Phoenix Mercury sign Kiana Williams, waive Megan McConnell
The Phoenix Mercury have signed Kiana Williams and waived Megan McConnell in corresponding roster moves on Thursday.
PHOENIX — The Phoenix Mercury have signed Kiana Williams and waived Megan McConnell in corresponding roster moves, the team announced Thursday.
Williams joins the Mercury on a rest-of-season contract after having spent last season with the Seattle Storm.
In 13 games last season with Seattle, the 5-foot-7 guard averaged 0.8 points, 0.4 assists and 0.2 rebounds in 3.5 minutes per game.
Williams was selected 18th overall by Seattle in the 2021 WNBA Draft just after winning the NCAA Championship with Stanford.
She played in 10 games for the Storm during her rookie season but was later released midway through the season.
Before the 2022 season, she signed a training camp contract with the Mercury; however, she did not make the team’s opening-night roster.
Later that season, Williams played three games with the Storm on a hardship contract and one game with the Connecticut Sun while on a seven-day contract.
Last season, she was invited to the Storm’s training camp and made the team’s opening night roster. She was later waived and brought back on multiple seven-day contracts.
Phoenix Mercury waive Megan McConnell
To open up a roster spot for Williams, the Mercury waived McConnell. The team said imaging confirmed McConnell suffered a tibial plateau fracture in her right knee.
The Mercury will continue to assist McConnell in her rehabilitation, according to the team.
McConnell suffered the injury in her right knee while making her WNBA debut on June 3 while playing at the Minnesota Lynx.
McConnell signed a rest-of-season contract with Phoenix earlier that week and finished with three points, three assists, one steal and one rebound in 13 minutes in the loss at Minnesota.
The undrafted rookie out of Duquesne went down grabbing her right knee with 1:43 remaining in the game as she ran into Lynx forward Alissa Pili's thigh while both were jostling for a loose ball. McConnell was helped gingerly off the court by Mercury staff and headed toward the locker room.
Earlier this season, McConnell was invited to Mercury training camp and along with Celeste Taylor and Temira Poindexter was one of the last three players cut on the final day the Mercury had to name their roster.
McConnell averaged 3.0 points, 1.0 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.5 turnovers in 10 minutes per game over two preseason contests. She was the second-to-last player to come off the bench for the Mercury in both preseason games.
But as the Mercury dealt with injuries to Kahleah Copper (left knee), Natasha Mack (lower back) and Alyssa Thomas (left calf), and as the team lost Sevgi Uzun to EuroBasket, the Mercury waived Uzun on June 2 and signed McConnell to her deal the following day.
Because McConnell signed a rest-of-season contract and the injury happened during a WNBA game, the Mercury will be required to pay McConnell through the time it takes for her to recover from the injury. All salary owed/paid will hit the Mercury’s cap.
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