Kelsey Plum traded to Mercury: Analyzing Sparks' return, Phoenix's new outlook at the WNBA trade deadline

Kelsey Plum will now team up with Kahleah Copper and Alyssa Thomas in Phoenix as the Mercury look to turn their season around. (Photo by Aryanna Frank/Getty Images)Aryanna Frank via Getty ImagesThe Phoenix Mercury can’t help themselves. They love a beguiling big three.

>Their latest foray came on the eve of Sunday’s trade deadline, acquiring two-time WNBA champion Kelsey Plum from the Los Angeles Sparks. Plum, a five-time All-Star, will slot in next to six-time All-Star Alyssa Thomas and five-time All-Star Kahleah Copper. The Sparks acquired second-year guard Monique Akoa Makani, a 2027 first-round pick and a 2028 second-round pick.

>It’s a pie-in-the-sky attempt by the Mercury, a 2025 WNBA Finals squad that woke up on Sunday a full six games out of the eighth and final postseason berth. At 11-19, they are 13 games back of the league-leading Lynx (24-6) with 14 games to play. Should the Mercury miss the playoffs, they would be the first to do so in the season immediately following a Finals appearance since the franchise did it in 2008.

>The fit for the Mercury to reach that final spot requires a PhD in mathematics. There is a clear stratification between the league’s top eight and bottom seven, leading to movement within the groups but likely not between them as the league barrels toward the World Cup break (Aug. 31-Sept. 17) and playoffs. That makes the deal a curious one — though it could work out — and throws the Sparks into another rebuilding-via-draft era.

Mercury take big swing, big gamble Phoenix began its season with a bang, blasting the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces, 99-66, on the road in a Finals rematch. Everything since was a dud. During a season in which offense is booming, the Mercury took a step back. Their 104.7 offensive rating is only better than the Storm, Mystics and Sun — all of which are far younger teams that weren’t expected to challenge for a playoff spot. Losing Satou Sabally in free agency and not backfilling the production took its toll.

>Plum, assuming she is healthy after a lower leg injury kept her out since June 21, is an immediate improvement. It gives the team a big, a wing and guard playing at All-Star levels. Plum was named a reserve for last week’s showcase in Chicago, but could not play. Her spot was given to Copper; Copper and Thomas arguably missed the cut for their team’s first-half performance.

>The 2017 No. 1 overall pick and former NCAA Division I women’s scoring leader averaged a career-best 23.9 points per game in 12 appearances for Los Angeles this year. It ranks second behind A’ja Wilson (26.8 ppg) on an efficiency that rivals the Aces forward. Plum is shooting a career-high 52.7% overall on a career-high 15.7 attempts, largely as a result of finishing at the rim (85 FG% in the restricted area) and double the efficiency in the midrange (61.5 FG%). Each are marks in the 99th percentile of the league, per Her Hoop Stats.

>It’s the defensive drop that really hurt the Mercury after riding it four wins short of a title last year. That side of the ball isn’t going to take a dramatic leap by adding Plum and losing Akoa Makani, an elite perimeter defender the team leaned heavily upon in its Finals run.

>Phoenix likes to swing big. In 2020, the franchise signed Skylar Diggins to play alongside Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi. After falling short in the 2021 Finals, they added Tina Charles. Griner missed the season while wrongfully detained in Russia, and the roster fell apart.

>The 2025 offseason completely reshaped the franchise. Taurasi announced her retirement, and the front office built a new core with Copper (acquired via trade with Sky), Thomas (four-team trade from Sun) and Sabally (four-team trade from Wings). International and end-of-bench role players filled out the roster, but it worked with Thomas as a point-forward.

>The curious part of the trade for Plum is not how it will work, but why do it now? Plum will be a free agent in the offseason, hence why the Sparks dealt her. She reportedly intends to take calls from teams, and is not committed to returning to the Mercury. Phoenix is borrowing her services — albeit at a reasonable price — for a goal that would appear already too far out of reach. Their strength of schedule ranks seventh (.503) with games still remaining against the Aces, Dream (two) and Wings (two), plus three against a young and impressive Mystics squad.

>It could serve as a trial run for a fit between Plum and the team, with eyes on competing next season. For Thomas, there is a late-career push to win at least one championship. DeWanna Bonner, her fiancé and the Mercury’s third-leading scorer, is close to retirement. And the legendary franchise hasn’t won a championship since 2014.

Sparks rebuilding again with draft picksIf Plum, as it seems, was not 100% committed to resigning with Los Angeles in free agency, it made complete sense to deal her and stock assets that will help them in 2027. Los Angeles traded the 2025 No. 2 pick to acquire Plum in the 2025 offseason as part of a three-team trade with the Aces and Storm. That pick became 2026 All-Star Dominique Malonga.

>They now will have two potential first-round lottery picks for 2027, and the ability to select a foundational piece in a deep draft that could include JuJu Watkins, Madison Booker and Hannah Hidalgo. The lottery odds are based on two seasons, so the pick acquired from the Mercury is shaping up to have the worst chance at No. 1. The Sparks’ main pick will also be low-chance since they were in contention for a playoff spot last year. Akoa Makani is a young player on a team-friendly rookie deal that will immediately help the Sparks’ offense, while providing ball handling in Plum’s absence.

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>It’s an unfortunate end to the short-lived Plum era in Los Angeles. Her arrival reignited hope, combined with the addition of head coach Lynne Roberts after a successful college run at Utah. Their 2025 offense was one of the best in the league in the back half of the season, and they fell two games short of the No. 8 seed.

>Adding back Sparks legend Nneka Ogwumike in the frontcourt last offseason added to the optimism, but injuries have marred them, and they’ve continued to struggle mightily on the defensive side of the ball. Cameron Brink, the 2024 No. 2 overall pick, has not played to her ceiling while dealing with a rookie-year ACL injury and the aftermath.

>Los Angeles, which parted ways with general manager Raegan Pebley last month, has not reached the playoffs since 2020. That Sparks roster, headlined by Candace Parker, Chelsea Gray and Seimone Augustus, lost to a Sun squad featuring Thomas and Bonner in the previous single-elimination second round.