Alyssa Thomas, Brittney Griner moves put 2 traditional powers in flux

The Connecticut Sun spent years teetering on the brink of a rebuild. Yet coaching changes, blockbuster trades and free agency didn’t disrupt their stay as one of the WNBA’s best teams.

That they always powered themselves on an upward trajectory was largely a credit to “The Engine.” Alyssa Thomas, the franchise’s fourth overall pick in 2014, led the Sun to six consecutive semifinal appearances and two Finals. She epitomized her gritty moniker en route to six All-Defensive teams, five All-Star appearances and the 2023 MVP runner-up.

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It’s now a new era after Thomas reportedly secured a sign-and-trade to the Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday. The 6-foot-2 forward will be the focus of the Mercury’s frontcourt after longtime franchise center Brittney Griner reportedly agreed to join the Atlanta Dream. Griner, a 10-time All-Star who averaged 17.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game last season, will be looking to begin a new chapter in her career. In two separate, but connected, moves, Connecticut and Phoenix are heading in different directions.

Without Thomas, it’s near certain the Sun will swing backward into a rebuilding era that will be difficult to traverse. Connecticut used its core designation on the All-Star free agent and will reportedly acquire Natasha Cloud, Rebecca Allen and the No. 12 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft in the deal.

DeWanna Bonner, also a free agent and Thomas’ fiancée, could also be on the move. The Sun acquired the Mercury’s two-time champion in a 2020 blockbuster sign-and-trade in an attempt to break through for the franchise’s first title. Seasons of injuries derailed their ultimate goal.

The Sun hired a new head coach, Rachid Meziane, with success overseas but no WNBA experience. The final pick in the first round is their only one and won’t net them a generational star for the future. And there is no franchise-specific training facility to entice the best talent and free agents, an issue that continuously pushes the Sun further behind their competitors.

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The Sun player experience is a seesaw. The franchise is based in the league’s smallest market, settled in the Connecticut countryside with games at an arena inside the Mohegan Sun casino. The average fan draw is enough to rank in the middle of the WNBA in attendance, and the Sun pull hearty, passionate numbers for the postseason. There is a quality market there.

But the players are being left behind in the league-wide facilities race. While team after team announces or opens an individual training facility complete with high-end amenities, the Sun continue to practice at a gym in the Mohegan Tribe Community Center. Ahead of a first-round playoff series against the Indiana Fever last season, the higher-seeded Sun had to condense into half the gym because of a toddler’s birthday party.

The previous two All-Star games in Las Vegas and Phoenix, respectively, gave players a chance to see sparkling new team-centric facilities firsthand. The Mercury opened their facility that July weekend, and Team USA, which included Thomas, practiced on the newly named Diana Taurasi court. Thomas, more outspoken the last two years, said then the Sun have “a long way to go.”

“I think you can see the market changing,” Thomas said during All-Star weekend. “More and more people aren’t going overseas, and [they] want to stay in market and train.”

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The Sun seesaw tipped too far in the other direction for Thomas. That Phoenix market is hers now, and the facility is available 24/7 for the MVP candidate’s use.

The Mercury, who hired longtime NBA assistant Nate Tibbetts last offseason, are likewise a team in flux after the loss of Griner. Taurasi, the league’s all-time leading scorer, is considering retirement after a 20-year career. The original franchise has only known seven seasons without the three-time WNBA champion, who won them all in the desert.

In the decade since the Mercury last won the title, the front office signed notable All-Stars almost annually. Skylar Diggins-Smith came in 2020 and when they fell short in the 2021 Finals, the Mercury doubled down by signing Olympic center Tina Charles. A year ago, they replenished the point-guard position with Cloud and brought in Kahleah Copper from the Sky.

Whether Taurasi enters Year 21 or bids adieu, Phoenix is in a good spot building around Thomas. The Mercury traversed their eras via investment, the same as Las Vegas, New York and Seattle before them. The Sun, who entered free agency with two guaranteed contracts headlined by Marina Mabrey, will have to tug different threads to build back up.

Those are looking thin. They have plenty of cap space, but no major draw.

Coach? Unproven in the W. Facilities? Less than. Stars? Minus one. And, maybe soon, two.