Wings acquire Li Yueru from Storm in exchange for future draft picks: Impact on center’s playing time

The Dallas Wings acquired center Li Yueru in a trade with the Seattle Storm in exchange for two future draft picks, the teams announced Saturday.

Seattle will receive Dallas’ 2026 second-round pick, which includes the right to swap with the Connecticut Sun, and Dallas’ 2027 third-round pick, with the right to swap with the Indiana Fever, in return for Yueru.

Yueru had been in her first season with the Storm after being traded to the franchise as part of the three-way deal that sent Jewell Loyd to the Las Vegas Aces and Kelsey Plum to the Los Angeles Sparks last offseason. Yueru requested a trade from the Storm on June 4, a league source confirmed to The Athletic, with the source noting that a desire for increased playing time was central to the ask.

Yueru is in her third WNBA season and saw her minutes decrease from 14.4 per game last season with the Sparks to 8.7 this year. She elected not to play in this July’s FIBA Asia Cup, and the source said that the Chinese federation preferred her to receive more playing time if she was going to stay in the WNBA this summer.

Yueru led China in scoring (17.7 points per game) and rebounding (11.0 per game) at the Paris Olympics last summer.

“I’d love to stay here because I feel so happy every day, whenever I come to practice or go to the gym,” Yueru said about playing in the WNBA. “But I just want to play. I came to America only for one reason — just that I want to play basketball.”

In Dallas, she will have that opportunity.

The Wings are in desperate need of frontcourt depth as their two centers will be unavailable for at least a few games during the upcoming FIBA EuroBasket tournament. Center Teaira McCowan left the team earlier this month to join the Turkish national team, where she is a naturalized citizen, and German center Luisa Geiselsöder is set to join Germany this week.

With their departures to EuroBasket, NaLyssa Smith and Myisha Hines-Allen were the only other options first-year coach Chris Koclanes could have turned to at the center position.

Despite 2025 top draft pick Paige Bueckers averaging 17.4 points and 6.1 assists per game, the Wings are a league-worst 1-11. Dallas appeared as if it was set to pick up its second win of the season Friday night against the Las Vegas Aces, until the Aces closed the game on a 17-2 run to prevail.

Yueru could make her Wings debut Tuesday, when Dallas hosts the Golden State Valkyries.

The Storm (6-4) have four additional picks between the 2026 and 2027 drafts.

(Photo: Jerome Miron / Imagn Images)