Lynx Acquire Danielle Robinson in Trade for 2018 First Round Pick

The Minnesota Lynx have their main group from last year’s championship club, but that hasn’t stopped them from continuing to build ahead of the 2018 WNBA season.

Newly-appointed general manager Cheryl Reeve and the Lynx announced Tuesday that they have acquired three-time All-Star Danielle Robinson from the Phoenix Mercury, along with a 2019 second round pick, for Minnesota’s 2018 first round selection (No. 12 pick).

Robinson, who made three-straight All-Star games between 2013 and 2015, while making the All-Defensive team each year between 2012 and 2015, fills a large need at the backup guard position for the Lynx this season.

Following the departure of Jia Perkins, who retired following last season, and Renee Montgomery, who signed with Atlanta this offseason, Minnesota was contemplating turning to the upcoming WNBA Draft or looking to acquire a player to fill that need at guard coming off the bench.

After assessing their options, the Lynx elected to go out and get one of the players they had their eye on for a while, bringing Robinson to Minnesota to give the team both a boost in the present and in the future.

“Her ability to push the pace, collapse opposing defenses, and create quality opportunities for her teammates, makes her one of the most unique players in our league,” Reeve said in the team’s official announcement of the trade. “Her combination of exceptional quickness and great instincts also makes her disruptive on the defensive end. Most importantly, Danielle has earned the reputation of being a tremendous teammate and exceptional member of any community she has served.”

After spending her first five WNBA seasons with San Antonio, Robinson is coming off of completing her first season with the Mercury in 2017. In Phoenix, she averaged 6.9 points, 3.4 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 23.5 minutes primarily in the starting lineup.

One thing that the 28-year-old guard provides the Lynx is a solid defensive presence that will mix together nicely with three 2017 All-Defense selections in Sylvia Fowles, Rebekkah Brunson and Maya Moore. Robinson also allows Minnesota to fill the gap as a backup guard that has the ability to initiate the offense, much like Perkins did with the second unit a season ago.

Robinson will provide the Lynx with a nice second unit threat and provides them with more depth for the 2018 season and for the future, which lacked in past teams due to patching the depth with older veteran players.

This offseason has been a busy one for Minnesota -- with another move more than likely to come before the offseason concludes -- and that continued on Tuesday with Robinson joining the defending WNBA champions.

Tim Faklis contributed to this report.