Lynx trade with Mystics for former All-WNBA player Myisha Hines-Allen

Sitting in third place with 14 games left in the WNBA regular season, the Lynx added to their frontcourt depth Tuesday by acquiring 6-1 forward Myisha Hines-Allen from the Washington Mystics.

Minnesota traded backup point guard Olivia Époupa, backup forward Sika Koné and a second-round 2026 draft pick in the deal.

The addition of Hines-Allen could be significant for a Lynx team (19-8) that has performed far better than most league followers expected when the season began.

Hines-Allen is a physical power forward who can rebound, something Minnesota needs. The Lynx enter Wednesday night’s game at two-time defending champion Las Vegas near the bottom of the WNBA in defensive rebounding percentage.

Coming off the bench for the Mystics, Hines-Allen averaged 8.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and a career-high 2.7 assists in 19.1 minutes per game this season. She is averaging 7.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists per 36 minutes played. Her rebounding will help and her passing ability should fit in well with a Lynx team that leads the WNBA in assists.

It is also a move that doesn’t need to carry long-term financial implications because Hines-Allen becomes an unrestricted free agent after this season.

Hines-Allen has started 83 of 187 regular-season games in a career that began in 2018. She was a member of the Mystics’ WNBA title team in 2019. In 2020, she averaged 17.0 points and 8.9 rebounds, made 22 starts and was 10th in MVP voting. That year, she was named to the all-WNBA second team and was second in the voting for most improved player.

In 2022, she finished third in the sixth-player-of-the-year voting.

Hines-Allen gives Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve another option off the bench, one who can cover a couple of positions in the frontcourt, will score and can move the ball. It’s a move that shows the organization is trying to improve and deepen its rotation for the stretch run.

Hines-Allen, 28, is a native of Montclair, N.J.

Époupa, signed as a free agent, averaged 0.9 points and 1.5 assists in 16 games this season. She missed the runup to the Olympic break because of a leg injury.

Koné was acquired on draft night in a trade in which the Chicago Sky received Minnesota’s No. 7 pick — which was used on Angel Reese — with Minnesota moving to No. 8 and obtaining Koné, Chicago’s second-round pick in 2025 and the right to swap first-round draft choices in 2026. The Lynx used the No. 8 pick to select Utah star Alissa Pili.