Thanks to the WNBA’s latest collective bargaining agreement (CBA), teams will now have room under the salary cap for deals ahead of the trade deadline. The most notable deadline move to date is one that not many could have seen coming.

Before the sun rose Sunday morning, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that the Los Angeles Sparks traded superstar guard Kelsey Plum to the Phoenix Mercury for their 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-rounder, and one of the best 25-or-under floor generals in the WNBA in five-tool guard Monique Akoa Makani. Plum is just the fourth All-Star in WNBA history to be dealt by the midseason mark.

With the biggest move of the deadline out of the way, that means trade grades for both franchises, so let us not waste any time getting straight to it.

Trust that we will get to the grade momentarily, but to understand where the Sparks are now in 2026, one would have to travel back in time to 2024. All the signs of incompetence were visible then.

After missing out on the top pick in the draft lottery, Los Angeles had no alternate plan if former UConn guard Paige Bueckers did not fall in their laps. The lack of strategic planning could not have been clearer when that did not happen. Despite the best odds of landing the No. 1 overall pick in 2025, the Dallas Wings leapfrogged them and won the draft lottery. It was always Bueckers or bust.

After just two seasons of the promising young duo of Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson, the Sparks plugged their rebuild into a NOS can, attempting to speed through their rebuild to contend for a championship by trading away their 2025 No. 2 overall pick. In a three-team trade, Los Angeles mailed its top-two selection to the Storm and received two-time WNBA champion Kelsey Plum from the Las Vegas Aces. In her first season with the Sparks, Plum helped lead the team to 20-plus wins for the first time since 2019, but missed the playoffs.

This offseason, Pebley scrapped the rebuild entirely by agreeing to send Jackson to the Chicago Sky in a sign-and-trade deal for Ariel Atkins to pair with Plum for one of the smallest starting backcourts in the WNBA. Re-signing Dearica Hamby and bringing franchise legend Nneka Ogwumike back did little to aid what would eventually be one of the worst defensive units in league history. It did not take long for this course of action to blow up — quite literally.

Facing another season without a realistic path to the playoffs, reports emerged that Plum could be on the move before the trade deadline. After signing a one-year, $999,999 deal in free agency, Plum had no interest in re-signing with the Sparks, according to The Athletic. But with the trade deadline fast approaching, the Sparks had not engaged in serious trade talks involving Plum as of late July, according to the report.

Plum's health may have influenced that decision. After a dominant start that had a case for MVP, she missed three games at the end of May due to an ankle injury. After six games, she then sustained a lower leg injury that kept her sidelined for over a month. With only days left until the trade deadline, Plum had not played a game since June 21. However, she returned to practice on July 30, just a few days before the deadline.

With Plum off to the desert, there is no telling whether interim GMs Zach Knowlton and Nate Nielsen will commence a fire sale to rake in draft assets and improve their own odds in 2027 with the 17 games left on the schedule. Still, it is unclear how much that will aid their efforts considering the fact that the Sparks currently have the second-worst odds of landing the top pick due to the two-year cumulative record.

In the trade with Phoenix, Knowlton and Nielsen received Monique Akoa Makani, who is arguably the crown jewel of the deal. In 19 games with the Mercury this season, she averaged 9.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.2 steals. At a stout 5’11” with a considerably long wingspan for a lead guard, the Cameroon native can defend multiple positions, and at 25 years of age, her future is bright in this league. If the Sparks wish to keep Brink, Akoa Makani is a terrific addition to what will be an organization looking to fully buy in to starting from scratch. But the only issue with that is the timing, as it might be too late for a change of heart to be of considerable value.

In the original trade for Plum, the Sparks sent out their 2025 picks in the first and second rounds. On an expiring deal before hitting free agency once again, the list of teams willing to part with additional draft assets and a young player in a trade for the five-time All-Star was short. Knowlton and Nielsen did get Phoenix’s 2027 first-round pick and a future 2028 second-rounder, with the 2027 selection being the best of the two. Outside of the top talents in JuJu Watkins, Hannah Hidalgo, and Madison Booker - - players the Sparks will most likely be unable to pick - - the rest of the field next spring is guard-heavy and riddled with project prospects.

This is a stark departure from the last draft cycle, featuring All-Stars Dominique Malonga, Sonia Citron, or Kiki Iriafen, three players the Sparks could have had their pick of in 2025 had they not traded the No. 2 pick to Seattle, who drafted Malonga with it. All three players are already top-ten at their position in the WNBA, and have two All-Star appearances under their belts in only their sophomore seasons. Malonga went on to become the youngest rookie in WNBA history to reach 100 points, and notched two consecutive playoff double-doubles off the bench in under 25 minutes as a reserve, joining Hall of Famers Tamika Catchings and Candace Parker.

“We pushed in a lot of chips this year, and we had good reason to do that, but the reality is it hasn’t gone as we’d hoped or expected,” Farhan Zaidi told Los Angeles Times columnist Bill Plaschke this week. Zaidi is the special advisor to Sparks owner Mark Walter.

Zaidi also shared that the organization has changed course from chasing a title to planning for what lies ahead.

“Now we have to be open for anything. Everything has to be on the table for us. We have to take a long-term perspective rather than focusing on the rest of the season.”

Though the laundry list of errors is as long as the Nile River, the Sparks have to be committed to the course of action to prepare for the 2028 Draft, no matter who becomes the next general manager. UConn’s Sarah Strong will be available, a five-tool post player who is already one of the best prospects in women’s college basketball history after two full seasons. Zaidi and other decision-makers should have Strong’s picture on their vision board. That also includes getting Ariel Atkins and DeArica Hamby off the books in the offseason.

Stocking up on future assets to possibly move up in the next two drafts could be a path the Sparks choose to take. They have their own 2027 first-round pick and another mid-first-rounder if the Mercury falter down the stretch. With the right moves, they can nab another top prospect in 2028, like Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes or Michigan’s Syla Swords, and would instantly give the Sparks one of the best young cores in the league with Akoa Makani and Brink in tow. The possibilities are endless, but the work to make that even a distant reality starts now and throughout the rest of the regular season.

Ever since succeeding legendary Mercury general manager Jim Pitman in 2023, Nick U’Ren has never seen a first-round pick worth retaining, or any draft asset for that matter. For what it's worth, the team has not drafted a first-round pick since 2020. In his two-and-a-half seasons at the helm, U’Ren has surrendered three first-round picks and four second-rounders. Those trades yielded Kahleah Copper, Alyssa Thomas, a one-year stint of Satou Sabally, and eventual playoff disappointment in the form of a first-round exit, a Finals sweep, and possibly missing the playoffs altogether in 2026 in that order.

After reaching the Finals last season, the Mercury committed to the championship-or-bust mentality that their NBA equivalent down the hall has developed since Mat Ishbia purchased both organizations in 2022. The moves -- or lack thereof -- support the trend for the third consecutive season. Following the decision not to core Sabally and not bring in another top-tier free agent, U’Ren built a roster that relied too heavily upon Thomas and European talent to fuel a system built around paint touches and three-pointers. After going 11-19 and losing daylight on a playoff push, he traded his third first-round pick to the Sparks.

Before missing a month due to a leg injury, Plum was setting the league on fire, averaging a career-high 23.9 points and 6.4 assists in 12 games. Albeit a small sample size, the 5’8” flamethrower was an early MVP candidate. Though she has played sparingly this season, her points are second to MVP favorite A’ja Wilson at 26.8 per game. She has not played since June 21, but returned to practice with the Sparks before being traded to Phoenix. With Plum, Copper, and Thomas, U’Ren formed one of the most formidable trios in the league for a playoff push, and help will be needed.

The injury bug has not been kind to the Mercury after reaching the Finals last season. In 2026, the team has 81 games missed due to injury, according to The IX’s WNBA Injury Tracker. That is the fifth-most in the league to date. Struggling most of the season because of roster instability, Phoenix currently sits six games behind the eighth-seed Washington Mystics for the last playoff berth.

The Mercury could run the table in a similar, yet distant fashion to the Las Vegas Aces in 2025 and still fail to see the postseason. Making up that kind of ground in 14 games is not impossible, but counting on the Mystics and even the New York Liberty at this point only complicates the Mercury. Washington has won eight of their last 11 games, including an active four-game winning streak. After a four-game skid, New York has won four of the last five outings. Even with heavy firepower at their disposal, the Mercury still faces an uphill climb with the slimmest room for error. Then, you have to consider the fact that this could all be for naught.

Whether the luck of the Irish is on Phoenix’s side or not, Plum will still be an unrestricted free agent for the first time in her career. The perennial All-Star will arguably be the most prized player on the open market with suitors galore. According to ESPN’s Kendra Andrews, Plum still plans to carry through with the free agency process and has not committed to the Mercury past 2026. Essentially, U’Ren could have possibly dealt Akoa Makani, one of the brightest young guards in the league on a controllable contract at 25, and a 2027 first-round pick for what could ultimately be 13 games of Plum due to a pending physical.

Instead of trading for Plum and giving up valuable assets or young players, the Valkyries bet on their continuity. The rumors of a possible deal for the two-time WNBA champion were heard weeks ago, but due to her injury, they died down. Once Plum began to ramp up her rehab to get back on the floor, the talks resumed. Without giving the Sparks a talented athlete like Janelle Salaün, Kaila Charles, or even draft capital, Golden State wins this trade by simply revisiting the conversation in a different format.

There is no guarantee that Plum returns to Phoenix in free agency. While the Valkyries are one of the few legitimate championship contenders, every move this franchise has made since its inception has been executed with the future in mind. In their second year of play, the team is near the top of the league with only one All-Star. In free agency, Golden State can make a pitch to Plum without limitations and continue on the path to hoisting a championship for several years instead of a short window.

Over 4 million people have had the same lightbulb moment.

Morning Brew is a free daily newsletter that breaks down what's happening in business, finance, and tech — clearly, quickly, and with enough personality to make it the best email in your inbox.

No yelling. No filler. Just the news, finally making sense.

Try it for free