Milton-Jones Looks Ahead

DeLisha Milton-Jones was a critical cog in two Spark championship teams, so imagine her shock when she learned she had been traded to Washington.

The real shock, though, is there was no shock. Milton-Jones -- who was playing in Spain when the deal was made in March, exchanging her for the Mystics’ Chamique Holdsclaw -- not only welcomed a trade, but said she wished it would have happened sooner.

“When my agent asked me how I felt, I told him, ‘You know how I felt the past three years,’ ” Milton-Jones said. “If there was a way to get me out, then let’s do it.

“I felt there was so much more to my game than I was allowed to showcase in L.A. Nothing against them; there are some great players over there and I got to play on some championship teams. But I also think change is good.”

Respected as a defensive force around the WNBA -- her 6-foot-1 frame and 84-inch wingspan enable her to guard point guards to power forwards -- Milton-Jones said she sometimes felt her offensive abilities were overlooked.

“For the past six years I was playing a role that limited me,” she said. “I felt sometimes they only saw me as a one-dimensional defensive player who could hit the open shot.

“I wanted them to recognize the other parts of my game.”

Coming to Washington, Milton-Jones says, is a nice challenge.

“I felt this was not a struggling organization, but one that was always in the growing process,” she said. “And I felt I could come in and my experience could pay big dividends.”

Milton-Jones said she was more concerned about the trade’s impact on Holdsclaw. The three-time All-Star sat out the second half of the 2004 season for the Mystics while recovering from clinical depression.

“I was more worried about her as a person than as a player,” Milton-Jones said. “Going to a [new] situation in L.A., it would be a great thing for her if she was ready for it mentally. Or it could have been catastrophic if her mind wasn’t right.

“From what I’ve seen on the videotape of their games, things look good. I’m happy for them.”

Milton-Jones, 30, in her seventh season, had her own obstacles to overcome. She played in only 19 games last season because of knee injuries that required surgery in August. Her defensive presence was missed when the Sparks were upset in the playoffs by Sacramento.

She says she’s healthy now, and proved it by playing in Spain during the off-season. She also found time to coach a men’s team, the Los Angeles Stars of the American Basketball Assn., which had her husband, guard Roland Jones, in the lineup.

“Being on the other side of the game, I had the opportunity to call on the situations I saw Cooper in,” Milton-Jones said of former Spark coach Michael Cooper. “It was successful sometimes, and sometimes I felt like maybe I’d bit off more than I could chew. It taught me a lot about myself.”

She did not join the Mystics until their season opener last Saturday, and has attended only three full practices. But Washington Coach Richie Adubato, who has played Milton-Jones in both a win over Charlotte and a loss to Connecticut, said Milton-Jones was a quick study and was fitting in well.

“It’s great to have her because I know her game, her talents, her attitude and coachability,” said Adubato, who had previously coached Milton-Jones overseas. “Right now we’re trying to make her play some small forward. In L.A. she was primarily a power forward, so it’s an adjustment for her. She’s learning a new system and a new position.”

The Mystics, who reached the playoffs without Holdsclaw last season, have welcomed Milton-Jones unconditionally.

“You love to play with a player like DeLisha,” said forward Murriel Page, who has been with Washington since 1998. “You know every time she steps on the court she’s always doing whatever it takes to win.

“I felt she would bring us a lot of intensity, being a great defensive player. But she’s also a great offensive player. Furthermore, she’s a leader.”

Milton-Jones did not play against the Sparks when the teams met during the exhibition season, and she said there would be more than a trace of emotion when she faced her old team tonight.

“I’ll try not to cry,” she said with smile. “And if I do it will only be for a second. We all have a job to do. I have close relationships with everyone there. But tonight, during the game, it’s going to be different.”