Sparks Cut 2024 WNBA Draft Pick Ahead of Season Opener
By Jovan Alford
With the WNBA preseason in the books and the 2024 regular season on the horizon, the roster cutdown has begun around the league.
Some teams have finalized their regular season roster, getting it down to 12 players. However, other teams such as the Los Angeles Sparks are in the process of cutting their roster down to 12 players before they open the season against the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday.
The Sparks announced on Sunday that they waived Nia Clouden, Blake Dietrick, and McKenzie Forbes. Forbes was the most surprising cut by the Sparks as she was drafted in the third round (28th overall pick).
Training camp update: The Los Angeles Sparks have waived guard Nia Clouden, guard Blake Dietrick and guard/forward McKenzie Forbes.
— LA Sparks PR (@LASparksPR) May 12, 2024
As we see every year in the WNBA, sadly multiple draft picks do not make most regular season rosters because of the limited roster spots. After the WNBA draft, we highlighted Forbes and Nia Clouden as players who were on thin ice.
Forbes only played eight total minutes in both Sparks’ preseason games. As for Clouden, she played 18 total minutes in the WNBA preseason, averaging 2.5 points and 3.0 assists per game.
Clouden was claimed off waivers last season by Los Angeles after playing 28 games as a rookie with the Connecticut Sun. The former 2022 second-round pick posted 1.6 points and 1.8 assists in 10.8 minutes per game with the Sparks.
However, Clouden had her 2023 season cut short because of a shin injury. Meanwhile, Dietrick averaged 1.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 15 total minutes played. The 30-year-old guard was signed to a training camp deal in the offseason.
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