The Lynx waived guards Linnae Harper and Erica Ogwumike on Monday, bringing their roster to 13. Another move will have to be made by Tuesday afternoon to reach the mandatory 12.
Lynx waive two players, still have one more roster decision to make
Linnae Harper and Erica Ogwumike were waived without ever getting a chance to show what they could do on the practice floor.
May 26, 2020 at 12:11AM
The WNBA has asked teams to finalize their rosters so players can start getting paid in June. This means both Harper and Ogwumike were waived before having the opportunity to show what they could do on the practice floor.
The league put the start of training camp and the season on hold in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. That gave Lynx General Manager and coach Cheryl Reeve difficult decisions to make without the benefit of a training camp.
Rosters must be at 12 by 4 p.m. Tuesday. As initially reported by the Associated Press, the league and players' union agreed that teams would have to get under the salary cap by Tuesday so that players could begin to get paid on June 1. The AP reported that waived players won't get paid but will receive benefits through June.
The WNBA is still working through multiple scenarios that could potentially allow the 2020 season, which was supposed to begin May 15, to proceed later in the summer.
The 5-8 Harper, an Ohio State product, was signed as a free agent. In her only WNBA season, she played for Chicago in 2018, averaging 2.0 points per game.
Ogwumike, the younger sister of Los Angeles Sparks stars Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike, is a 5-9 guard who averaged 19.0 points and 10.3 rebounds per game as a senior at Rice this past season. She was acquired through a trade on draft night after New York picked her in the third round, 26th overall.
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