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Another three-team trade has struck the WNBA’s free agency period, with Satou Sabally headlining a deal that will see her move from the Dallas Wings to the Phoenix Mercury.
Here’s the breakdown of all the players and picks involved in the deal, as reported by ESPN’s Alexa Philippou and Kendra Andrews:
Phoenix Mercury
Sending out: Ty Harris, rights to Kiki Herbert Harrigan, No. 19 pick in 2025 WNBA Draft to Dallas Wings; Sophie Cunningham to Indiana Fever
Receiving: Satou Sabally, Kalani Brown, rights to Sevgi Uzun from Dallas Wings
Dallas Wings
Sending out: Satou Sabally, Kalani Brown, rights to Sevgi Uzun to Phoenix Mercury
Receiving: Ty Harris, rights to Kiki Herbert Harrigan, No. 19 pick in 2025 WNBA Draft from Phoenix Mercury; NaLyssa Smith and No. 8 pick in 2025 WNBA Draft from Indiana Fever
Indiana Fever
Sending out: NaLyssa Smith and No. 8 pick in 2025 WNBA Draft to Dallas Wings
Receiving: Sophie Cunningham from Phoenix Mercury
The trade is between the Mercury, Wings and Fever.
Phoenix gets Sabally, Kalani Brown and Sevgi Uzun. Dallas gets Ty Harris, NaLyssa Smith (via Indy) the rights to Mikiah Herbert Harrigan and the No. 8 pick from Indy. Indiana gets Sophie Cunningham and the No. 19 pick. https://t.co/ivlqRcoeJk
— Kendra Andrews (@kendra__andrews) February 1, 2025
Sabally’s arrival in Phoenix continues the renovation of the Mercury, with the 2023 WNBA Most Improved Player forming a “Big 3” with the newly-acquired Alyssa Thomas and Kahleah Copper. Sabally will give Phoenix the extra scoring punch that, as Beckett Harrison emphasized, the team still needed after adding Thomas, And although she is not the defender that Thomas is, Sabally possesses the athleticism and versatility needed to operate within a switch-heavy defensive system, which Beckett also identified as a possible priority for Phoenix under second-year head coach Nate Tibbetts.
The Mercury, however, still have a lot of work to do to establish a championship-worthy team, rather than just a superstar core. Right now, only Copper, Thomas, Sabally and Kalani Brown are under guaranteed contracts. Although it has been much speculated, DeWanna Bonner, Thomas’ partner, has yet to commit to returning to Phoenix, where she played the first eight seasons of her career. Diana Taurasi also has yet to finalize her plans for 2025.
By coring Sabally, Dallas avoided losing her for no return, instead adding NaLyssa Smith as a dynamic, scoring forward. Ty Harris will supply steady-handed, plus-shooting point guard play, which should complement Arike Ogunbowale—and, possibly, the presumptive No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft in Paige Bueckers. The No. 8 pick in the upcoming draft is another piece new general manager Curt Miller and head coach Chris Koclanes can use to bolster this roster, which still includes Teaira McCowan, Maddy Siegrist, Jacy Sheldon, Lou Lopez Sénéchal and Jaelyn Brown.
In jumping into the trade as the third team, the Fever cleared out their log jam at the forward, sending out Smith after signing unrestricted free agent Natasha Howard, most recently of the Wings. The team also is stocking up on more shooting in adding Sophie Cunningham. In all likelihood, Cunningham will compete with Lexie Hull to serve as the fifth starter alongside Caitlin Clark, the freshly-supermaxed Kelsey Mitchell, Aliyah Boston and Howard under new head coach Stephanie White.
