Diana Taurasi’s Mercury future takes hit after Brittney Griner’s decision

One of the biggest WNBA storylines this offseason is whether legendary Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi will return for her 21st season or not. Taurasi was still mulling the decision over when the Mercury were eliminated from the playoffs by the Minnesota Lynx, and she still has not come to a final decision.

On Tuesday, the Mercury really got going with some big moves that completely changed the makeup of the roster heading into the 2025 season. First, they swung a blockbuster trade for Connecticut Sun star Alyssa Thomas, sending out Natasha Cloud and more in the process. Then, center Brittney Griner shockingly announced that she is signing with the Atlanta Dream and will be playing outside of Phoenix for the first time in her WNBA career.

After all of those moves, it’s looking like Taurasi will retire and won’t be on the floor next season, according to Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.

“With the Mercury making moves today that will vastly reshape their roster in 2025, it sounds more and more like Diana Taurasi won’t be on the court next season,” Weinfuss wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “‘Highly doubt it,’ a source told me tonight.”

If Taurasi does end up retiring, it will officially be the end of what many people consider to be the greatest career in WNBA history.

Alyssa Thomas should vault Mercury back into contention

The Mercury were a solid team last season, but they still needed to take a big swing to get back into championship contention. They made that swing on Tuesday and hit it out of the park, acquiring one of the best players in the WNBA in Alyssa Thomas.

With Brittney Griner and likely Diana Taurasi both gone and Natasha Cloud heading back to Connecticut in the deal, the rest of this Mercury roster is significantly depleted from last year’s version. However, Thomas is one of the best floor raisers in the WNBA and should have Phoenix in playoff contention right away.

Thomas will immediately improve the Mercury on both ends of the floor. On defense, she is an absolute buzzsaw who is scheme-versatile and can guard just about anybody on the floor. Thomas is elite on the boards and is impossible to move around on the interior, allowing her to guard bigs all over the league. She also is smart enough to defend small guards on the perimeter.

Offensively, Thomas isn’t a great shooter and she isn’t going to blow anybody away with her scoring ability, but she is one of the best playmakers at any position in the WNBA and is an elite offensive hub. She is also adept at getting easy buckets on the offensive glass, which is a skill that the Mercury will desperately need without Griner. If Thomas can bring those skills to Phoenix, this has a chance to be one of the top teams in the WNBA next season.