The Phoenix Mercury, with new star guard Kelsey Plum, have a lot of work to do if they are going to make the WNBA playoffs, and they will looking to power their Friday night against the Connecticut Sun in Uncasville, Conn.
The Mercury were 6 1/2 games out of the final playoff spot on Thursday before any games were played. They have 12 games remaining in the regular season.
The Mercury are counting on a big contribution from Plum, acquired last week in a trade with the Los Angeles Sparks. The Mercury paid a price, trading point guard Monique Akoa Makani, a 2027 first-round pick and a 2028 second-round pick to Los Angeles for Plum.
The early results have been mixed. The Mercury (12-20) are 1-1 since Plum arrived. She had 19 points in a 96-82 loss at Atlanta on Wednesday night, then spoke after the game about adjusting to a new team and what went wrong in the defeat.
“At the end of the day, we’re not going to win a lot of games scoring 82 points in terms of playing high-scoring teams, especially if we’re not getting stops like that,” Plum said. “We got to have more possessions, and also the rebounding battle kind of killed us. We talked about it going in, but you know, you got to at least break even with these guys to have a chance to win the game.”
Plum’s contract expires at the end of the season, but she has plenty of familiarity with members of the Phoenix organization, having played with Mercury teammates Kahleah Copper and Alyssa Thomas with USA Basketball.
After the trade, Mercury general manager Nick U’Ren hinted the franchise hoped to keep Plum around.
“I think she fits in with our current group and we certainly hope we’re building something she’s a part of for a long time,” he said. “We wouldn’t have done this if we didn’t think she’s capable of fitting in both now and moving forward.”
While the Mercury are thinking about the here and now, the Sun (7-23) are honoring the past as their days in Connecticut come to an end. New owners intend to move the team to Houston in time for the 2027 season.
The Sun will have a jersey retirement ceremony for Thomas before Friday’s game. She played with the team from 2014-24 and is the franchise’s all-time leader in points (3,892), rebounds (2,395), assists (1,462) and steals (494).
“I’m truly honored to be a Sun Legend,” Thomas said, per the team’s website. “I’m forever thankful to be a part of the Sun’s franchise and family. I will forever remember all the memories we shared in Mohegan.”
The Sun have lost five in a row and have been idle since ending a six-game road trip at Dallas on Sunday. Sun center Brittney Griner has been out since late July with a knee injury, and the team traded third-leading scorer Aneesah Morrow to Toronto on July 31.
The Mercury and Sun played a back-to-back in Phoenix on July 17 and 19, with the Sun winning 96-83 in the first game and the Mercury winning 72-63 in the rematch. The 63 points were the fewest scored by a Mercury opponent this season.
–Field Level Media
