Sparks Trade All-Star Plum to Mercury
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- Sparks traded five-time All-Star Kelsey Plum to the Mercury for guard Monique Akoa Makani, a 2027 first-round pick, and a 2028 second-round pick, sources told ESPN.
- The deal completed late Saturday is just the fourth time in WNBA history an All-Star has been traded at midseason, making Plum the league's top trade target ahead of the deadline.
- Plum has been sidelined since June 21 with a lower left leg injury but is averaging career highs of 23.9 points and 6.4 assists across 12 appearances this season.
- Los Angeles sits at 10-17 and mired in a six-game losing streak, going 2-9 without Plum, and now looks unlikely to reach the postseason for the sixth straight year.
- The Mercury at 11-19 are 13 games out of first and six games behind the eighth-place Liberty, adding Plum's scoring and championship experience to chase a playoff spot after last year's WNBA Finals run.
- Sparks front-office instability compounds the trade: the team parted ways with GM Raegan Pebley earlier this month, elevating interim GMs Zach Knowlton and Nate Nielsen, both new to the WNBA.
- Just last offseason the Sparks traded their No. 2 draft pick for Plum and added veterans Nneka Ogwumike and Ariel Atkins in a fast-track contention push that has not paid off.
Why it matters: The Sparks surrendered a top trade target after just one year of trying to fast-track their rebuild, and now sit 10-17, out of playoff position, and under interim front-office leadership with no GM — meaning the franchise trades its best asset without getting back a return that accelerates either contention or a clean tank. The Mercury, meanwhile, spend draft capital on a 6-19 team that is six games out of the eighth playoff spot, adding injury risk to a long-shot postseason push.
