{"id":97655,"date":"2025-07-27T21:04:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-27T21:04:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/97655\/"},"modified":"2025-07-27T21:04:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-27T21:04:11","slug":"li-yueru-reveals-main-reason-behind-joining-wings-after-successful-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/97655\/","title":{"rendered":"Li Yueru Reveals Main Reason Behind Joining Wings After Successful Debut"},"content":{"rendered":"

This era of professional basketball is certainly the era of player empowerment. A decade or two ago, it was the franchise or the front office that dictated where a player would be traded to. However, with LeBron James<\/strong>\u2019 \u2018The Decision\u2019, the whole script changed. Now, it\u2019s the players who decide where they want to play. While more common in the NBA, the WNBA also has some recent examples of players asking for trades.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One such recent example is of Li Yueru<\/strong>. Li was acquired by the Seattle Storm before the 2025 WNBA draft in a deal that sent Kelsey Plum<\/strong> to the Los Angeles Sparks. With the Seattle Storm expected to have a good season and be a dark-horse for championship contention, most players would have just stuck with them. However, Li Yueru wanted to have increased minutes. Playing double-digit minutes just twice in her Seattle tenure, Li asked for a trade.<\/p>\n

Her request was finally granted as she was traded to the Dallas Wings. While the rumour mill was in full flow, with plenty of \u2018experts\u2019 giving their reasoning for the trade request. Li Yueru recently gave an explanation for her trade request. Appearing on the In Case You Missed It podcast with Khristina Williams, Li gave her reasoning for the trade.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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She set the record straight by saying, \u201c I just fell, I\u2019m so happy now and I can play more time is my first step. Next step, I hope I can play good on the court and then help team get mor wins. I really want to do not only on the court, I want to do more things. Show people I can do more things and show them I will learn more and I will grow up fast. So, I try to do more things and hope our team gets better and better.\u2019\u2019 Her comments clearly stated a need to play more minutes and to have a bigger contribution to her team\u2019s success.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After being traded to the Dallas Wings, Li Yueru\u2019s minutes shot up. As of now, she is averaging 23.4 minutes per game with the Wings. Though the Dallas Wings have had a torrid season, Li\u2019s defensive contributions have been massive. Omnipresent near the rim to grab rebounds, and using her length to change opponents\u2019 shots, she does it all.<\/p>\n

Dallas Wings and a Season Full of Inconsistency<\/p>\n

When the Dallas Wings won the 2025 WNBA draft lottery, the hopes of every Dallas basketball fan were elevated. With a chance to draft Paige Bueckers, there were hopes that her entry into the league would mirror the impact Caitlin Clark had. However, things for the most part haven\u2019t gone to plan. Sure, Paige Bueckers has had a historic rookie year and has broken many records<\/a>. However, her performances haven\u2019t really led to the team\u2019s success yet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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via Imago<\/p>\n

Granted, the Wings had more than half their roster full of rookies and sophomores. And injuries have also played a big spoilsport with important players such as Tyasha Harris (out for the season) and Maddy Siegrest. Even Paige Bueckers has missed time due to minor niggles and the league\u2019s concussion protocol. However, things were not expected to be this bad.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Languishing near the bottom of the league with a 7-18 record, the season has been a big disappointment for the players and fans alike. However, growing pains are a part of the deal when you are rebuilding your team. Players coming out of college basketball need time to adjust to the league\u2019s pace. But, with the Wings sitting just five games below the playoff spot, the current season could still be salvaged.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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If not, then the Dallas Wings\u2019 fans can rejoice in the fact that theirs is a young one with a lot of potential. Give these players time to develop and there is no telling how high their ceiling could be. One thing is certain: this team, with Paige Bueckers at the helm, is going to be a big problem for the rest of the league in just a few years.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This era of professional basketball is certainly the era of player empowerment. A decade or two ago, it…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":97656,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[1619,62,1648,67,132,68,232],"class_list":{"0":"post-97655","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-npstrans","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-toppic","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us","14":"tag-wnba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114927230275955045","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97655"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97655\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}