3 DeWanna Bonner Landing Spots After Mercury Buyout
The Phoenix Mercury and veteran wing DeWanna Bonner have agreed to a contract buyout, which was announced on Monday.
Bonner will now be placed on waivers, and if she clears them, she'll be able to sign with teams as an unrestricted free agent. Bonner intends to join a championship contender, which means that there are only a few teams that make sense as potential landing spots for her.
Before getting into her three best fits, it's worth mentioning that while the Las Vegas Aces seem like a great fit for Bonner on paper, Yahoo Sports' Nekias Duncan wrote in an X post on Monday, "the combination of cap room, roster spots, and the injury situation... would take Vegas out of the running for DeWanna Bonner."
Therefore, this list explains the three best fits for Bonner while assuming the Aces are already out on her.
DeWanna Bonner's 3 Best Landing Spots
1. Atlanta Dream
The Atlanta Dream seem like the cleanest fit and the frontrunner to land Bonner at this point. They have cap space to sign her; they're a clear championship contender, and they could use a versatile, defense-forward wing to pair with Rhyne Howard, Allisha Gray, and Angel Reese.
She would fit into their roster and scheme right away without needing to produce much on offense, which is an ideal situation for her at this point. Plus, they have $190,663 in cap space to sign her.
2. Minnesota Lynx
Cheryl Reeve is capable of maximizing any player's potential, and it would be cool to see these two legends in the same franchise before Bonner calls it a career.
But Minnesota also makes sense on the court, given that the Lynx could use another lengthy wing. Natasha Howard has a similar physical profile as Bonner and is playing some of the best basketball of her career this season, despite being 34 years old.
Bonner could do the same thing off the bench for the Lynx, who are already championship contenders without her. The problem is cap space, as they would need to waive a player to open enough cap space to land her.
The Aces are in the same situation, but are further in the hole in terms of cap space than the Lynx, which would make matters more difficult for them.
3. New York Liberty
The Liberty have cap space to sign Bonner ($129,904, to be exact), are a championship contender, and with Satou Sabally being away from the team indefinitely because of a head issue, Bonner could step in and fill that role in the roster immediately.
The question is whether Bonner views the Liberty as a true championship contender. If she does, then New York might actually be the best fit for the 39-year-old.
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Grant Young covers women’s basketball for Women’s Fastbreak and Indiana Fever On SI. His coverage centers on league trends and the growth of women’s basketball, both on and off the court. He also creates digital content focused on the sport’s biggest moments and personalities.
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