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Former Arizona guards Aari McDonald and Helena Pueyo signed training camp contracts with WNBA teams following the draft earlier this week. McDonald will work to make a team for the sixth season in the LA Sparks’ camp, while Pueyo is trying to grab her first permanent roster spot with the Phoenix Mercury.
McDonald was drafted by the Atlanta Dream in 2021. She was traded to the Sparks before last season. She played 26 games for LA last year, missing some of the season due to an injury. She averaged 8.7 points, 2.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 0.9 steals in 21.8 minutes per game in 2024.
McDonald has played overseas in each of the past two WNBA offseasons. This year, she went to China and had another good year with an international club. She averaged 15.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 2.0 steals in 27.3 minutes per game. She appeared in 34 games with the Beijing Great Wall.
McDonald was a restricted free agent this year. She was given a qualifying offer by the Sparks that would have paid her $93,767 for the upcoming year. It had to be signed by Mar. 7, but McDonald didn’t sign it. Her training camp contract is for $78,831. She will be competing with a guard-heavy group to make the Sparks’ final roster.
Remember when I said qualifying offers expired on March 7? Well restricted free agent Aari McDonald just signed a training camp contract with LA, which means its 1-yr unprotected, for $78,831. Her QO as an RFA would’ve been $93,767, but was obviously no longer on the table. #WNBA
— Richard Cohen (@RichardCohen1) April 16, 2025
Pueyo was drafted by the Connecticut Sun last year but did not make the final roster. She went back home to Spain and played for Casademont Zaragoza in her country’s top league.
Pueyo averaged 8.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.5 steals in 23.3 minutes per game during league play. She shot 51.7 percent from 2-point range and 35.6 percent from beyond the arc in 30 league games.
She also played in 16 Euroleague games for Zaragoza. She upped her numbers there with 10.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.9 apg, and 1.9 spg. She played 24.7 minutes per contest with 53.4 percent accuracy from 2-point range and 33.3 percent accuracy from 3.
McDonald led Arizona to the national title game in 2021. The Wildcats fell to Stanford by one point.
Pueyo was a sophomore on the national runner-up team. She played at Arizona for five years, ending after the 2023-24 season.
Training camp begins on Apr. 27, 2025. The regular season starts on May 16 and runs through Sept. 11.
