Source: Icon Sportswire / Getty
Everyone is scratching their heads after the LA Sparks announced it was waiving insanely popular (for obvious reasons) guard Te’a Cooper and reserve Arella Guirantes and second-round rookie Kianna Smith.
Cooper being cut comes as a shock because she came off a good season and recently signed a new deal less than four months ago. The cuts are nothing new as WNBA teams reduce their rosters ahead of Friday’s (May.6) season tip-off. Cooper isn’t the only shocking cut to make news. Minnesota also raised eyebrows after the team released Layshia Clarendon after coming off a season where she started 20 games for the Lynx. The team also cut their 2022 draft selections, Kayla Jones and Hannah Sjerven.
While Cooper’s 9.1 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 0.9 steals per game while shooting 32.4% from 3-point distance during her two years with the team don’t scream WNBA All-Star, it was good enough to earn her a new deal with the Sparks. Head coach Derek Fisher had high praise for Cooper,
saying in a statement:
“Her ability to disrupt the game defensively as well as attack the basket on the offensive end will be important for us moving forward. We’re confident she’ll continue to elevate her game and be an impact player in this league.”
Welp, it looks like Cooper will eventually continue to elevate and be an impact player on a new team.
Cooper is one of the WNBA’s most popular players with 1.5 million followers on Instagram, with her former Sparks teammate
Liz Cambage having 1 million. We don’t expect Cooper to not be on a team when the WNBA season begins. It just wouldn’t make any sense at all.
You can peep more reactions to the shocking news in the gallery below.
Photo: Icon Sportswire / Getty
