Kelsey Plum Tells Sue Bird Reason for Las Vegas Aces WNBA Trade Request
Right around the beginning of the WNBA free agency period earlier this year, news broke regarding a blockbuster three-team trade that sent Las Vegas Aces star guard Kelsey Plum to the Los Angeles Sparks, Seattle Storm star Jewell Loyd to the Aces, and the No. 2 pick of the 2025 WNBA Draft (which ended up being French standout Dominique Malonga) to the Storm.
This came after reports that Plum was looking for a fresh start with a new WNBA team after spending the first seven seasons of her career with the Aces. Since then, Plum has gone on to be one of the league's top scorers with the Sparks and seems to have found a good fit with the team.
Kelsey Plum Explains Reason for Aces Trade Request
Kelsey Plum was the guest on an August 15 episode of Bird's Eye View with Sue Bird. And at one point, Bird asked Plum directly what went in to her asking for a trade away from the Aces.
"I think it goes back to what we talked about at the beginning, of, you could play for 20 years... you really get one swing at it. And I just remember thinking, in that offseason, 'Okay: if you are really about it, and you really believe that you are as good as you think you are, and you think you can impact winning at the highest level', there's only one way to find out," Plum said in response.
"You also have to have a coach that is like, 'No, that's exactly who I want.' And I give [Sparks coach] Lynne [Roberts] a ton of credit, she's like, 'You're my person. Let's do this.' And I was like, 'Wow, okay. So I'm not crazy,'" Plum continued. "It has nothing to do with being the best player... On a championship team, you're threes and fours are really going to be your killers... So I don't have an ego in that. I know that."
"Also, too, the talent that [the Sparks] have, at the time when I wasn't on the team — Rickea [Jackson], Cam [Brink], obviously [Dearica Hamby] is here — there's pieces. And also too... What am I gonna do, just go join another powerhouse? Why wouldn't I just stay? That doesn't make any sense, right?" she concluded.
So it sounds like Plum's self-belief and wanting to prove her own greatness were key factors in what went into her wanting to leave the Aces.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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