Mercury Bring Back Veteran Guard on Third 7-Day Contract

The Phoenix Mercury have signed Kiana Williams to yet another seven-day contract. Will they decide to keep her for the rest of the season this time?

Jul 7, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Mercury guard Kiana Williams drives on Dallas Wings guard JJ Quinerly (11) in the second half at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images / Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

The Phoenix Mercury announced another roster move today, signing veteran guard Kiana Williams to a seven-day contract, according to the team's official X account. It's the third seven-day deal with the team just this season for the 26-year-old. Williams has appeared in six games this year for the Mercury, and helped provide depth off the bench when they were dealing with myriad injuries.

Phoenix opted to not bring Williams back after her second seven-day contract expired, partly to maintain financial flexibility and an extra roster spot heading into the trade deadline. Ultimately, though, Nick U'Ren and the team's front office stood pat at the deadline and no moves were made, leaving an available spot on the roster.

The Mercury have a fully healthy roster at the moment as they head into the season's final stretch, but it never hurts to have extra insurance on the roster in the event of another injury crisis, and Williams has proven that she can contribute to this Mercury team. In her six games, she's shot 50% from the field and 35.7% from three, and put up a season-high 17 points (on just eight shot attempts) in a July 7th drubbing of the Dallas Wings.

Jul 9, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Mercury guard Kiana Williams (23) against the Minnesota Lynx at PHX Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Williams hasn't been the team's primary ballhandler when she's been on the court, but she has just one turnover for the season, a sign of a responsible ballhandler who can calmly make sound decisions on the ball. She's also chipped in with seven assists in just under 70 minutes of game time.

The former second-round pick has spent time at both guard spots and, despite standing just 5'7", she has held up well defensively. Her ability to stretch the floor and knock down threes is helpful, especially for a team featuring two dominant slashers in Alyssa Thomas and Kahleah Copper.

While the Mercury have pared their rotation down to just eight players for now, head coach Nate Tibbetts has stated before that the rotation may change depending on how players are playing and their night-to-night needs in certain specific matchups.

It's been a long journey this year for Williams, who was with the Mercury for training camp, then cut, before winding up joining the team three more times. Time will tell if the team decides to keep her around for the rest of the season and for the playoffs, when the bench players might not get much action.

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