The Major League Pickleball trade deadline just slammed shut on July 22, 2026, and the Los Angeles squad absolutely made a splash, scooping up Connor Garnett from Utah in a wild three-team deal. After weeks of whispers, LA finally pulled the trigger, clearly trying to shake things up and make a run at the league-favorite St. Louis Shock. Everyone’s buzzing about whether this move is enough to fix their flaws and actually change the outcome of the 2026 MLP playoffs.
Connor Garnett Arrives, But How Will LA Use Him?
Los Angeles grabbing Connor Garnett is a serious power play. The guy is a top-15 Men’s doubles player, currently ranked No. 13 on the PPA. That’s a huge upgrade over Dylan Freeman, who sits at 32nd. My sources are saying Garnett will play mixed with Catherine Parenteau, while Ben Johns will stick with Freeman in men’s doubles. Honestly, that sounds like folly to me. A Johns/Garnett doubles pair could absolutely go toe-to-toe with the best men’s pairings out there!
Looking at their records, Johns and Freeman are a solid 21-6 in Men’s. But here’s the kicker: Freeman and Parenteau have a terrible 11-13 record in Mixed-2 matches this season. The hope is that Garnett, even though he’s 12-14 in Mixed this year (with less accomplished partners, mind you), will improve that mixed partnership when paired with Catherine. It’d put Catherine back on her strong right side, which should definitely help their performance in those weaker Mixed-2 matchups. The big question looms: is this one move *enough* for LA to seriously compete?
Is LA Solving the Wrong Problem?
While everyone’s focused on Garnett, I’m looking at another number that just doesn’t sit right: Catherine Parenteau and Lacy Kawamoto are just 15-12 together in Women’s this year. We’re talking about two of the absolute best women’s doubles players in the entire world! How is that record only barely above .500? This makes me wonder if LA was even trying to solve the right problem with this trade.
LA’s strategy is pretty clear: win both Ben Johns matches, try to steal one of the others, and then grind out a DreamBreaker win. Their DreamBreaker performance is strong, 3-1 this season with wins over St. Louis, Atlanta, and Palm Beach, only losing to Dallas recently. Parenteau has carried them in DreamBreakers, and Garnett (who’s 31-28 in singles himself) should marginally improve that. But at the end of the day, LA will rise or fall with Catherine Parenteau’s doubles play. If Garnett can get her locked in, great. If not, the St. Louis Shock just got a lot more confident. This is gonna be wild to watch.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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