Ladies Court - Women’s Basketball News and Analysis

Penny Taylor will not join Phoenix Mercury immediately

by Joe on May 1st, 2008

Well, it looks as though we’re not going to be seeing much of Penny Taylor in the WNBA this season.

Image details: WNBA Finals: Phoenix Mercury v Detroit Shock - Game 1 served by picapp.com

More reaction and analysis after the jump.

(Hat tip to the Women’s Hoops Blog, where I saw this news first) Penny Taylor has informed the Phoenix Mercury she will not be with the team for the immediate future as she prepares with the Australian National Team for the Beijing Olympics. Both quotes from the Arizona Republic.

“Obviously we’re disappointed, but we had anticipated that this might happen,” said Mercury General Manager Ann Meyers Drysdale, who will be in Beijing as a television analyst for women’s basketball. “We wish Penny all the best this year and hope that she might join us after the Olympic Games.”

The All-Star says:

“It has been an extremely difficult decision and one that has taken months to make,” Taylor said in prepared statement from Moscow, where she has been playing. “I am so proud to be part of the Mercury, and I am sorry that I won’t be there to help the team defend the amazing championship that we fought so hard for last season.

I’m working on my team previews and this immediately drops the defending champions into the back-end of a strong top tier in the West. Taylor is one of the best players in the league and a key for freeing up Diana Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter, who will now draw more attention by defenders.

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POSTED IN: News, Off the Court, Olympics, WNBA