Major WNBA Trade Grades
Since the start of WNBA free agency, there have been several big moves, including 3 massive sign-and-trades that included 4 stars. In this post, I am grading these trades for each team involved.
Kelsey
Plum & Jewel Loyd Trade
Los Angeles receives:
Kelsey Plum, 9th pick in the draft, 2026 2nd round
pick (SEA)
Las Vegas receives:
Jewell Loyd, 13th pick in the draft
Seattle receives:
Li Yuelu, 2nd pick, 2026 1st round pick (LVA)
Los Angeles Grade:
B
Los Angeles deserves a lot of credit for being in a
situation where they are appealing to a superstar like Plum. She is the type of star who fits with any
team that has an interest in winning due to her shooting, playmaking, ability
both on and off the ball, and competitiveness.
The biggest question is how ready this team will be to compete; in
particular, are their younger players going to be ready to compete? A team doesn’t make this move without being
ready to compete. In particular, Cameron
Brink was good but still looked raw prior to getting injured last year, and
Rickea Jackson looks more WNBA-ready, though she might not be ready for another
season. The fact that they also gave up the
second pick in a very strong class is a massive risk; while they got back the 9th
pick, there are several players who would fit the timeline of Brink and Jackson
that they could select with the 2nd pick who also have high
upside. Ultimately, Los Angeles has made
it clear that they want to win, and this move could get them into the playoffs
if their younger players can make a jump and Dearica Hamby has another amazing year.
Las Vegas Grade:
C-
Ultimately, it was kind of inevitable that Plum was going to
leave, so it’s nice that they still got a star out of the trade. The issue is that I think the fit is pretty
bad. The joy about having Plum with this
team is that she paired so well with another elite shooter in Jackie Young to
provide the off-ball ability to compensate if Chelsea Gray’s jumper wasn’t
falling and provide so much room for A’ja Wilson. Last year, there were some cracks in the format
when Gray didn’t look healthy, and Young’s shot wasn’t falling like usual. While a talented player and aggressive scorer,
Loyd has never been an efficient finisher (her shot has been a bit streaky, though
last year’s atrocious year from deep was likely a fluke), especially off the
ball. This will cause some issues,
especially since either Vegas will need to change their playing style to accommodate
Loyd, or they’ll quickly learn that Loyd is not the player that Plum is. Either way, there will be a lot of growing
pains, which isn’t good in a 40-game season for a contending team.
Seattle Grade: A
This is pretty simple really: Seattle turned Loyd, who wanted to be traded,
into the 2nd pick of a loaded draft.
While they likely will miss out on Paige Bueckers, there are many other
high level talents who could declare for this draft, including Olivia Miles, Azzi
Fudd, Sonia Citron, Kiki Iriafen, Dominique Malonga, and Lauren Betts. While it might be a bit clunky if they are
trying to win with Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith, there is still Ezi
Magbegor for the long-term, as she is a star while only 24, and Jordan Horston,
whose offensive game is a work in progress, though she already looks like a
good WNBA defender at 23. While I think Vegas
will be good next year as of now, Seattle also managed to get another pick out
of the deal. While Yuelu has her
limitations, she looked like an okay backup center, which isn’t the worst thing
in the world. Ultimately, Seattle gave
up the second best player in the trade but still got the best pick.
Alyssa
Thomas Trade
Phoenix receives:
Alyssa Thomas, Tyasha Harris
Connecticut receives:
Natasha Cloud, Rebecca Allen, 12th pick
Phoenix Grade: A
As much as many people enjoyed hyping Phoenix’s super team
last year, the honest truth is that they weren’t good enough to do much. While Kaleah Copper was amazing (if I had a
vote for awards, I likely would have voted her 3rd in the MVP
voting), Britney Griner has not been the All-WNBA player they needed her to be
(which isn’t shocking given her age and the fact that she was in a Russian
penal colony), Diana Taurasi wasn’t an All-Star level player (which was
expected given her age; the fact that she’s played at the level she has is
amazing), and the rest of the team was not good enough. Thomas is likely better than anybody that
Phoenix had on their roster last season, which improves their ceiling. While she is not a good shooter, she is one
of the best defenders and playmakers in the league who can play pretty much any
position on the court (though she’s best as a point guard on offense and a
forward on defense). She makes players
better around her offensively, especially when in a faster pace offense. I could see Copper playing very well with
her. They traded Harris in a different
trade (we’ll get to that in a second).
While Cloud and Allen were good starters, you make that trade any day if
you’re Phoenix; I think it was a great move to include Cloud since I think she
and Thomas would have been a pretty bad pairing offensively. There’s a little bit of risk with losing some
depth, but the ceiling is so high that you have to make this one.
Connecticut Grade:
D-
It was inevitable that Thomas was going to leave
Connecticut, so it made sense to work out a sign-and-trade by coring her and giving
them exclusive negotiating rights. While
Connecticut has made it clear with trades involving stars that they will try to
get a player to their preferred destination (like what they did with Jonquel
Jones), Connecticut continues to get pretty bad returns on these trades. Even if only Thomas was included in the trade,
they only got Cloud (who is a great playmaker and defensive guard, but is a
really bad shooter), Allen (who was traded in a separate trade), and the last
pick in the first round, which is pretty bad unless someone overpays for Cloud
at some point. The fact that they
included Harris, who is a really nice role player and is still only 26, just
adds insult to injury. While noble to
want to get their players to where they want to go, you have to be a little
insistent and remember that you also have a job to create a successful team. I understand if they think that this shows
that they care about facilities and that stars will want to play there, but
Thomas left because their facilities are subpar, so they’re not getting massive
free agents until those are addressed.
Satou Sabally Trade
Note: I am going with
the initial deal that was reported and not the approved deal, which includes
several more teams and players.
Phoenix receives:
Satou Sabally, Kalani Brown, Sevgi Uzun
Dallas receives:
NaLyssa Smith, Tyasha Harris, 8th pick, free agent rights to
Mikiah Herbert Harrigan
Indiana receives:
Sophie Cunningham, 19th pick
Phoenix Grade: C+
There aren’t many scenarios where the team who got the best
player in a trade also receive the lowest grade. Sabally is an amazing player who is one of
the most all-around skilled players in the game and was a top 5 finisher for
MVP in 2023. The issue is that 2023 was
the only season in her 5-year career that she has topped 17 games played. Last season, Phoenix was incredibly thin in
depth, which was problematic whenever their top 6 players struggled. This year, they appear to be banking on 3-star
players; while Sabally is a great fit alongside Alyssa Thomas and Kaleah
Copper, you can’t rely on her to be healthy, which will be problematic given
their likely lack of depth. While Brown
and Uzun can be solid in backup minutes, I expect they’ll play more than they
probably should. The good news is that Phoenix
didn’t give up a lot for a player of Sabally’s ability, which makes sense due
to the injury concern. This is such a
risky move; if Sabally is healthy, then they could be contenders, but I fear
that she will play fewer than 20 games again.
Dallas Grade: A-
It was inevitable that Sabally was going to be leaving
Dallas, but they still did well with their return. Smith is the second-best player in the trade,
though the fit wasn’t insanely clean in Indiana due to Clark’s style of play
dictating their direction going forward. While her shot hasn’t been good (I’m not sure
if it will be), she is a good finisher and promising defender already at the
age of 24. I think that a different
situation for her would be better to optimize her playing style. Harris is also a solid role player, as she is
a good shooter, reliable playmaker, and competitive defender who will fit with
Dallas as an off-ball player. While they
likely won’t get a star with the 8th pick, it’s nice to get an
additional asset. I don’t expect that
they’ll resign Harrigan, but they have the signing rights to do so if they so
choose. I think that the grade depends
on how you view Smith; while I think her lack of a jumper could limit her, I
think she has a nice upside and can help out most teams in the league.
Indiana Grade: B
I’ve gone back and forth on this trade a decent amount. While I get that Smith wasn’t the best fit, she
was the second-best player in this trade.
I don’t think that Cunningham and a second-round pick replaces the
upside that Smith provided, but I’m not sure that Smith’s playing style matched
the style that Indiana has embraced while building around Caitlin Clark. Cunningham is definitely a better fit
offensively due to her shooting ability, but she is a poor defender and is a
bit inconsistent. The good news for
Indiana is that they really don’t need her to do much outside of shoot and be a
threat off the ball, which she can do well.
That’s why I don’t think it is a horrible trade, though I think it could
look like a bad trade down the road if Smith reaches her ceiling.
Bonus: Mourning a Team that Wasn’t Quite Good Enough
The Connecticut Sun made the Semi-Finals each of the last
six seasons, while also making it to the Finals twice, though they were clearly
the worst of the two teams both times they made it there. Over this stretch, they consistently operated
with a strong defense that featured a lot of size and physicality, and an
offense that was bad in the half court but was only considered good because
they were great in transition.
Ultimately, the team was never good enough to win the championship, and
now they will likely be in a rebuilding period, as stars Alyssa Thomas, Brionna
Jones, and DeWanna Bonner are joining other teams, and starters DiJonai
Carrington and Tyasha Harris are also going to be with other teams. While they still have Marina Mabrey and a few
bench players, it is likely that they will not be competitive this season,
which felt inevitable when Thomas expressed a desire to not return to Connecticut
and join a team with better facilities and accommodations (the most notable
story related to this was when Connecticut was limited to half of the court during
a practice because someone rented the other half of the court that they
practice at for a birthday party). Most people
will act like the team should not be remembered since they didn’t win a
championship (similar to how some people treat NBA teams such as the early-mid
2000’s Nets and Kings or the James Harden era Rockets). That said, while I don’t think that should
happen in general, I especially don’t feel that way with the Sun, as I am a fan
of the team.
I will be the first to say that being a fan of this team
over the last few seasons was infuriating at points. I could tell that they often did not optimize
their offense in both their front office and coaching decisions, which drove me
crazy a lot of the time (last year, in particular, was really rough until they
acquired Mabrey). That said, even while
their style of play offensively was the polar opposite of what I like watching,
it was a fun time to be a Connecticut fan, which was evident by the electric
arena at each game I attended. Everybody
in the arena loved any time Thomas had a triple double or dominated the game on
the defensive end; her performance over the last few years made her one of my
favorite all-time WNBA players to watch, even while she was a bad shooter (she
looked like a football player on the court and could do everything at an elite
level except shoot). Hearing the joy
that came from every time Bonner attempted a big 3 (even though she wasn’t as
consistent with her jumper as fans made her out to be) or made a clutch
defensive play filled me with a joy that is difficult to put into words. Prior to her being traded to New York,
Jonquel Jones was able to do everything on the court and felt so reliable out
there; even if her prime role was as someone who maybe shouldn’t have shot or
been the ball handler she was for Connecticut, there was this feeling of
confidence whenever she had the ball and was either pulling up or driving into
the paint. Even while I had mixed
feelings about Brionna Jones, she made the game look easy on both ends in the
paint (especially on offense), which provided a calming sense that was needed
at any given moment. Jasmine Thomas
often went under the radar outside of fans, but she was an excellent defender
and great playmaker who developed a better jumper as her career went on,
allowing her to have more of an impact on offense. The team also had several other fun rotation
players, including Carrington, who was an amazing defender whose confidence was
so much fun to watch, Courtney Williams, a competitive guard who was a confident
and reliable scorer who competed like hell on both ends during her two tenures,
Tiffany Hayes, a calming presence who thrived in the off-ball role they needed
her to play in 2023, Natisha Hiedeman, a reliable 3-and-D guard who was a consistent
defender despite her size, Briann January, a valuable 3-and-D guard who was a pesky
and tenacious defender, Tyasha Harris, a great shooter and underrated defender
who fit so well alongside Alyssa Thomas when she was running the offense,
Rachel Banham, a good shooter (though streaky in her two tenures with the team)
who couldn’t do much else on the court, though the 3’s she hit were so
exciting, and Morgan Tuck, the current GM who had so much potential as an athlete
and defender, though injuries and offensive inefficiency prevented her from
reaching her ceiling (though the 2018 season showcased so much promise).
While I had many times where I was left annoyed with knowing
the team probably wasn’t good enough, I will remember a lot of good times with
this team. I will remember one fan at a
game walking up and down the aisle shouting about how Alyssa Thomas was the Defensive
Player of the Year (that season, she lost to A’ja Wilson, something that
Connecticut fans are still bitter about…as am I). I will remember when then coach Curt Miller
was trying to argue about an unfair whistle against Liz Cambage, where he
stepped into it by hyperbolically telling a ref that Cambage was “300 pounds”,
and then seeing the obvious fallout from that.
I will remember the joy that came from any Alyssa Thomas triple double,
DeWanna Bonner 3, or Jonquel Jones double teamed drive. I will remember attending Game 4 of the 2022
WNBA Finals (thank you to my fiancé, Victoria!), which was so much fun even as
Connecticut lost. I will remember the
joy I felt every time that Miller used the massive lineup of Thomas, Bonner,
Jonquel Jones, and Brionna Jones (it probably didn’t work as well as everyone
hoped it would, but it was still so much fun).
I will remember the beauty of the offense Stephanie White was forced to
use after Brionna Jones got injured in 2023, with the beauty of fully embracing
Alyssa Thomas as the point guard and running a faster offense (nobody thought
they had a chance to make the Finals that year, but it was still so much fun to
watch). I will remember getting to
attend Sue Bird’s final game in Connecticut with my sister, Meaghan, and seeing
the crowd that came to show their support for a UConn legend. I will remember the joy of knowing that there
was a chance to win while rarely feeling like an obvious choice. Most importantly, I will always remember the
joy of fans at any game during this stretch.
This year will almost certainly be rough; Mabrey will likely put up
monster numbers, the newly acquired Natasha Cloud will consistently do what she
does on the court, and we’ll see what Olivia Nelson-Ododa in a starring role
means. That said, it will still be fun
to attend a game, as the passionate fanbase will still find the little things
to be excited about during the games.
This is what I will remember and love the most about this era.
What do you think of these trades? Let me know in the comments!
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