June 28, 2022
Locked on Women’s Basketball: Tina Charles heads to Seattle, what happened in Phoenix?
By The Next
Alex and Em talk about Tina Charles departure from the Phoenix Mercury

It’s time for another episode of the Locked on Women’s Basketball podcast. This episode features host Alex Simon and The Next‘s Em Adler, who broke the news Saturday afternoon that the short-lived Tina Charles’s marriage to the Phoenix Mercury had ended in divorce.
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Em talks about what potentially happened in Phoenix with Tina:
“I think the easier question to answer is what was working. You introduced Tina Charles into a system in which Brittney Griner had so much success, obviously because she was one of the greatest players of all time, but more specifically the way that she helped everyone else. Brianna Turner, one of if not the best defensive player overall in the WNBA, is somewhat of an offensive player at best.
But what Brittney Griner was so good at was being tall, so she could get the ball to BT from the opposite block, which Tina Charles for a center is an excellent passer and a really good playmaker in certain situations.”
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Em talks about the chemistry issues with Tina in Washington and Phoenix:
“When you look at Washington, who she was with the year prior, that roster is almost entirely other than her. That roster the top rotation is mostly the same as it was last year. And our Jenn Hatfield our Washington beat reporter has noted for it this season, especially in the early going, how many different players and coaches were just noting all candidly how much the vibes were better this year than last year, how much the locker room just felt like a more positive place as compared to 2021.”
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