Editor’s note: This article is part of our coverage of the WNBA Trade Deadline, following league-shaping moves.
Let it never be said that Phoenix Mercury are afraid to take risks.
For the third straight season, the Mercury made a successful trade to land a multiple All-Star: first Kahleah Copper in 2024, then Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally in 2025, and now Kelsey Plum in 2026.
Phoenix’s actions made it clear that this is a team that believes in reloading, not rebuilding.
“Our goal is to win night in and night out,” said general manager Nick U’Ren. “We didn’t do enough this year, hopefully we’re winning at a high level now and moving forward.”
That’s not always the type of feeling expressed by a team eight games under .500. But Phoenix’s two best players at the deadline are 31 and 34 (Copper and Thomas). The team can’t contend because of the biennial lottery rules; The Mercury won too many games in 2025 to significantly improve their 2027 draft position.
Coach Nate Tibbetts has stressed for weeks that four or five teams are in the running for the eighth and final playoff seed, and Phoenix is one of them, even though the Mercury currently sits 6.5 games out of the final playoff spot.
U’Ren said he did not approach the deadline with the intention of buying or selling, but rather to evaluate all the offers that were available for Phoenix. The Mercury even explored the possibility of trading Thomas earlier this season, according to league sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. But with Plum on the table, Phoenix went into talent acquisition mode, which has been the operating principle since U’Ren took over ahead of the 2024 season.
The Mercury didn’t use a first-round pick during U’Wren’s tenure. Their 2027 pick is now in the hands of the Los Angeles Sparks as part of the cost of buying Plum. It was a risk Phoenix was willing to take as it proved itself as a free agency and trade destination. When awarded the pick, the organization prioritized bringing in a veteran star over developing one through the draft, and the franchise is confident in its ability to re-sign Plum when she becomes an unrestricted free agent after this season.
“The chance for Kelsey to come into our four walls and get a feel for what it’s all about and for her to get a feel for our staff, our organizational dynamic was really important to us,” U’Ren said. “We wanted to be aggressive about getting her here as soon as possible.”
Even if the 2026 season doesn’t result in a playoff berth — ESPN’s BPI currently gives the Mercury a 7.4 percent chance to make the postseason — this is an investment the franchise is willing to make for 2027. Thomas and Copper won’t be in their prime for many more playoff runs, and chemistry can’t be produced.’ 14 games with Plum will help build the foundation for whenever Phoenix returns to the playoffs.
When the Mercury lost in the 2025 finals to the Las Vegas Aces, U’Ren pointed to the winning team and said, “You’ve seen what continuity can do.” Phoenix had to pay a higher price than it would have in free agency to create continuity now.
The Mercury were also willing to find a player who fit what they were already doing, not to mention one who was inspired to play pro basketball by the franchise’s biggest icon, Diana Taurasi.
“The great thing about KP is that she played around big players,” Tibbetts said after the Mercury’s win on Monday. “I felt like it would fit into some of the things we were doing naturally.”
Plum moves well off the ball, figuring out how to maximize his touches while sharing the court with other high-use players. Her initial thought when playing for Phoenix against Chicago was how to be aware of Thomas’ departure. Plum’s first cut when Thomas had the ball in her hands resulted in a trip, but the second opportunity led to an easy layup in the middle of a 12-0 Mercury run.
The Thomas-Plum connection
Sabreena Merchant
The five-time All-Star is one of the better guards in the WNBA. Becky Hammon routinely ran out of bounds sets that included a Plum screen to pick off A’ja Wilson because a defender wouldn’t want to leave a shooter of Plum’s caliber open. The idea of her running a reverse screen and rolling with Thomas is appealing, given Thomas’ strength going to the basket. All of Phoenix’s guards have been tasked with shooting for Thomas over the past 1 ½ seasons, but none of them have had Plum’s gravitas on the other side of that partnership.
“Kelsey goes up against anybody, to be honest, but we’re really excited about her ability to stretch the floor, her power in the paint, her ability to get to the rim, her passing ability, the pace she plays,” U’Wren said.
All this can go wrong for Mercury. They earned a win against a Sky team that was without rookie phenom Sydney Taylor in the fourth quarter of Plum’s debut, then lost by double digits to Atlanta on Wednesday. The schedule only gets more challenging from now on. They can realistically afford two more losses to stay in the playoff hunt, especially with Washington and New York continuing their winning streaks. Plum could be gone in the offseason, forcing Phoenix to start building again with a depleted chest. Ask Sparks how that feels.
Toward the end of his press conference to introduce Plum, U’Ren said, “Nothing gets done without buying ownership.” It’s hard to separate the aggressive actions taken by the Mercury from the moves of their NBA counterpart, the Suns. Both Mat Ishbia-managed Phoenix teams swung for the fences. Bring in as many stars as possible, and let the coaching staff understand.
At least Mercury has a roster that makes sense together, stars that complement other skills, and a track record of turning things around quickly when the first option doesn’t go as planned.
They turned around from losing Sabally to bringing in Plum, and still have most of the personnel that led them to the WNBA Finals in 2025. Phoenix is willing to bet on himself time and time again, even if it means being a little impatient. That makes the Mercury an outlier in the WNBA, but it could give them an advantage if they’re willing to gamble when most other teams want to stand.
Phoenix got the best player on the market at the trade deadline. If Mercury has to wait until 2027 for results to follow, they can rely on one truth that always guides their decision-making: fortune favors the brave.
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