Kelsey Plum Injury Ups Pressure on Mercury to Justify Trade Deadline Gamble
Kelsey Plum’s tenure with the Phoenix Mercury started off well. She scored 20 points in just 21 minutes in a 106-101 win against the Chicago Sky. After that, Plum put up good numbers in two more games—19 points against the Atlanta Dream and 25 against the Connecticut Sun—but the Mercury lost both games, as well as a meeting with the Washington Mystics in which Plum played just 14 minutes.
She has been out since, missing the team’s last two games. There’s still no official timetable for her return.
The injury ups the pressure on the Mercury to re-sign Plum in the offseason. Trading for someone who would be an unrestricted free agent after the season was a gamble, but the Mercury obviously believed that they could end the season on a high note with Plum and convince her to re-sign in the offseason.
Six games later, the Mercury added four more losses to their disappointing record and are nowhere closer to the playoffs than they were before trading for Plum. With a 12-23 record, Phoenix is 7.5 games behind the final playoff spot. If Plum walks away in free agency, the Mercury gave up their best young player and a solid first-round pick for someone who won’t play more than twelve games and has only helped them win one game so far.
Phoenix gave up valuable assets for Plum
The Mercury sent Monique Akoa Makani, their 2027 first-round pick, and a 2028 second-round pick to LA for Plum. That doesn’t sound like much considering how good Plum is and what the Los Angeles Sparks gave up to get her.
If Plum were still under contract for at least a season, that deal would be a steal. Plum is one of the best scoring guards in the league and fits well with Kahleah Copper and Alyssa Thomas. Akoa Makani is a fun young player, but not on the same level as Plum, and after last season’s success, the Mercury’s lottery odds aren’t great.
But Plum isn’t under contract, and the Mercury may have given up good assets for nothing. Akoa Makani and next year’s first-round pick could have been crucial for a team built around stars and role players in their 30s, including 38-year-old DeWanna Bonner and Sami Whitcomb.
A big three of Plum, Thomas, and Copper could make some noise next season
If Plum re-signs to stay with the Mercury, Phoenix could immediately bounce back from this tough season. We saw last season how far the Mercury could go with an All-Star scorer next to Copper and Thomas.
Plum could provide even more scoring than Satou Sabally did last season when she averaged 16.3 points per game. On top of that, she would help Thomas with the playmaking load and space the floor. The pick-and-roll fit with her and Thomas is perhaps the most intriguing thing about Plum’s potential in Phoenix.
With an offense centered around Plum, Thomas, and Copper, the Mercury could be right back in the mix for title contention. Despite a rocky 1-3 start with her new team, Plum has plenty of reasons to re-sign with the Mercury, and that’s the best thing about the Mercury’s season right now.
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Elaine Blum covers women’s basketball for On SI from Europe. She has been writing about women's hoops since 2023 and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism and a master’s degree in American Studies with a focus on women’s and gender studies. She started playing basketball when she was 10 years old and won several league and state championships at the youth and senior level.