The WNBA trade deadline arrives at 3 p.m. ET Sunday. After little movement earlier in the week, news broke late Saturday night that the top WNBA trade target was on the move.
The Los Angeles Sparks traded five-time All-Star Kelsey Plum to the Phoenix Mercury, sources told ESPN.
We're grading the most significant trades in terms of their impact on the rest of this season and the long-term outlook for the teams making deals.
Aug. 1: Sparks deal Plum to Mercury
Phoenix Mercury get:
G Kelsey Plum
Los Angeles Sparks get:
G Monique Akoa Makani
2027 first-round draft pick
2028 second-round draft pick
Mercury grade: B
The Mercury -- whose ultimate grade might depend on whether they can keep Plum beyond 2026 -- seemed to make up for a less-than-exciting free agency period by grabbing the No. 2 scorer in the league. The questions are: Is it too little, too late for 2026? And can they keep her long term?
Plum is flat-out one of the elite stars in the league. The 2017 No. 1 draft pick is a five-time All-Star and a two-time WNBA champion. This season's scoring average of 23.9 points is a career high, and she has never averaged fewer than 17.8 points per game since 2021.
One of the key cogs on two title teams in Las Vegas, Plum decided to spread her wings in Los Angeles and prove that she can be the No. 1 option. She posted 19.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 5.7 assists in her first year with the Sparks in 2025. The points and assists (6.4) both increased, and a 22.4 PER is a career high in 2026 as Plum was expected to be the head of a contending team. That didn't happen as the Sparks sit in the No. 11 slot with a 10-17 record. A lower leg injury has kept her off the floor since June 21.
The Mercury hope to make their own late push for the playoffs despite an 11-19 record that currently slots them as No. 12 in the league through Saturday's games. Reaching the postseason in 2026 will be a large task even with a big three of Alyssa Thomas, Kahleah Copper and Plum. The New York Liberty are currently in the final playoff slot with a 56.7 winning percentage. The Mercury have just 14 games remaining and have to win 11 of those just to get 50%. However, Plum and Copper playing side-by-side would be in the discussion for the best backcourt in the WNBA as Copper is the No. 7 scorer (20.9) in the league, a five-time All-Star and the 2021 Finals MVP for the champion Sky. Her years in Las Vegas proved that Plum can play and thrive alongside another elite guard.
The biggest risk is the fact that the Mercury gave up a first-round pick in an expected quality draft and a talented young guard for a player on an expiring deal. Plum signed a one-year deal for $999,999 and it was eventually known that she was unhappy with the Sparks and planned to test the free agency waters after the season. There have been no signs of slowing down, but Plum will turn 32 years old on Aug. 24.
Sources told ESPN that Plum still intends to weigh her options after the season, though Phoenix would certainly be in the mix. The next two months are seen as a trial run for what a longer-term Plum-Mercury pairing could look like. Facilities are certainly a selling point for the organization as they play in the Mortgage Matchup Center, also the home of the Phoenix Suns, and have, arguably, the best practice facility, which opened in 2024. Copper, Thomas, Sami Whitcomb and Natasha Mack are all signed through the 2027 season.
The Mercury grade would be in the "A" range for a team looking to win now if Plum was signed beyond 2026. They didn't give up any pieces that would negatively affect a win-now mentality. If the organization can keep her, that should make Phoenix the title contender that it wants to be after reaching the 2025 Finals. And time is of the essence with Thomas turning 35 years old in April.
The worst-case scenario, however, is Plum becomes a 14-game rental, making this deal an F as the Mercury lose a first-rounder in a good draft class and a young, talented guard on an affordable rookie deal.
Here's what I know about why and how the Phoenix Mercury traded for Kelsey Plum -- and how Plum is assessing her future as an impending free agent pic.twitter.com/9npmKRDQxt
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) August 2, 2026
Sparks grade: B+
This is about as good as the Sparks could get considering how 2026 has played out.
The Sparks found themselves in a dire situation. Their plans to compete for a championship in 2026 have derailed and they are unlikely to reach the playoffs despite a roster that included Plum, 2016 MVP Nneka Ogwumike, three-time All-Star Dearica Hamby, 2019 champion Ariel Atkins, 2024 No. 2 pick Cameron Brink, 2022 No. 9 overall pick Rae Burrell and 2019 All-Star Erica Wheeler. At 10-17, they need to win 12 of their remaining 17 games just to reach .500.
The entire league knew Plum would be looking for a new home in free agency this upcoming offseason, which impacted the leverage that typically would come from shopping one of the league's top scorers. Coming away with a likely lottery pick in a quality draft plus acquiring a young guard with the potential to grow on a rookie deal is much better than losing Plum for nothing. If the Mercury and Sparks both miss the playoffs, that'll be two 2027 lottery picks.
Now, the overall strategy coming off the new CBA seems to have been a failure. The Sparks went all in on 2026 by trading away 2024 No. 4 pick Rickea Jackson for Atkins and signing the 36-year-old Ogwumike and Plum to one-year deals. Hamby and Atkins signed through 2028 and Wheeler through 2027. The team fired general manager Raegan Pebley in July.
Two first-round picks, however, gives the Sparks the opportunity to reset for the future -- if they choose to do so. That's also capital that could be cashed in if the franchise wants to compete sooner than later.
This move essentially punts on 2026, even though Plum hadn't played since June 21. Akoa Makani has averaged 9.4 points, 2.5 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 1.2 steals this season and shot 43.6% from beyond the arc. She could be a piece of a young corps that includes Brink, Burrell and the two picks with Hamby and Atkins as veterans.
The Sparks now have the flexibility for the future GM to decide on a new path. There will be cap space with Plum and Ogwumike off the books and draft capital with a pair of likely lottery picks. The new GM could want to bring Ogwumike back, but her current deal expires after the season and that will free up her $950,000 salary to use one way or another. But losing one of the best players in the world in Plum, who was brought in to be the face of the franchise less than two years ago, can only be considered a failed venture.
