The Los Angeles Sparks traded All-Star guard Kelsey Plum to the Phoenix Mercury for a first-round pick next year, Monique Akoa Makani and a second-round draft choice in 2028.<\/p>\n
The deal was finalized late Saturday night ahead of Sunday’s trade deadline and was first reported by ESPN. It’s rare for an All-Star to be traded in the middle of the season, only happening a handful of times before Saturday night.<\/p>\n
\u201cKelsey is one of the league\u2019s most dynamic players,\u201d Mercury GM Nick U\u2019Ren said. \u201cShe is a fierce competitor with a winning mentality who impacts the game on both ends of the floor. Her combination of shooting, explosiveness and decision-making allows her to create offense at a high level and makes her one of the league\u2019s most complete guards. We have wanted Kelsey here for a long time, and we\u2019re excited to finally bring her to Phoenix as we continue to build on our foundation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Plum will wear No. 0 for the Mercury. She is a free agent at the end of this season and has been sidelined since June 21 because of a lower leg injury. She practiced earlier this week and was expected to play Sunday in the Sparks’ game against Portland before getting traded. Phoenix’s next game is Monday at Chicago.<\/p>\n
Plum was averaging a career-best 23.9 points and 6.4 assists before getting hurt. Los Angeles has struggled without her, including its last six games.<\/p>\n
Phoenix is currently 11-19 and six games behind the New York Liberty, who sit in eighth place. New York edged Phoenix 94-92 on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The Mercury are coming off a WNBA Finals appearance last season, but have seldom looked like that team despite returning stars Alyssa Thomas and Kahleah Copper.<\/p>\n
Akoa Makani is averaging 9.4 points and 2.5 assists this season in 16 games. She was injured earlier in the season with a hamstring issue.<\/p>\n
Los Angeles acquired Plum before last season in a blockbuster deal that sent the No. 2 pick to Seattle. The Sparks had hoped they could accelerate a rebuilding effort. Seattle used that pick on Dominique Malonga, who was an All-Star this season.<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n