Phoenix Mercury Coach Reveals Reason for Unexpected Final WNBA Roster Cut
May 15 marks the day when WNBA teams must finalize their rosters down to 12 players for the 2025 regular season, which kicks off on Friday. This is always a stressful day for fringe players and any rookies who were drafted past the first round, as these are the players who will typically be on the chopping block.
It's harder than one might imagine to figure out which teams will keep some players and which they will let go, because nobody truly knows what a front office is thinking behind closed doors. And on Thursday, it was announced that the Phoenix Mercury had waived second-year guard Celeste Taylor.
Celeste Taylor has been waived by the Mercury.
— Underdog WNBA (@UnderdogWNBA) May 15, 2025
Taylor spent time with three teams (the Indiana Fever, the Connecticut Sun, and Phoenix) during her rookie 2024 season after being taken by the Fever in the 2024 WNBA Draft. She averaged 20.1 minutes per game and made four starts with Phoenix once she landed with them about midway through the year, which is why it was surprising to many that the Mercury decided to release her.
Phoenix head coach Nate Tibbetts explained the reason his team cut Taylor when speaking with the media on May 15, saying, "When you have a competitive camp, you're gonna have to make some tough decisions. We really like Celeste as a player and as a person. Because of some other roster stuff that has gone on, we had to make a decision to not bring Celeste back," per an X post from Desert Wave Media.
"But I really believe Celeste is a W player. I think she's gonna find a home, she's about the right stuff. She's super smart, competitive. So we wish Celeste nothing but the best," Tibbetts continued.
Phoenix Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts on what led to the decision to cut Celeste Taylor. #WNBA #ValleyTogether pic.twitter.com/H9JoJVh5NQ
— Desert Wave Media (@DesertWaveCo) May 15, 2025
The WNBA can certainly be a cutthroat league at times, especially when it comes to whittling rosters down to 12 players.
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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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