Subscribe
Follow Us
The Las Vegas Aces are certainly glad to have Jewell Loyd on the team. Las Vegas got a close win on Friday night, narrowly defeating Washington 75-72 thanks to game-winning three-pointer by Loyd. She certainly seems to be settling in on her new team.
Loyd opened up in a recent interview on her legacy in Seattle. She also spoke about her trade request that ultimately landed her in Las Vegas.
Loyd first requested a trade back in December. Loyd filed a complaint against the Storm reporting accusations of harassment and bullying by the team's coaching staff. An internal investigation lead to no results, and Loyd requested a trade shortly afterwards.
The Aces acquired Loyd in a blockbuster trade that involved sending Kelsey Plum to the Sparks.
Loyd claims that she did not have much of a say over her new destination once requesting a trade.
“Once the request was made, I didn't really have a say,” Loyd said. “Everything kind of worked out and I got to a place I wanted to be with people who I know and an organization that is a contender.”
The Storm believe they did their part in finding Loyd a suitable new destination. After all, Loyd has experience playing with many of the Aces' starters as part of the U.S. women's national team.
“I think we always try to do right by the players if we can, and if there's a situation that makes sense for us as well,” Seattle GM Talisa Rhea told ESPN. “I feel like that trade kind of accomplished all of those things.”
Becky Hammon calls Aces offense “dysfunctional” in narrow win over Mystics
The Aces may have gotten the win, but it was no up to the team's standard.
Article Continues Below
Head coach Becky Hammon made that abundantly clear during her remarks after the game.
“The first three quarters, we were just too much dribbling. You gotta pass; you gotta move the ball; you gotta cut,” Hammon said postgame.
Hammon even called her offense “dysfunctional” at one point in the interview.
“To win a game when you shoot 24% from three, you're doing some other good things,” Hammon said. “With the exception of the second quarter, I thought defense was pretty good. Our offense was very unorganized. It looked dysfunctional. It looked like not us.”
Hammon did not hold back any punches, declaring that her team was lucky to get the win.
“We were fortunate to win that game,” coach Becky Hammon said. “They dug really deep, and I gotta give them a lot of credit.”
The Aces will be motivated to play better in their next game.
Las Vegas will travel to Seattle on Sunday night in what should be an exciting Jewell Loyd revenge game.
