Marina Mabrey has been traded to the Connecticut Sun in exchange for Rachel Banham, Moriah Jefferson, the Sun’s 2025 first-round pick and rights to a 2026 first-round pick swap, according to a report first broken by Annie Costabile of the Chicago Sun-Times.
The Sky are also sending their 2025 second-round pick to the Sun.
TRADE ALERT: Connecticut Sun Acquires Veteran Guard Marina Mabrey
Details: https://t.co/0VlSWBz2oe pic.twitter.com/dHfEmiZWV8
— Connecticut Sun PR (@CTSunPR) July 17, 2024
The trade comes as the Sun just dropped another game to conference rival New York Liberty, who now owns the tiebreaker between the two teams. The Sun shot just 2-18 from three point range in their last matchup with the Liberty, adding another cold shooting night to this season from deep.
Mabrey, who is shooting 34.4 percent from three-point range this season and is known as one of the league’s more prolific three-point shooters, adds more depth to the offense around Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner in Connecticut. This season, Mabrey has averaged 14 points per game (PPG) along with 5.1 rebounds (RPG), 4.6 assists (APG, and 1.1 steals (SPG). Mabrey has also been a veteran voice in a rebuilding and youthful Chicago Sky locker room, helping to facilitate and feed rookie post players Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso throughout the first half of this season.
Jefferson, who was traded to the Sun over the offseason in exchange for Rebecca Allen, has been unable to play much this season due to an ankle injury that required surgery. She was marked as out for at least three weeks post surgery, which was reported on June 25. So, Jefferson would ideally be available to the Sky as soon as the Olympic break wraps up and play returns in August.
Banham just had one of the best games of her season with the Sun this past weekend, hitting eight threes in a win against the Phoenix Mercury. She has been a key part of Connecticut’s bench this season, averaging 4.9 PPG along with 1.2 RPG in 13 minutes per game (MPG). She adds more three point shooting back to the Sky who will now be without Mabrey’s shooting, and adds more depth to Chicago’s bench.
Chicago’s new GM, Jeff Pagliocca, has now recouped almost all of the picks they lost with their last big trade to land Mabrey.
