PHOENIX — The basketball world was asleep, or at least close to going to sleep, when the news dropped just after 11 p.m. PST on Saturday night that Kelsey Plum had been traded from the Los Angeles Sparks to the Phoenix Mercury in exchange for guard Monique Akoa Makani, a 2027 first-round pick and a 2028 second-round pick.
Whether one woke up to the news or shot up out of bed in live time, it was a pretty shocking move, to say the least. Phoenix was an 11-19 team firmly out of a playoff spot. Plum is a pending free agent, with indications pointing to her wanting to test the market.
From Phoenix’s perspective, why trade for a superstar who may only potentially play 14 games for the team with low odds of making the playoffs? And, if Plum is interested in staying with the Mercury long-term, why not just wait to sign her in free agency without needing to trade away significant assets?
On Monday, Phoenix answered those questions. Plum was officially introduced by the Mercury before the team played the first game of a five-game road trip, and general manager Nick U’Ren began by fielding a variety of questions on the blockbuster deal.
“I think she fits in with our current group,” U’Ren said when asked about Plum’s pending free agency. “We certainly hope we’re building something she’s a part of for a long time. We wouldn’t have done this if we didn’t think that she was capable of fitting in, both now and moving forward.”
On why he didn’t wait until the offseason to try to bring her in without a trade, he added, “These are all factors that we take very seriously. The chance to get Kelsey into our four walls and have her feel what we’re all about — our staff, our players, our organizational dynamic — was really important to us. So, we wanted to be aggressive in getting her here as early as possible.”
Making a gamble
The most glaring aspect of the trade that’s been causing some to question Phoenix is the hefty price that had to be paid for Plum. Akoa Makani is just 25 years old, and has shown to be a great perimeter defender and 3-point shooter — she has a career 41% 3-point percentage in two seasons. Despite her young age, she rose to the occasion as Phoenix’s starting point guard during its 2025 finals run. She’s also under team control through next season at a bargain figure.
On top of that, Phoenix parted ways with its valuable first-round pick in the upcoming draft. Currently, that pick is projected to be at the end of the lottery, No. 7 overall, with a 3.0% chance of becoming the No. 1 pick, according to Tankathon. With the 2027 draft expected to be deeper and more talented than average, that pick could hold a future franchise centerpiece that Phoenix may end up giving away for 14 games of Plum.
However, it’s worth noting that the Mercury haven’t seemed to value high draft selections as much as their competitors in recent history, even before U’Ren and the new ownership group took over. Phoenix hasn’t made a first-round selection since 2020, when they picked Jocelyn Willoughby, who didn’t pan out. The year before, the Mercury selected Alanna Smith, a future Defensive Player of the Year, but scarcely played her before not re-signing her once her rookie contract expired.
“The job of general managers is to balance the present with the future, and so we are constantly managing all those things,” U’Ren said. “We’re always looking out for what’s in the best interest of our team now, our team moving forward, and that’s my job to balance those two things and put us in the best position for the long term — but while keeping everything today in mind, as well.”
During the press conferences, nothing was explicitly stated about the conversations Plum or her agent have had with the Mercury front office. Mercury majority owner Mat Ishbia has shown a propensity to be aggressive and have a “win now” mentality at all costs — both in the WNBA and in the NBA with the Phoenix Suns — which could be attractive to the 31-year-old Plum in terms of chasing financial security and a championship.
ESPN’s Kendra Andrews has reported that Plum still intends to go through the free agency process as planned, but that remaining in Phoenix is not off the table. By acquiring Plum now, Phoenix now has the right to offer her more money than any other team in free agency via a supermax contract extension.
“I’ll keep all my discussions with Kelsey private,” U’Ren said. “I hate to be a broken record, but this is something, like I said, we hope that she values her time with us here. We hope she’s here for a long time.”
On Plum’s side, she also didn’t reveal much publicly about her long-term commitments.
“As far as long-term goes, I don’t want to sound cliche, but I’m where my feet are,” Plum said. Later adding, “The whole process, as a player, technically you don’t really know. For me, I didn’t even know that I was being traded until basically I went to bed the night before the Portland game.”
Whether making that gamble ultimately pays off won’t be determined until Plum’s free agency decision and seeing the value of the surrendered draft picks over the coming years. Of course, if Plum decides to stay, then Phoenix will have immediately flipped its fortune from a franchise searching for direction after a disappointing season to one built around a new “Big Three” with legitimate title aspirations in its future.
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A dazzling debut
Fortunately for the Mercury, Plum’s introduction on the court left a promising glimpse of what that future could look like. Despite getting into the team hotel late, not having a full practice with the team and not playing in a game since June 21, Plum had a fantastic Mercury debut against the Chicago Sky.
Playing on a 20-minute restriction, Plum scored 20 points off the bench on 60% shooting, including three 3-pointers. The biggest of those 3-pointers came with less than a minute left in the game and the Mercury down by one. In somewhat of a broken possession, Plum dribbled all over the court before getting into her patented step-back three, which swished through the net for what eventually became the game-winning field goal.
Phoenix previously trailed 99-92 with three minutes to go, so fighting back to be in the win column may prove to be a huge difference in the team’s playoff hopes. Any loss from now on could be the season killer for the Mercury, which is something Plum alluded to being aware of before the game.
“There’s still a chance, and so in my mind, that’s what I’m thinking about: chipping away, winning games and fighting to get into the playoffs.” Plum said. “And the WNBA is crazy this year, the margin of error is extremely small. You really just got to get in, and it’s a five-game series, make it shake. So that’s really my focus, and that’s really kind of what I’m thinking about.”
Beyond the win and the impressive stat line, Plum’s fit with the Mercury passed the eye test, as well. Now in a star trio alongside Alyssa Thomas and Kahleah Copper, Plum’s game complemented theirs without taking anything away . Thomas finished with a triple-double — 19 points, a season-high 15 rebounds, and 12 assists — and Copper finished with a game-high 31 points.
Plum operated seamlessly with Thomas in the pick-and-roll, while also making it tougher for teams to decide on who to focus on the perimeter between her and Copper. Plum’s ability to create her own shot adds a much-needed layer to Phoenix’s offense that sometimes became stagnant previously.
“[Plum] just knows how to score the ball,” Thomas said postgame. “We knew it would make a big difference for our team. It just gave us a lot more space to operate, and it makes it really hard to key in on one player, so I’m super happy to have her.
“It’s a huge lift,” she later added. “It takes a load off of me, off of Kah, off of [DeWanna Bonner]. It just gives us a different look, a different style of play. I mean, she was second in the league in scoring, so whenever you can find an easy opportunity to get her the ball — especially knowing a minute restriction — that’s what I was trying to do, and it opens it up for me too. Whenever I can get it up to her and get her an easy screen, she makes the right play.”
Just as importantly, Plum’s arrival appeared to inject fresh energy into a Mercury team that has spent much of the season searching for reasons to believe. Phoenix entered the trade deadline well below .500, while Plum arrived from a Sparks team that also mired near the bottom of the standings. For both sides, the trade offers something that’s been in short supply: a renewed sense of optimism.
That feeling was evident almost immediately inside Phoenix’s locker room, where the team spoke as much about Plum’s personality and competitive fire as they did her scoring ability.
“I think there’s a real level of respect from those three,” Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts said. “They’ve spent time together, obviously with [Team] USA. Kah’s just been like a kid in a candy store the last 24 hours, she’s so dang happy KP is here. It’s neat. This is a reason why we’ve tried to go get KP the last couple of seasons. This is something that we thought that she would be a good fit next to those two, and obviously it’s just the first game.”
Copper, who became an All-Star this season because an injured Plum gave up her roster spot, couldn’t help but crack a smile when asked about Tibbetts’ “kid in a candy store” comment.
“The competitive spirit. She’s a hooper,” Copper said of what excites her most about playing with Plum. “Just to have another dog out there alongside us. She’s an incredible player to be able to have her at this point in the season. Yes, it makes me very happy.”
While the long-term logistics of the trade will continue to be debated, Plum’s basketball fit in Phoenix is much harder to dispute. The Mercury had been searching for another primary ball handler who could ease Thomas’ workload, create offense late in games and space the floor alongside Copper. Plum checked each of those boxes from the moment she stepped on the floor in Chicago.
Beyond the X’s and O’s, the transition was eased by a level of familiarity that few midseason acquisitions enjoy. Plum won Olympic gold with Thomas and Copper on Team USA in 2024, and recently competed for USA Basketball’s 2026 World Cup qualifying tournaments team with Tibbetts serving as an assistant coach.
“You just rely on your habits,” Plum said. “I’ve gotten to play for Nate [with] Team USA, and then I’ve also gotten to play with [Copper and Thomas] at Team USA, as well. And then I’ve competed against [Bonner, Sami Whitcomb, Natasha Mack] for years. I feel very familiar, and I think at the end of the day, basketball is basketball. You throw it up, and you do what you do. Don’t try to complicate it.”
“It just felt like she was going to fit into some of the things that we did naturally,” Tibbetts added. “And the great thing about KP is she’s played around great players … It’s just a natural fit. She’s super smart, she loves the game, and I think it’s going to open up a lot.”
What the future holds
The Mercury have eight weeks and 13 games remaining, assuming they don’t make the playoffs, to prove to Plum that they are an organization worth staying with. Just as important as wooing over Plum is signaling to Thomas and Copper that the organization is still committed to winning a championship, not undergoing a rebuild.
Although both are under contract beyond this season — Thomas until the end of 2028 and Copper the end of 2027 — Thomas found herself in some trade rumors earlier in the season, according to The Athletic’s Annie Costabile. If Plum does not stay, Phoenix could eventually find itself needing to answer difficult questions about the direction of its roster. With both veterans known for winning and only getting older, there’s a possibility of a devastating domino effect.
“I wouldn’t say that was the determining factor, or the reason in isolation.” U’Ren said when asked if the trade was motivated by proving to Thomas and Copper that the team is committed to being competitive. “But as I’ve said, there’s a ton of different factors that go into stuff like this. The overall factor is adding a talent like Kelsey’s to our organization, to our roster, to our building, and what that signals to our fans, to our players, to our staff, to everybody — I think that’s all positive.”
In the nearer future, excitement and hope is still in the air. Though mathematically unlikely, the Mercury are still in the playoff hunt and fans have reason to believe simply by seeing a superstar like Plum wearing the purple and orange. Positive headlines are finally being written about Phoenix.
Still with four games left on the road trip, Plum’s potential home debut in front of the X-Factor will be August 16 against the Portland Fire — the same day as Diana Taurasi’s Ring of Honor ceremony.
If everything lines up, it could become one of the most memorable days in franchise history: the Mercury welcoming a new superstar into their future while celebrating the legacy of the player who defined the franchise and inspired the next generation of stars, including Plum herself.
“It means everything,” Plum said. “That was the reason I started playing basketball. She actually texted me today and just said she’s there’s no one she’d rather have, and so I’m just very honored and excited to go out there and compete. There’s a lot of greats that have played for the Mercury.”
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