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Alexa Philippou, ESPNDec 4, 2024, 10:39 PM ET
- Covers women’s college basketball and the WNBA
- Previously covered UConn and the WNBA Connecticut Sun for the Hartford Courant
- Stanford graduate and Baltimore native with further experience at the Dallas Morning News, Seattle Times and Cincinnati Enquirer
SEATTLE — All-Star guard Jewell Loyd has requested a trade from the Seattle Storm, a source confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday.
Loyd’s trade request, first reported by the Chicago Sun-Times, comes hours after the Storm announced that an external investigation into reported accusations of harassment and bullying by the team’s coaching staff had concluded without finding any violations.
The source confirmed to ESPN that it was Loyd who filed the complaint detailing the allegations against the Seattle staff.
“The Storm recently received internal allegations of potential workplace policy violations,” the team said in a statement provided to ESPN. “The organization retained an outside investigator to conduct an impartial investigation into the allegations. The investigation has been completed and there were no findings of policy violations or any discrimination, harassment, or bullying.
“To protect the integrity of the process, and to preserve confidentiality, we chose not to comment while the investigation was ongoing. The Storm will continue to provide a work environment in which all individuals are treated with respect.”
The Sun-Times first reported on the investigation, which was subsequently confirmed by ESPN, on Nov. 15. According to the Sun-Times report, the investigation was sparked by the experience of multiple players and had been active for at least two weeks by that point.
Loyd, a six-time All-Star and three-time all-WNBA selection, was drafted by the organization in 2015, helping the Storm to WNBA titles in 2018 and 2020. Emerging as one of the best guards in the league, she led the WNBA in scoring in 2023 and is a two-time Olympic gold medalist with USA Basketball.
Loyd signed a two-year extension in September 2023, returning as Seattle’s centerpiece amid a franchise identity shift following the departures of Breanna Stewart (New York Liberty) and Sue Bird (retirement) earlier that year.
Loyd’s return helped attract massive free agent signings heading into 2024 in Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith. The source said Loyd’s complaint had nothing to do with either star player.
With Loyd, Ogwumike and Diggins-Smith, the Storm went 25-15, returning to the playoffs following a one-year hiatus but bowing out in the first round after getting swept by the Las Vegas Aces. Loyd averaged 19.7 points on the season, but her 36.0% shooting percentage was the worst of her career, and her 3-point clip of 27.4% the second lowest.
The former Notre Dame star and Chicago-area native is currently under contract with the Storm for $249,032 in 2025. Like most WNBA players, she is set to become a free agent in 2026, when a new collective bargaining agreement is expected to come into effect.
Former WNBA player Noelle Quinn — a former teammate of Loyd’s from 2016 to 2018 — completed her fourth season as Seattle’s head coach in 2024. Quinn’s staff this past season included former WNBA player Ebony Hoffman, former WNBA head coach Pokey Chatman and Perry Huang as assistant coaches.
Huang, who had been with the Storm for seven seasons while also coaching in the G League, left after the playoffs to become an assistant to Zach Guthrie for the Los Angeles Lakers‘ G League team.
ESPN’s Kevin Pelton contributed to this report.
