For Lynx and new players, season begins with introductions

To give you an idea of how much the Lynx roster will change this year, consider this: When the team opened training camp Sunday at its practice facility at Mayo Square, there were only two players — Lindsay Whalen and Maya Moore — who were a part of the team when training camp opened a year ago.

"We're getting names down,'' Whalen said. "When there are a lot of new faces, you have to make it a point to overcommunicate.''

Center Sylvia Fowles joined the team at midseason last summer, as did backup guard Renee Montgomery. Two other starters — Seimone Augustus and Rebekkah Brunson — still are playing in Europe, and could be for a while. Then the Lynx are experiencing a huge turnover with their bench.

The Olympics being held this season means both training camp and the start of the season will be earlier than usual. That means both Augustus and Brunson could be pushing it, schedulewise, depending on how far their teams get in the playoffs.

The silver lining in that? Their absence will enable forward Natasha Howard and guard Jia Perkins — both acquired via trade — to get a lot of reps with the first team. For a younger player like Howard, that's a big deal.

"Sure, we'd love to have all our players here," coach Cheryl Reeve said. "But, in Brunson's absence, it's a chance for Howard to really learn.''

• Forward Bashaara Graves will be limited for a while after having surgery on the pinkie finger of her left hand to repair a fracture.

• To fill out their training camp roster, the Lynx signed Kaili McLaren and Sydney Wallace. McLaren is a 6-2 forward who most recently played in Europe. McLaren was a teammate of current Lynx players Moore and Montgomery at Connecticut. Wallace, a 5-8 guard, played at Georgia Tech.