The first blockbuster move of the WNBA offseason has officially taken place.
A week before free agents can officially sign contracts with any of the 13 teams in the league starting Feb. 1, the Las Vegas Aces, Los Angeles Sparks and Seattle Storm got the party started early and might have just jump started a flood of offseason moves as a result.
Over the weekend, multiple outlets reported the three squads agreed to a blockbuster multi-team trade, one that sends Jewell Loyd to Las Vegas and Kelsey Plum to Los Angeles.
Chicago Sun-Times’ Annie Costabile reported Saturday that a multi-team trade was in the works between those three squads, with the details just needing to be worked out for all parties involved. On Sunday, a quartet of ESPN reporters reported that the deal was done, releasing more information on the final details of what is coming and going from each squad.
Here are the details:
Las Vegas gets:
- Jewell Loyd
- No. 13 pick in 2025 WNBA Draft (from Los Angeles)
Los Angeles gets:
- Kelsey Plum
- No. 9 pick in 2025 WNBA Draft (from Seattle)
Seattle gets:
- No. 2 pick in 2025 WNBA Draft (from Los Angeles)
- Li Yueru
This move is obviously a big one, something that we don’t see that often in the WNBA and one that will change the direction of each team involved.
For Las Vegas, the addition of Loyd results in a reload of its championship-caliber roster that is already filled by A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young and others. Loyd had asked for a trade earlier this offseason, and now the six-time All-Star and two-time WNBA champion now joins a team that will likely enter the season as favorites to claim the league title in 2025.
For Los Angeles, it is taking a chance on forfeiting the chance to draft a talented prospect, but is doing so while adding an All-Star in Plum to take over as the alpha with the Sparks. Plum was likely looking for her role to expand on a team, and the three-time All-Star and two-time WNBA champion will get to do just that as the main option under the bright lights in Los Angeles. The idea of Plum paired with Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson is intriguing, and the Sparks felt like they preferred to have a proven commodity now rather than taking a chance on a prospect via the draft with that No. 2 pick.
For Seattle, it marks the end of an era of Loyd in a Storm uniform, a span that was a memorable one for the organization and its fan base. Though Loyd requested a trade from the Storm, this move could signify the start of a rebuild in Seattle. Now with a top draft pick from Los Angeles and only four players currently under contract, the Storm have the ability to add a talented prospect and also dip into free agency. It will be an interesting offseason in Seattle, and this offseason could determine if it retools following Loyd’s departure or if a rebuild is officially underway.
This trade is league-altering, no question. And the ball could just be starting to roll as things start to pick up over the coming days and weeks in the WNBA offseason.
