Tina Charles Traded to Mystics from Liberty Ahead of 2020 WNBA Draft

The Washington Mystics acquired seven-time WNBA All-Star Tina Charles from the New York Liberty on Wednesday.

"We are extremely excited to bring Tina Charles to the Washington Mystics," head coach and general manager Mike Thibault said in the Mystics' press release. "It gives us a dynamic new weapon at both ends of the floor."

New York received guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, the 12th overall pick in the 2020 draft and first, second, and third-round picks in 2021.

The Liberty subsequently traded the Mystics' 2020 first-rounder and their 2021 second-rounder to the Dallas Wings for Tayler Hill and the Nos. 9 and 15 picks in 2020.

Charles' status in New York has been a storyline over the last few seasons as the Liberty embarked on a rebuilding phase. She took her time in re-signing with the team last offseason, and High Post Hoops' Howard Megdal reported in February the Phoenix Mercury were discussing a possible trade for the 2012 MVP.

Moving the 31-year-old makes sense because the Liberty are effectively hitting the reset button. They rolled out a rebrand Tuesday, which coincides with Sabrina Ionescu's likely arrival through the 2020 draft.

The terms of New York's trades with Dallas and Washington are somewhat surprising since the team already had plenty of guards. Bria Hartley signed with the Mercury, but the Liberty signed Layshia Clarendon to join a backcourt that already included 2019 All-Star Kia Nurse and 2019 No. 2 overall pick Asia Durr.

Properly managing Durr's development could be tricky for first-year head coach Walt Hopkins.

The Mystics are at the opposite end of the spectrum in that they already had a loaded frontcourt centered around 2019 MVP Elena Delle Donne and 2019 Finals MVP Emma Meesseman. LaToya Sanders and Tianna Hawkins were effective in reserve roles as well.

Charles is coming off the worst year of her career. She averaged 16.9 points and 7.5 rebounds but shot 38.9 percent from the field and 18.6 percent from beyond the arc. The Liberty had a minus-11.5 net rating with Charles on the court and a plus-2.5 net rating with her on the bench, per WNBA.com.

Playing for the reigning WNBA champions could see Charles rediscover her usual self. However, one can question how much better she actually makes Washington since the team's biggest question is how it fills the void left by Kristi Toliver.