The Phoenix Mercury agreed to acquire Kelsey Plum from the Los Angeles Sparks late Saturday night, hours before Sunday afternoon’s trade deadline. Going the other way are guard Monique Akoa Makani, a 2027 first-round pick, and a 2028 second-round pick. Shams Charania and Kendra Andrews of ESPN first reported it.
Phoenix lost 94-92 to the New York Liberty on Saturday, the same day the deal was finalized. The Mercury’s record is now 11-19 with 14 games left. Meanwhile, New York holds the eighth and final playoff spot with a 17-13 record.
“Kelsey is one of the league’s most dynamic players,” said Mercury general manager Nick U’Ren in a press release. “She 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’s most complete guards. We have wanted Kelsey here for a long time, and we’re excited to finally bring her to Phoenix as we continue to build on our foundation.”
Plum has averaged 23.9 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 6.4 assists in 12 games. The scoring and assist figures are career highs. She has shot 99-of-188 from the field and 31-of-81 from three. ESPN reported it as the fourth time a WNBA All-Star has been traded at midseason. The Mercury announced that Plum will wear No. 0.
Welcome to Phoenix, Kelsey Plum! pic.twitter.com/08aQczMQAO
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) August 2, 2026
Phoenix’s Pick-and-Roll Offense
The Mercury have averaged 0.942 points per possession over 30 games, ranking in the 29th percentile league-wide. In the half-court, their average decreases to 0.914.
Spot-ups and pick-and-roll ball-handler plays account for 538 possessions each, or 20.4% of the offense. The pick-and-rolls have returned 423 points. Out of spot-ups, Phoenix has shot 34.1% for 495 points. On pull-up jumpers, the Mercury are 128-of-394. At the rim they are 466-of-771.
Plum’s pick-and-roll possessions have produced 83 points on 66 tries, 1.258 apiece and a 99th percentile mark. She is 37-of-74 on dribble jumpers. Her 46 isolations have produced 58 points.
Two of her 12 games came in Phoenix. Plum scored 43 points on 14-of-26 shooting there June 13, and 16 points on May 21. Two nights after that May trip, she put up 38 in Las Vegas on 12-of-17 shooting.
Thomas, Copper, and Plum
Alyssa Thomas leads the Mercury with 8.3 assists and has averaged 14.9 points and 7.1 rebounds in 28 games. She has attempted only one 3-pointer all season. Kahleah Copper has averaged 20.9 points on 15.8 shots a game and is shooting 28.7% from three on 5.9 attempts.
Plum has spent 26.2% of her possessions as a pick-and-roll ball handler and another 18.3% in isolation. The Mercury now have three players who need the ball, and 14 games to sort out who gets it.
Akoa Makani was the only Mercury player besides Thomas averaging more than two assists, at 2.5, and she is the piece going out. DeWanna Bonner has averaged 10.2 points and 5.8 rebounds in 30 games. Natasha Mack has averaged 8.8 points and 7.4 rebounds on 61.7% shooting. Jovana Nogic was third on the team at 10.4 points per game while shooting 42.1% from three when she left Phoenix on June 29 for personal reasons, 16 games into her rookie year. Kathryn Westbeld tore her right ACL overseas before camp and has not played.
Thomas and Plum in the Same Action
Phoenix often runs an inverted pick-and-roll with Thomas handling the ball, as a guard sets the screen. Plum can alternate roles, screening for Thomas in one play and then using the screen herself in the next.
Switching creates a mismatch on one of the players. Coverages that remain attached allow Plum to quickly drive out of the screen, and she has made 46 of 64 attempts at the rim this season. If you blitz or hard hedge, the ball is likely to go to Thomas in the middle of the floor with momentum.
Thomas averages 8.3 assists with 3.5 turnovers. A hedge that forces her to pass creates a 4-on-3 advantage going to the rim. She is one of the most physical drivers in the league while also being elite at making passing reads.
Side actions raise similar questions but on a smaller scale. Icing the screen becomes harder when Plum is the screener. Double drag and Spain pick-and-roll introduce additional complexity.
After timeouts, Phoenix scores an average of 0.899 points per possession over 357 possessions, whereas Plum scores 1.172 points per possession on 29 possessions.
Off the ball, she can set screens, relocate, and take shots while moving, but her shooting accuracy remains inconsistent. This season, her catch-and-shoot rate is 11-of-36, and when unguarded, she makes 4-of-15 shots. Spot-up opportunities average 1.054 points per possession, whereas off-screen plays average 0.952.
Phoenix has scored 1.028 points per possession on handoffs. Cuts have resulted in 1.332 points across 220 possessions. Coming off screens, the Mercury have managed 0.773, placing them in the seventh percentile.
Completing the rest of the analysis requires 14 more games.
“Any time a player hints … that they may not stay, it puts you in a position where you have to make a trade.”
The WNBA Countdown crew react to the Kelsey Plum trade to the Phoenix Mercury
pic.twitter.com/NPg1w42ZXs
— espnW (@espnW) August 2, 2026
Fourteen Games
Plum last played on June 21. A lower left leg injury has kept her out since, and an ankle injury cost her three games in late May. She returned to practice July 30. Plum will be with the Mercury in Chicago by Monday night, though whether she plays has not been determined.
Phoenix has gone 3-2 over its last five games with a 105.0 offensive rating and a 105.0 defensive rating. For the season, those numbers are 104.7 and 108.7.
Three of the 14 remaining games are against the Washington Mystics, on Aug. 9, Aug. 25, and Aug. 27. Washington is 16-12. New York is 17-13 and owns the season series against Phoenix. The Mercury have to finish ahead of the Liberty outright.
Phoenix trails both Washington and New York by six games. Sweeping the Mystics would cut that to three with 11 to play.
The 2027 First-Rounder
Phoenix’s 2027 first-round pick currently sits seventh, the last spot in the lottery. Official odds for the expanded seven-team format have not been released.
In April, the Mercury selected Nos. 27 and 42. Ines Pitarch-Granel and Eszter Ratkai did not participate this season. Coach Nate Tibbetts mentioned in May that Phoenix hasn’t had many top picks over his three-year tenure and highlighted the front office’s overseas signings as equivalents to first-round talent.
Akoa Makani has averaged 9.4 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists over 19 games, with a 43.6% shooting rate from three. She was a starting player in all 11 of Phoenix’s postseason games during their 2025 Finals run. Her contract extends through the 2027 season.
Los Angeles acquired Plum in 2025 at the cost of the No. 2 pick in that year’s draft, which went to Seattle and became Dominique Malonga. The Sparks are 10-17 and have lost six in a row. They fired general manager Raegan Pebley on July 12. The 2027 class is expected to be deep.
Kelsey Plum is officially a Phoenix Mercury.
Welcome to The Valley, Plum Dawg!
pic.twitter.com/b77JyqD4NW
— Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) August 2, 2026
The $999,999 Deal
Plum signed a one-year deal with Los Angeles worth $999,999, below the $1.4 million supermax she was eligible for under the new collective bargaining agreement. She becomes an unrestricted free agent after the season. ESPN reported that she still intends to go through the full free agency process, with Phoenix among the teams that would be in those conversations.
Phoenix acquired her without an extension in hand. The Mercury get two months and 14 games to make the case.
Thomas is 34, Copper is 31. Phoenix made it to the Finals in 2025 but then lost Satou Sabally to New York in free agency. The 2027 pick is no longer available regardless.
Phoenix plays at the Chicago Sky on Monday, the first of a three-game road trip. It remains to be seen if Plum will play.
Editor’s Pick
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