The WNBA trade deadline, in contrast to its NBA counterpart, is typically quiet due to the league’s strict wage cap, which makes it challenging to negotiate reasonable trades during the regular season. With guard Marina Mabrey joining the Connecticut Sun in a three-player trade with the Chicago Sky last month, the team is already stacked for the postseason, making 2024 an anomaly already.
This season, a number of teams have excess cap space, so before the August 20 deadline—five days after the WNBA calendar resumes following the Olympics—we may witness additional significant moves.
The best teams in the league didn’t appear to be as strong as they were during the previous season when the Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty faced off in the Commissioner’s Cup final and Other teams have the chance to follow Connecticut’s example in the WNBA Finals, either to improve their own position for the remainder of the season or to go all the way in the playoffs.
We would like to see the following five deals completed by the deadline, some of them being larger than others.
Fever rearranges the Clark, Indiana, area Get a fever: Guard Forward Brittney Sykes Myisha Hines-Allen, a second-round selection in 2026
The Washington Mystics receive: Goals Victaria Saxton, center, Katie Lou Samuelson and NaLyssa Smith, 2026 first-round selection
After more than six months of Caitlin Clark’s tenure, Indiana has a clearer understanding of how to develop around both her and fellow first-round selection Aliyah Boston. Maintaining floor space and making decisions quickly are crucial to keeping up with Clark and providing opportunities for Boston.
Smith, the second overall selection in 2022, is therefore a bit of a difficult fit. Now that Boston and Clark are dominating the offense, Smith’s strongest asset—volume scoring—is less valuable to the Fever. Her career low of 11.6 points per game is reached. Additionally, Smith’s defensive Due of her limitations, Christie Sides, the Indiana coach, temporarily removed her from the starting lineup.Therefore, this could be the ideal opportunity to reorganize around Boston and Clark by leveraging Smith’s trade worth. After giving birth, Samuelson, the Fever’s biggest free agent acquisition, has only averaging 5.4 points per game. He is not the kind of wing defender Indiana needs to play alongside Clark. Enter Sykes, one of the league’s finest defenders who, if his 35% 3-point shooting from the previous season was accurate, would also fit in nicely on offense.This contract is truly about 2025, even though Sykes and Hines-Allen, who are back in practice after missing just three games this season due to injury, would help the Fever finish the season well. Sykes has a contract At $195,000, he is a stronger addition than Indiana could reasonably anticipate in free agency, and is only slightly higher than the $180,250 Samuelson is expected to make (all salary amounts based on HerHoopStats.com statistics).
With Sykes and a year of growth from Boston and Clark, the Fever may be able to trade a pick near the top of the second round to Washington and send a pick in the bottom half of the first round. For the Mystics, that deal is still beneficial. Smith would have greater offensive opportunities with the Mystics, while Sykes is no longer as essential to a rebuilding Washington club as she was when she signed there in free agency prior to last season.
Stevens adds storm
Forward for the Seattle Storm Azura Stevens
Los Angeles Sparks acquire: Center Victoria Vivians, Mercedes Russell, center, first-round selection in 2025
Following offseason surgery for an arm injury sustained while playing in China, Stevens made his comeback shortly before the Olympic break. Before the trade deadline, she is the best traditional rental available. Stevens’ two-year deal with the Sparks is coming to an end, and the team would undoubtedly prefer to hoard more draft picks as they embark on a rebuild that will be built around 2024 lottery picks Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson.When Stevens was on the bench for the Chicago Sky in 2022, she was in second place for Sixth Player of the Year. The Storm’s second unit would be much enhanced by that style of play. According to WNBA Advanced Stats, when starting players Ezi Magbegor and Nneka Ogwumike are on the court together, Seattle outscores opponents by 13.7 points per 100 possessions; however, in the 84 minutes that neither player has played, Seattle is minus-29.This agreement would appear especially powerful if the Storm are able to sign forward Gabby Williams again as an unrestricted free agency following her Olympic representation with France. In that case, Vivians, who started the first 15 games of the season until Jordan Horston emerged as a standout, would become expendable.Would it make Seattle’s loss of a first-round pick to Los Angeles last winter worthwhile in exchange for another one for Jackson? Maybe, if the Storm think it could have an impact on the contest for the third seed. With a half-game advantage over the Aces, Seattle and the Minnesota Lynx are now tied for third place in the WNBA standings. The Storm would have a plausible route to this season’s WNBA Finals if they finished third. However, Stevens is not the only competitor that Seattle may deploy.,xPosition=.5,yPosition=.5)
Aces tally in Las Vegas Aces receive: Moving forward Azura Stevens
Los Angeles Sparks acquire: Center Kierstan Bell in the middle Megan Gustafson, first-round selection in 2026
What if the Aces pursue Stevens? With Candace Parker’s preseason retirement, they presently have around $40,000 in cap space. Las Vegas is unable to use their 2025 first-round choice, which was taken away from the Aces as part of their punishment after the WNBA discovered that the departing forward Dearica Hamby—who is currently with Los Angeles—had received improper benefits. Despite the fact that this version of the transaction uses significantly less of their remaining cap space, the Sparks would have to wait until 2026.
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