WNBA trade deadline: Three possible landing spots for Kelsey Plum as Los Angeles Sparks sit at crossroads

The Los Angeles Sparks' 2026 season has not gone to plan, and they have some big decisions to make ahead of Sunday's Aug. 2 trade deadline.

>Despite doubling down on their win-now approach in the offseason by re-signing Kelsey Plum and Dearica Hamby, signing Nneka Ogwumike and Erica Wheeler and trading Rickea Jackson for Ariel Atkins, the Sparks exit the All-Star break in 11th place at 10-17 -- five games back of the eighth and final playoff spot.

>Plum got off to an incredible start, but has been limited to 12 games due to injuries and hasn't played since June 21. Former No. 2 pick Cameron Brink has only played 19 games and struggled to find a rhythm. They fired general manager Raegan Pebley earlier this month and their defense, which was supposed to be better with Ogwumike and Atkins in town, has once again been a disaster; their 113 defensive rating ranks 14th.

>The Sparks haven't been to the playoffs since 2020, which is the longest postseason drought in franchise history and the longest active one in the league. It's likely to continue this season. To make matters worse, Plum and Ogwumike will both be unrestricted free agents this winter. According to The Athletic, Plum does not plan to return to Los Angeles, which makes her an obvious trade candidate. The team has not held concrete talks on that front yet, however.

>The one silver lining for the Sparks is that they own their 2027 first-round pick, so they'll likely come out of this season with a lottery selection in a vaunted draft class. And if they decide to trade Plum before the deadline, rather than letting her walk for nothing in the offseason, they could meaningfully reset their future.

>"When we've been healthy, we've been good. Things have not shaken out how we wanted them to, so we need to evaluate everything. I've been in contact with the front office. For where we want to be, I think everything has to be evaluated," Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said Tuesday.

>"I'm not going to get into specific players, I'm not in a position to do that. But we are evaluating everything. We're not where we want to be right now, I'm not going to sugarcoat that."

>Ahead of Sunday, let's take a look at some potential destinations for Plum, who could swing this season's title race if she's dealt to a contender.

>The Valkyries immediately jump out as a landing spot for Plum. They desperately need offense, Plum is one of the best scorers in the league and there's a good chance they could convince her to re-sign in free agency.

>Before going down with a leg injury that has kept her sidelined for a month, Plum was averaging a career-high 23.9 points on 52.7/38.3/80.6 shooting splits. She no longer qualifies for the official leaderboard, but if she did, that would be the sixth-best single-season average in league history.

>The Valkyries do not have a single player averaging 15 points per game, and are eighth in offensive rating (107.7) and 13th in true shooting percentage (53.9%). While the Valkyries have the league's best defense (100.9 defensive rating), teams that struggle to score as much as the Valkyries do have historically not won the title.

>Here's a look at the last 10 champions, and where their offensive rating ranked. Six champions ranked first and only one team -- the 2021 Chicago Sky -- was outside of the top four.

>Plum would not fit with the Valkyries' defensive identity, but there are very few players who can provide the scoring Golden State needs that excel on both ends. At some point, the Valkyries may need to make a concession there, and they have the infrastructure to protect Plum.

>The biggest question for the Valkyries would be the Sparks' asking price and their own willingness to part with some of their depth, which has been a big part of their success. Plum makes $999,999 and the Valkyries have no cap space. They aren't giving up Gabby Williams in any deal, which means they'd have to trade at least two players to make the money work, while the Sparks would likely want pick(s) as well.

>All of a sudden the price could get steep for someone who could be a rental. The Valkyries would likely need some sort of guarantee from Plum's camp that she would re-sign before committing to a blockbuster deal.

>The Mystics are a poor-man's version of the Valkyries. They're third in defensive rating (103.5), but 14th in offensive rating (100.6),  true shooting percentage (53.4%), 3-point attempts per game (19.4) and 3-point percentage (29.5%). Most importantly, in terms of trading for Plum, their backcourt has been a major issue for them this season outside of Sonia Citron, who is really more of a wing.

>After missing all of last season with an ACL injury, former No. 6 pick Georgia Amoore has really struggled in her debut campaign. Alicia Florez, a mid-season signing from Spain, has been worse and third-round pick Rori Harmon hasn't played meaningful minutes since May.

>The Mystics have a very promising young core with Citron, Kiki Iriafen and Shakira Austin, to say nothing of this year's three first-round picks -- a group that includes lottery selection Lauren Betts. But they're never going to make serious noise in the playoffs until they improve their backcourt situation.

>They own a first-round pick swap with the Chicago Sky this season that could easily wind up being a top-three pick, and own the Sky's 2028 first-round pick outright, in addition to their own future firsts. The 2027 class, in particular, is guard heavy, and they may prefer to continue a slow rebuild through the draft.

>It would be hard to fault them for taking that route, especially with the likes of JuJu Watkins, Madison Booker, Hannah Hidalgo, S'Mya Nichols, Mikaylah Williams and MiLaysia Fulwiley available next year.

>But if the Mystics want to speed up their timeline, they have the draft capital and young talent to entice the Sparks -- even if they assuredly keep the '27 Sky swap off limits. Plus, they have nearly $2 million in cap space, so they could easily absorb Plum's contract and keep the defensive infrastructure to protect her on the perimeter.

>Would Plum want to stay in Washington long-term, however? That's a big question. Aside from one season in Texas before the San Antonio Stars moved to Las Vegas to become the Aces, she's spent her entire high school, college and professional career on the West Coast.

>The only team that has been more disappointing than the Sparks this season is the Mercury. They're five and a half games behind the Washington Mystics for the final playoff spot, and are on track to be the first team to miss the playoffs in the season immediately following a Finals appearance since themselves in 2008.

>It's unclear what the Mercury are going to do at the deadline. The Athletic reported that the team had talks with teams about six-time All-Star Alyssa Thomas earlier in the season, which have "since gone cold." If contenders come in with big offers for Thomas or five-time All-Star Kahleah Copper, the Mercury could become sellers and look to reset their future.

>On the other hand, Thomas and Copper are still two high-level players under long-term control -- Thomas is signed through 2028, while Copper is in Phoenix until 2027 -- and were key pieces on a Finals team less than a year ago. With the right pieces around them, the Mercury could easily get back in the mix next season. And if there's good value on the trade market, they could start retooling the roster now.

>Trading for Plum would not do much for them this season. Even if she arrived and immediately returned to her pre-injury form, it's hard to see them chasing down the Mystics with 16 games remaining -- though it would not be impossible when the teams still face each other three times.

>But if they felt comfortable about Plum re-signing in Phoenix on a long-term deal, they could get a jump on the process by trading for her at the deadline, which would allow them to get her in the building and start creating some chemistry between her, Thomas and Copper.

>Of course, the Sparks' price would be a major determining factor. The Mercury have just over $850K in cap space, so they wouldn't have trouble figuring out the financial aspect of the deal. But they're short on promising young players, and if the Sparks start talking about multiple firsts to make up for the lack of prospects, that wouldn't be worth getting Plum in the building ahead of free agency.