Seattle's Griffith back in town

Yolanda Griffith returned to the scene of so many great games and understandably felt right at home.

"Sacramento is my home and always will be," the former Monarchs star said after practice Thursday at Arco Arena with her new team, the Seattle Storm. "I bought a house here. My family is here. I have a lot of plans here.

"But (this) is a business," she added of her basketball career. "It was a change for the best."

Tonight, the Monarchs host Griffith and the Storm in Sacramento's exhibition opener. Without Lauren Jackson or Sue Bird, the Storm lost 66-46 to the Sky on Wednesday in Chicago.

But that was an exhibition, and not a true measure of the new Storm, noted Seattle coach Brian Agler. Sheryl Swoopes and Griffith sat out the second half as Agler evaluated his rookies.

"We have some super veterans, but we also have a lot of first-year players," he said. "They needed the experience."

After nine seasons with the Monarchs, Griffith is adjusting to a new team for the first time in her WNBA career.

"The hardest part is adjusting to the colors," she remarked of her new green and red uniform. "And I'm adjusting to a new city. I've lived in Sacramento for such a long time. My family has stayed here, so being away is hard. ... But (my daughter) Candace understands; Mama got to work."

Griffith, a seven-time All-Star, opted to end her career among friends and other top players. Seattle features three league MVPs in Jackson, Swoopes and Griffith.

Swoopes helped recruit Griffith, who was an unrestricted free agent, to Seattle.

"To have the best of the best together on one team has been like a dream come true," said Swoopes, who left Houston. "To get this opportunity to play every day with some of the best players who have ever played the game is really special."

Added Griffith: "I love my team. I'm comfortable with a lot of these players. I won (Olympic) gold medals with a lot of them. We're still adjusting to each other, and we're not all here yet. Every day, we've got new players arriving left and right."

Griffith, 38, still has great admiration for her former team.

"I felt everything I accomplished in Sacramento was a great accomplishment," she said. "They have a great team, too. I have a lot of confidence in them. But I'm an old vet. They don't need an old vet hanging around at the end of the bench when they have such good young players who need to blossom."

The Monarchs were ready to rebuild, and Griffith said she felt she would just slow down the process.

"I stayed last year because I felt they still needed me," she explained. "Jenny (Boucek), it was her first year. I could help (in the transition). I felt they weren't ready for that next step. But now, they're ready ...

"No love lost," she added. "This is absolutely my last year. Really. This is good for me. But Sacramento, that's my home. I'll be back to stay."

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