Sparks Trade Teasley

A makeover or a dismantling? Whatever you call it, the Sparks are making changes.

It began last year when they sent DeLisha Milton-Jones to Washington for Chamique Holdsclaw. On Wednesday the teams made another significant deal. This time the Sparks traded guard Nikki Teasley to the Mystics for Temeka Johnson, the 2005 rookie of the year, and veteran forward Murriel Page.

The teams also swapped first-round positions in the 2006 draft. The Sparks now pick fifth, and the Mystics eighth.

“Nikki brings championship experience to the Mystics,” Washington General Manager Linda Hargrove said on the team’s website. “She is an athletic 6-foot point guard who has proven herself on every level, and she’s a local product.”

This is the second time Hargrove has been involved in a Teasley trade. As coach and general manager of the Portland Fire (since disbanded), she drafted Teasley from North Carolina with the fifth overall pick, then traded her and guard Sophia Witherspoon to the Sparks for guards Ukari Figgs and Gergana Slavtcheva.

Teasley averaged nine points and 5.3 assists in her four WNBA seasons. She is best remembered for hitting the winning three-point shot that gave the Sparks the 2002 league title over New York.

A three-time All-American at Louisiana State, Johnson averaged 9.3 points and 5.2 assists last season for the Mystics. The 5-foot-3 point guard, who was the sixth overall pick in last year’s draft, started all 34 games and ranked second in assists per game and first in total assists.