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Unrivaled Surprises With Huge Trade Before First Games Take Place

A three-team trade in Unrivaled has made for additional intrigue from fans.
Grant Young|
Oct 15, 2023; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Las Vegas Aces guard Jackie Young (0) talks with an official in the second quarter against the New York Liberty during game three of the 2023 WNBA Finals at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Oct 15, 2023; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Las Vegas Aces guard Jackie Young (0) talks with an official in the second quarter against the New York Liberty during game three of the 2023 WNBA Finals at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

We are now less than one month away from the start of the Unrivaled 3x3 women's basketball league, which tips off in Miami, Florida on January 17.

While the 36-player Unrivaled rosters haven't been finalized (there is still one more "wild card" player to be announced), that hasn't stopped a three-team trade from being made, which SB Nation's Noa Dalzell reported on Saturday evening.

"The Laces are trading Courtney Williams to the Lunar Owls in exchange for Natasha Cloud. Then, the Laces are trading Cloud and the final wildcard spot to the Phantom, in exchange for Jackie Young and Tiffany Hayes," Dalzell wrote in a December 21 article.

"As a result of the three-team trade, the Laces, Lunar Owls, and Phantom will all have new rosters," she added before detailing the updated rosters as a result of the trade.

Dalzell then noted in a subsequent X post, "None of these stars’ WNBA teams are impacted — these are just changes in Unrivaled rosters!"

It's currently unclear who exactly executed the three-team trade (whether it was the team's coaches or the front office), nor what reason it was made for. Regardless, fans are surprised about the trade taking place; if only because they didn't know Unrivaled was capable of making trades in the first place.

"I did not realize they could even do trades," wrote X user Harrison Faigen.

Another X user added, "Unrivaled doing trades?? 👀🍿".

Perhaps this added layer of intrigue will create additional excitement for Unrivaled, which has already done a fascinating job of capturing the women's basketball community's attention before opening tip-off next month.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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