Phoenix Mercury trade for All-Star Kelsey Plum

The Phoenix Mercury traded for All-Star guard Kelsey Plum as the team tries to fight its way back into playoff contention following a disappointing start to the season.

Phoenix sent second-year guard Monique Akoa Makani — a 2027 first-round pick and a 2028 second-round pick — to the Los Angeles Sparks in exchange for Plum, a five-time All-Star who won two WNBA championships with the Las Vegas Aces.

It’s rare for an All-Star to be traded in the middle of the season, only happening a handful of times before the Plum deal came together over the weekend.

Phoenix was not an obvious buyer ahead of the Sunday trade deadline, as the team sits six games out of a playoff spot with an 11-19 record.

“Our goal is to win night in and night out. We haven't done enough of it this year,” Mercury General Manager Nick U’Ren said. “We hope that we're winning at a high level, both now and moving forward. That's not all on Kelsey's shoulders. That's on all of us.”

He said that he approaches every trade deadline “opportunistically” and wanted to “pounce” on this deal.

“So we're always looking out for what's in the best interest of our team now, our team moving forward, and that's my job to kind of balance those two things and put us in the best position for the long term, but while keeping everything today in mind as well,” U’Ren said.

But neither U’Ren nor Plum would say much about Plum’s future in Phoenix when the season ends and she is set to enter unrestricted free agency.

“I'll keep all my discussions with Kelsey private,” U’Ren said. “But I hate to be a broken record, but this is something, like I said, we hope that she values her time with us here. We hope she's here for a long time.”

Plum declined to talk about her pending free agency during an introductory press conference.

“I'm super grateful to be here and I'm super excited to play and to be coached and to learn from these players and compete, so that doesn't answer your question and that was very intentional,” she said when asked where Phoenix sits on her list of potential destinations in free agency.

However, Plum did say that, growing up, she was a big fan of retired Mercury legend Diana Taurasi and is excited to join the team Taurasi once led.

“It means everything. That was the reason I started playing basketball,” Plum said. “She actually texted me today and just said there's no one she'd rather have. And so that just feels, I'm just very honored and just excited to go out there and compete.”

Plum was averaging a career-high 23.9 points this season in 12 games this year before suffering a leg injury in June. She practiced earlier this week and was expected to play Sunday in the Sparks’ game against Portland before getting traded.

Despite joining a new team midseason, U’Ren said he believes Plum will fit in well with established Mercury stars Alyssa Thomas and Kahleah Copper.

“I think Kelsey fits with anyone, to be honest,” he said. “But we're really excited about her ability to stretch the floor, her force she puts in the paint, the ability to get to the rim, her passing ability, the pace she plays with.”

She will make her Mercury debut Monday versus the Chicago Sky and will be restricted to 20 minutes, Plum said.