Examining the trade between the Atlanta Dream, Indiana Fever

We've gotten our first official trade of the WNBA offseason!

On Friday, Rachel Galligan of Winsidr reported the Atlanta Dreamand Indiana Fever agreed to a player swap. The upstart Dream willbe acquiring veteran guard Danielle Robinson, while the Fever willget guard Kristy Wallace in return.

BREAKING: The Atlanta Dream have tradedKristy Wallace to the Indiana Fever in exchange for DanielleRobinson, sources confirm to @Winsidr

Wallace was a bright spot for the Dream, providing shooting(36.8% from three), connectivity against tilted defenses andphysicality on the non-glamour end of the floor. If The W had anAll-Rookie second team, she would've been in strong considerationfor a selection.

Robinson, a former All-Star (2013-15), provided a blend ofpull-up shooting and table-setting for the younger-than-anyoneFever last season. She started all but one game she appeared in,but held a lower minute load (23.6) as the Fever opened up playingtime for rookie point guard Destanni Henderson.

Despite the lack of star power in this trade, I'm intrigued bythe ripple effects, particularly for the Dream. Robinson is notonly seven years older (with more than 10 years of W experiencethan Wallace), she's also slated to make much more ($155K) thanWallace ($64.6K) will this season. Her addition to the roster isinteresting considering the presence of Aari McDonald, as well asErica Wheeler's pending free agency.

To that point, Wheeler let this tweet fly shortly after thetrade report came out:

Major respect for T and Dan @AtlantaDreamfor calling me before today's news! Forever grateful for my ATLfamily! One of the best ran franchise! 🤞🏾

If Wheeler winds up leaving the Dream, adding Robinson forveteran depth makes some sense. Beyond that, her (higher) salarycould be easier to use in a future trade, depending on who theDream target. For no reason at all, I'll note that Robinson'ssalary is $14K lower than Wings' forward Allisha Gray. It would becool if the Dream were, I don't know, listed as a possible tradedestination for Gray a few days ago.

For the Fever, this feels like a no-brainer. They can use somehelp on the wing, and Wallace could provide spacing and secondaryattacks for their young core. Ridding themselves of Robinson shouldfree up more playing time for Henderson, who only averaged 16.4minutes per game on the year.

(Also, Henderson showed fun flashes to close out the year. Heraverages – 9.4 points, 4.2 assists in 24.3 minutes – don't pop offthe page, but her speed, playmaking and increased willingness tofire from deep should excite the fanbase moving forward.)