ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Indiana has traded center Teaira McCowan to the Dallas Wings in a deal that gives the Fever two more picks in the first round of the next WNBA draft.
The Fever got the fourth and sixth overall picks from the Wings in the deal announced Tuesday. Indiana already had the Nos. 2 and 10 picks, and would be the first WNBA team to make four first-round picks in the same draft if it keeps and uses all of them.
Along with McCowan, a 25-year-old Texas native, the Wings got a seventh-round pick in the next draft for which the WNBA hasn't yet announced a date. The season begins May 6.
"This was a trade offer that made sense for both teams as we head into the 2022 regular season and we are now focused on 2, 4, 6 and 10,” said Lin Dunn, the Fever's interim general manager.
McCowan was the third overall pick in the 2019 draft after a standout career at Mississippi State. The 6-foot-7 center averaged 10.7 points and 8.8 rebounds a game in her 88 games (49 starts) the past three seasons for Indiana. She had career highs last season averaging 11.3 points and 9.6 rebounds, which ranked third in the league, and was fifth with 1.6 blocked shots a game.
“Teaira is one of the most dominant, young post players in the WNBA today,” Dallas Wings president Greg Bibb said. “Her size and skill will help solidify our interior post presence as we continue to build our talented roster.”
McCowan is playing overseas for OGM Ormanspor in Turkey, where she is averaging 20.4 points and 13.8 rebounds in the KBSL, and 21.9 points and 14.9 rebounds in 10 EuroCup games.
The deal also included an exchange of first-round picks in 2023. The Wings sent their first-round pick to Indiana, and got the first-round pick that the Fever had acquired from the Chicago Sky in another trade.
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