Free-agent center Brittney Griner is headed back to the Phoenix Mercury as she re-signed a one-year contract, reported the Associated Press. However, no official announcement has been made. The 32-year-old missed last season as she was detained in Russia for around nine months.
In December, Griner said she would return to Phoenix in a social media post after she returned from her 10-month detention in Russia. She has been arrested at an airport just outside of Moscow on drug possession charges a year ago. She was brought home in a dramatic high-level prisoner exchange in December.
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Griner signed a three-year extension with Phoenix in 2020 and the team said it would pay her full 2022 salary. She last played for the Mercury in 2021 and helped the team reach the WNBA Finals. She averaged 20.5 points and 9.5 rebounds that season.
The website Her Hoop Stats was the first to report Griner’s signing. According to the report, Griner was re-signing with the Mercury on a protected deal worth $165,000.
Griner was drafted number 1 in 2012 by the Mercury. She was listed Saturday on Phoenix’s roster on the WNBA website.
Since coming back from Russia, Griner has stayed away from the public spotlight, except for appearances at the Super Bowl, the Phoenix Open, and an MLK Day event in Phoenix, where she lives.
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Griner skipped a USA Basketball training camp earlier this month, but the organization said she could take all the time she needed to decide if she wanted to play for the US again.
The WNBA has said it will consider getting Griner special travel accommodations, such as charter flights after she signed.
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The Mercury signed Diana Taurasi to a multiyear contract on Saturday. The WNBA’s all-time leading scorer has only played with the Mercury since being drafted number 1 by the team in 2004.
