MINNEAPOLIS -- A day after trading to obtain exclusive negotiating rights to her, the Lynx have signed veteran WNBA forward Asjha Jones.
Minnesota dealt its 2016 second-round draft pick to the Connecticut Sun for Jones' negotiating rights Wednesday. The move came just hours before the team announced Janel McCarville had decided to sit out for the 2015 season.
Terms of Jones' new contract weren't disclosed.
Jones, a 2007 and 2009 All-Star, hasn't played a WNBA game in two seasons but has been active overseas, finishing the 2014-15 winter season in Israel.
"We are very excited to have added another WNBA All-Star to our roster," Lynx executive vice president Roger Griffith said in a release. "Jones will provide a good physical inside presence and veteran leadership to our team, which will help us compete for the WNBA Championship in 2015."
The 6-foot-3, 34-year-old power forward is expected to vie for a starting spot in training camp, which begins Sunday. In 337 games spread across 11 seasons (nine with Connecticut), she has averaged 11.4 points on 45.1 percent shooting, five rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.
Jones played for the United States' 2012 Olympic gold-medal-winning club and has played professionally in Israel, Russia, Italy, China, Spain, Turkey and Slovakia. A University of Connecticut product, she averaged 12.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game in 18 contests for Israeli club Elitzur Ramla this past winter.
The Lynx open the 2015 season at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 5 at home against Tulsa.
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