The Phoenix Mercury began the 2025 WNBA free agency period with a bang, acquiring former Connecticut Sun star and perennial MVP candidate Alyssa Thomas via sign-and-trade, and they quickly followed it up by adding 2023’s Most Improved Player, Satou Sabally, in another sign-and-trade with the Dallas Wings.
Both Thomas and Sabally are headed Phoenix as part of the same transaction: a four-team, 13-player behemoth that, according to Across the Timeline, is the largest trade in WNBA history in terms of sheer number of assets moved. And now that the dust has finally settled, we have our first glimpse of a new-look Mercury team that, despite recently losing an all-time great player (and perhaps two), appears to have struck the delicate balance between remaining competitive in the immediate future while also establishing a framework to build upon for years to come.
Sabally joins Copper, Thomas as part of Mercury’s new core
For the last decade-plus, the Mercury were defined by their two franchise players: Diana…
