PHOENIX – One year removed from facing the Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA Finals, the Phoenix Mercury missed the playoffs in 2026.
That stark contrast was easy for general manager Nick U’ren to critique.
“It’s disappointing, a disappointing season,” U’Ren said. “There’s no escaping that. There’s no running from that. There’s no excuses being made. The fans deserve better and certainly everybody in this building wants to put a better product on the floor.”
The Mercury finished the season 16-28, and while there were some bright spots in player development and Alyssa Thomas breaking the league’s single-season assist record (now 358) for the second year in a row, the team’s performance created several questions heading into the offseason.
Chief among those is this: Will the Mercury be able to re-sign free agent guard Kelsey Plum?
That was the question on everybody’s mind at the Mercury’s end-of-season exit interviews at the Mountain America Performance Center on Sept. 25, but U’ren and coach Nate Tibbetts remained tight-lipped.
“I’m not going to comment on likelihood percentages,” Tibbetts said. “She’s got a big decision to make and we brought her here for a reason. We intend to keep her. We hope to keep her. She’s an incredible player. She’s earned the right to make the decision that’s best for her life and we hope we put ourselves in a position to bring her back.”
Many WNBA fans were shocked when the Mercury traded guard Monique Akoa Makani, a 2027 first-round pick and a 2028 second-rounder for Plum right before the trade deadline. Plum was already dealing with a lower-leg injury that had sidelined her for the WNBA All-Star Game, and at the time, reports suggested she was looking to test free agency.
Plum played only five games before the leg injury forced her to sit out the rest of the season.
“There’s no question she wanted to be out there as much as we wanted her out there,” U’ren said. “We wished she were out there more.”
The Mercury traded away a potential top-eight pick so they cannot rely on the draft to boost their roster, but insiders such as The Athletic’s Sabreena Merchant said a rebuild isn’t the team’s next move.
“They believe that this season was a bit of a blip,” Merchant said. “They have enough talent, if they add one more piece, to be a contender next year. I think the goal is to re-sign Plum, even if that means they’re going to have (Kahleah Copper), (Thomas), (Sami Whitcomb), who are all pretty old.”
Phoenix is one of the oldest teams in the league with an average age of 29.2. Signing Plum, 32, won’t make the team younger, and Plum can’t be the only signing the Mercury are banking on. Copper, Thomas, Whitcomb and Natasha Mack are the only players under contract for 2027.
“If any team were to make a massive offseason shake-up, I would be wholly unsurprised if it was Phoenix,” Merchant said. “Just because Phoenix does a lot of big things. But also, I tend to believe that they brought in Plum because they think that she is going to be part of the core, and that core includes Kah and AT.”
Getting Plum may not be the be-all, end-all, however, for the Mercury front office. The returning players are getting involved in the recruiting of free agents this offseason.
“I’m gonna enjoy this offseason because I’m gonna be able to work on my game,” Copper said. “And I’ll be able to also try and do some things with some free agents, so I’mma be right at them, too, so I gotta big offseason.”
One area the Mercury may be looking to improve is the frontcourt, with Mack being the only true big returning to the team.
Phoenix could look to pitch a return to forwards Valeriane Ayayi and Marta Suarez in the hopes that they continue to develop, or they might try to make a big splash like Merchant said and go for unrestricted free agents Temi Fagbenle, Stephanie Dolson or Awak Kuier.
While that trio may not bring a scoring boost to the team, they could help with the Mercury’s paint presence, as Fagbenle and Kuier are 6 feet 4, while Dolson is 6 feet 5. The lure of a larger frontcourt presence is something that is not lost on Tibbetts.
“That would be awesome,” Tibbetts said. “There’s probably three to four or five of those in our whole league, and those are starting-caliber centers, maybe somewhere else. We believe in Mack. I think she’s had a really good year. I think our front office will continue to look at all options. Obviously, size and shooting would be ideal, but we’ll see how that evolves.”
Whatever the Mercury do plan on, they believe they need to start now. The team isn’t getting any younger, and missing the playoffs does not bode well for team morale.
“It’s been a long time since I haven’t been in the playoffs so definitely an uncharted feeling for me,” Thomas said. “I haven’t felt this way in a long time. It’s something I don’t ever want to feel again. Next season will definitely be different.”
This <a target=”_blank” href=”https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2026/09/28/phoenix-mercury-look-to-free-agency-after-missing-playoffs/”>article</a> first appeared on <a target=”_blank” href=”https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org”>Cronkite News</a> and is republished here under a <a target=”_blank” href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/”>Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.<img src=”https://i0.wp.com/cronkitenews.azpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/favicon1.png?resize=85%2C85&ssl=1″ style=”width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;”>
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Plum job: Phoenix Mercury look to free agency after missing playoffs
Myles Aaron Dunson, Cronkite News
September 28, 2026
PHOENIX – One year removed from facing the Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA Finals, the Phoenix Mercury missed the playoffs in 2026.
That stark contrast was easy for general manager Nick U’ren to critique.
“It’s disappointing, a disappointing season,” U’Ren said. “There’s no escaping that. There’s no running from that. There’s no excuses being made. The fans deserve better and certainly everybody in this building wants to put a better product on the floor.”
The Mercury finished the season 16-28, and while there were some bright spots in player development and Alyssa Thomas breaking the league’s single-season assist record (now 358) for the second year in a row, the team’s performance created several questions heading into the offseason.
Chief among those is this: Will the Mercury be able to re-sign free agent guard Kelsey Plum?
That was the question on everybody’s mind at the Mercury’s end-of-season exit interviews at the Mountain America Performance Center on Sept. 25, but U’ren and coach Nate Tibbetts remained tight-lipped.
“I’m not going to comment on likelihood percentages,” Tibbetts said. “She’s got a big decision to make and we brought her here for a reason. We intend to keep her. We hope to keep her. She’s an incredible player. She’s earned the right to make the decision that’s best for her life and we hope we put ourselves in a position to bring her back.”
Many WNBA fans were shocked when the Mercury traded guard Monique Akoa Makani, a 2027 first-round pick and a 2028 second-rounder for Plum right before the trade deadline. Plum was already dealing with a lower-leg injury that had sidelined her for the WNBA All-Star Game, and at the time, reports suggested she was looking to test free agency.
Plum played only five games before the leg injury forced her to sit out the rest of the season.
“There’s no question she wanted to be out there as much as we wanted her out there,” U’ren said. “We wished she were out there more.”
The Mercury traded away a potential top-eight pick so they cannot rely on the draft to boost their roster, but insiders such as The Athletic’s Sabreena Merchant said a rebuild isn’t the team’s next move.
“They believe that this season was a bit of a blip,” Merchant said. “They have enough talent, if they add one more piece, to be a contender next year. I think the goal is to re-sign Plum, even if that means they’re going to have (Kahleah Copper), (Thomas), (Sami Whitcomb), who are all pretty old.”
Phoenix is one of the oldest teams in the league with an average age of 29.2. Signing Plum, 32, won’t make the team younger, and Plum can’t be the only signing the Mercury are banking on. Copper, Thomas, Whitcomb and Natasha Mack are the only players under contract for 2027.
“If any team were to make a massive offseason shake-up, I would be wholly unsurprised if it was Phoenix,” Merchant said. “Just because Phoenix does a lot of big things. But also, I tend to believe that they brought in Plum because they think that she is going to be part of the core, and that core includes Kah and AT.”
Getting Plum may not be the be-all, end-all, however, for the Mercury front office. The returning players are getting involved in the recruiting of free agents this offseason.
“I’m gonna enjoy this offseason because I’m gonna be able to work on my game,” Copper said. “And I’ll be able to also try and do some things with some free agents, so I’mma be right at them, too, so I gotta big offseason.”
One area the Mercury may be looking to improve is the frontcourt, with Mack being the only true big returning to the team.
Phoenix could look to pitch a return to forwards Valeriane Ayayi and Marta Suarez in the hopes that they continue to develop, or they might try to make a big splash like Merchant said and go for unrestricted free agents Temi Fagbenle, Stephanie Dolson or Awak Kuier.
While that trio may not bring a scoring boost to the team, they could help with the Mercury’s paint presence, as Fagbenle and Kuier are 6 feet 4, while Dolson is 6 feet 5. The lure of a larger frontcourt presence is something that is not lost on Tibbetts.
“That would be awesome,” Tibbetts said. “There’s probably three to four or five of those in our whole league, and those are starting-caliber centers, maybe somewhere else. We believe in Mack. I think she’s had a really good year. I think our front office will continue to look at all options. Obviously, size and shooting would be ideal, but we’ll see how that evolves.”
Whatever the Mercury do plan on, they believe they need to start now. The team isn’t getting any younger, and missing the playoffs does not bode well for team morale.
“It’s been a long time since I haven’t been in the playoffs so definitely an uncharted feeling for me,” Thomas said. “I haven’t felt this way in a long time. It’s something I don’t ever want to feel again. Next season will definitely be different.”
This article first appeared on Cronkite News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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