Audio By Carbonatix
Li Yueru was traded from the Los Angeles Sparks to the Seattle Storm less than four months ago but she is already asking to be traded again. The third-year WNBA big wants to get more minutes on the floor even though her play does not warrant a minutes increase.
If we’re being honest, this kind of thing would not fly in other professional sports leagues so it will be curious to see how it works out for her.
Yueru, a native of Shanxi, China, began her professional basketball career with the Guangdong Dolphins of the Women’s Chinese Basketball Association in 2015. She made her WNBA debut in 2022 with the Sky and missed 2023 due to an injury suffered while overseas. Chicago traded her to Los Angeles prior to 2024. Los Angeles traded her to Seattle as part of a massive three-team deal during the offseason.
Although Li Yueru has only played eight games with the Storm, she already wants out. Chinese media outlet Sina was the first to report that the 6-foot-7 center’s representatives reached out to the organization with a request for trade. It has since been confirmed by multiple American outlets.
Perhaps coincidentally, her request comes just one day after she knocked down a pair of triples.
Li Yueru is 2-2 from three pic.twitter.com/q3xx8TN0g9
— WNBA Clips & Highlights (@WNBAPlayerWatch) June 4, 2025
Here’s the issue. Yueru is… not that good. She is a solid role player, averaging 2.9 points and 1.6 rebounds in 9.1 minutes per game in 2025. That is two minutes less per game than her career average.
Seattle does need some depth at the 3/4 spots and dealing Yueru could help. However, the 26-year-old is a backup center. There is not a ton of worth there. This is also the second time in 18 months that she essentially forced her way out of an organization. The optics aren’t great. What if she does it again?
This would be like if Jonathan Isaac demanded two trades from two teams in two years because he did not think his minutes were high enough. And even then, Isaac averages six minutes more than Yueru.
We’ll see if the Storm decide to trade Li Yueru or if they force her to be content where she is in the role she plays. It would not be crazy to think that the team would cut her if she keeps pushing to get out. There is not a lot of value lost there. Her production could very easily be replaced.