “You can take a deep breath and go, ‘Hey, we can’t go wrong.’
“You know the way I’m wired. . We’re going to get on the clock and I’m going to have three minutes (to pick), and I’m going to look at my staff going, ‘We’ve got two picks and I like three players.’”
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The Connecticut Sun have re-signed Brionna Jones, one of the most improved players in the WNBA, to a two-year contract worth $120,000 each year. They have also signed Sydney Wallace, who currently plays in Poland, to a training camp contract.
Earlier, the Sun re-signed Jasmine Thomas to a three-year contract and announced on Tuesday that they signed Alyssa Thomas to a multi-year extension despite the fact that she recently tore her Achilles while playing overseas.
The Connecticut franchise has demonstrated its loyalty to A. Thomas and its desire to test out its big three of A. Thomas, DeWanna Bonner and Jonquel Jones albeit in 2022 now, due to A. Thomas’ injury.