When the Jewell Loyd-Kelsey Plum three-team trade involving the Las Vegas Aces, Seattle Storm and Los Angeles Sparks was first reported, conventional wisdom surrounded around the idea that it would be the deal that would open the free agency floodgates.
It appears to have done just that. Since then, the reports of player movement have come hot and heavy. We eventually noticed what one of the latest dominoes resemble.
One of those latest dominoes, per reports, involves Satou Sabally, who made it clear that she had no intention on returning to the Dallas Wings. Sabally, despite plenty of links that could easily have had her on the New York Liberty, instead will be on her way to the Phoenix Mercury.
Not only did the Mercury solidify its status as WNBA contenders with the addition of Sabally, but Phoenix also added Kalani Brown and Sevgi Uzun in the deal, says ESPN’s Alexa Philippou.
The Wings did get an impressive haul in the deal as well by picking up Ty Harris, Mikiah Herbert-Harrigan, NaLyssa Smith and the eighth-overall pick in this season’s draft. The Indiana Fever would claim the No. 19 pick in addition to Sophie Cunningham.
This trade was actually linked to another transaction that also netted the Mercury Alyssa Thomas – formerly of the Connecticut Sun.
Who would have guessed that the Mercury would lose a player that was so synonymous with the franchise such as Brittney Griner – and may actually have improved? Because of injury last season, Sabally only played in 15 games. But when she did play, she still resembled the Sabally that was a key reason why the Wings advanced to the WNBA semifinals in 2023.
Sabally averaged 17.9 points, 6.4 points and five assists (plus 1.3 steals) in those 15 games. Adding Sabally to a team that already had Kahleah Copper and Alyssa Thomas (not to mention the “will she” or “won’t she” questions swirling regarding Diana Taurasi – whose name is no longer on the updated Mercury roster) could have the Mercury in the status of elite contenders with the Aces, Liberty and Minnesota Lynx.
The Mercury were one of two teams, reportedly, that were in on Sabally – and she may have preferred to go to New York given her sister Nyara is on that team. In addition, the sisters Sabally and Sabrina Ionescu were all teammates back at Oregon.
When the rubber met the road, a trade package for Sabally probably would have involved the Liberty trading at least one of Betnijah Laney-Hamilton or Leonie Fiebich (or both) in a deal. Laney-Hamilton has become part of the heart and soul of New York’s franchise – plus she is a fan favorite in the Tri-State area given she played at Rutgers. Fiebich, in her rookie season, was a key element in the Liberty’s run to its first championship last season.
The addition of NaLyssa Smith is an intriguing one given some of the numbers she did put up when she was in Indiana. Smith may not have been able to duplicate her 2023 numbers when she averaged 15.5 points and 9.2 rebounds, but she still did average 10.6 points and 7.1 boards in 2024.
This trade, along with Nneka Ogwumike re-upping for one season with the Seattle Storm, could increase the likelihood of the Wings holding onto the No. 1 overall pick and drafting Paige Bueckers out of UConn. The question of questions will be answered following the 2025 season – when Arike Ogunbowale is an unrestricted free agent. Given the Wings’ issues with keeping players and a new collective bargaining agreement in the works, it is nowhere near a guarantee Dallas will keep Ogunbowale despite moving into a new downtown Dallas arena in 2026.
As for Cunningham, she is leaving one team that is re-entering contender status to another team in the Fever that is re-entering contender status. Indiana also got another big with the signing of veteran Natasha Howard and also landed DeWanna Bonner from Connecticut.
(Also – as an aside to the toxic crowd…Cunningham may not be the player Caitlin Clark is, but she is everything they wished Clark was).
The 2025 season will also be the final season of Aliyah Boston’s three-year rookie contract with the Fever.
Unless something major happens, it appears that all of the major free agent dominoes have already been revealed prior to the start of the actual free agency period. But all of this movement has us looking into our crystal basketballs and seeing a WNBA that is vastly different from what we watched only a few months ago.
