Looking for a spark after a 1-11 start to the highly anticipated 2025 season, the Dallas Wings have made a trade.

On Saturday morning, Dallas acquired C Li Yueru from the Seattle Storm in exchange for a 2026 second-round pick and a 2027 third-round pick.

Yueru has averaged 2.8 points and 1.6 rebounds while appearing in nine games with Seattle. However, she has played just 8.7 minutes per game, prompting her to request a trade and eventually land in Dallas.

Getting minutes shouldn’t be an issue for the 6’7 Yueru in Dallas, as both Teaira McCowan and Luisa Geiselsöder have recently left the team to participate in EuroBasket.

After being drafted 35th overall by the Atlanta Dream in the 2019 draft, Yueru has yet to really stick with one WNBA team, appearing in games for Chicago and Los Angeles before playing with the Storm this season.

Despite not being a consistent presence in the WNBA, Yueru serves as an anchor for the Chinese national team with which she has been playing since 2017.

In the Paris 2024 Olympics, Yueru led China with team highs of 17.7 points and 11.0 rebounds per game.

On July 28th, China opened its Olympic run with a tough 90-89 group stage loss to Spain, but Yueru recorded 31 points, the most points by a woman in Chinese Olympic basketball history since 1998.

Now, Yueru will have the opportunity to cement herself as that type of player in the WNBA and a key piece to a Wings team that is desperately trying to turn its season around.

To make room for Yueru on the roster, the Wings have waived Kaila Charles, who played a pretty solid role in the rotation, getting 14 minutes a night, but was averaging just 4.9 points and 3.5 rebounds.

Yueru’s Wings debut will come when Dallas returns to action on Tuesday as they host the WNBA’s newest team, the Golden State Valkyries, for their first-ever meeting.