A tumultuous few weeks for the Connecticut Sun has taken another unexpected turn.

Connecticut traded guard Alex Bentley to the Atlanta Dream on Monday in exchange for guard Layshia Clarendon and a second-round pick in the 2019 WNBA Draft.

“Layshia has a great reputation around the league as a leader on-and-off the court and a player that really has a way of getting along with her teammates,” Sun head coach and general manager Curt Miller said. “It’s continued to hit us that, ultimately, (team) culture has to be a big thing for us. If, on paper, we’re not one of the super teams, then we’re going to have to continue to overachieve because of that culture."

WNBAinsidr.com reported Sunday evening that starting guard Courtney Williams and Bentley had an altercation that resulted in Williams’ missing all four of the team’s road games last week. The team had termed her absence as a “personal matter.”

Miller declined to comment on the story and said there was no timetable as to when Williams would return.

“We’ll take it day-by-day,” he said.

Bentley was in her fifth season with the Sun. She averaged 10 points, 3.2 assists and 1.3 steals this year.

Asked how much team culture played into the trade, Miller said, “I think a lot. The success I’ve had at every level at every (coaching) stop can be directly related back to culture, chemistry. I think you saw last year when we overachieved that a lot could be credited to (the) players (thinking) they're overlooked, maybe an underdog, warrior mentality.”

Connecticut was expected to have its fifth-straight losing season in 2017. Instead, the Sun finished fourth in the overall league standings (21-13) and snapped a franchise-worst four-year playoff drought.

“We bonded (by) kind of being the underdog, the overlooked group last year, and it really came together,” Miller said. “Culture played a part in us overachieving.

“When you’ve faced some adversity and it’s (team culture) shaken a little bit, if you have an opportunity to maybe improve that, you have to look at that.”

The Sun have had astonishing misfortune in less than four weeks. They were 7-1 with the league’s best record prior to a June 13 home game against the Washington Mystics.

Starter Alyssa Thomas, the team’s best player, was forced out of the game after injuring her shoulder. Connecticut lost, 95-91. Worse, news broke during the game that Anne Donovan, the team’s previous head coach, had died unexpectedly.

Thomas hasn't played since, missing 10 straight games, and the Sun have struggled without her. They’re 10-9 and have fallen into sixth place. The top eight teams make the playoffs.

Starter Chiney Ogwumike also missed an 89-72 loss at the Phoenix Mercury on June 16, one night after she tweaked her knee during a 103-92 loss at the Seattle Storm.

Asked if Bentley no longer fit into the team culture, Miller said, “I’ve been on the record this year that through stretches of training camp and stretches of games, 19 games (into the season), that there’s no doubt that Alex had moments of being our best player. I really believed she deserves to be in discussion for Sixth Man of the Year.

“With that said, anytime a situation is presented to you that you believe has an opportunity to improve your organization down the line, I think you have to consider it.”

Oddly enough, Atlanta plays at Connecticut next Tuesday (July 17).

Clarendon, 5-foot-9, was drafted ninth overall out of California by the Indiana Fever in the 2013 draft. She spent most of her first three seasons as a reserve before being traded to Atlanta. She blossomed with the Dream and averaged 10.7 points and 6.6 assists last year. She was chosen by league coaches to play in the 2017 All-Star Game and is a member of the 2017-20 USA Basketball National Team pool.

Clarendon’s minutes declined this year after Renee Montgomery, who signed with Atlanta during the offseason, took over the starting point guard job.

“(She’s a) counter-puncher to (starter) Jas (Jasmine Thomas),” Miller said. “Layshia uses strength. She’s more deliberate and powerful off the ball screens than explosive (like Thomas). She can keep people on her hip and score on a floater or pull-up.

“We’ll miss the athletic playmaking ability of Alex, but we’ll gain a physical playmaker. And so I’m excited for both of them. (It’s) a fresh start for both of them.”

n.griffen@theday.com