WNBA: What to make of the post-trade deadline Mystics

Just a week after I suggested that the Washington Mystics rookies would benefit from the responsibility of wins and losses, general manager Jamila Wideman threw them into that fire herself.

Wideman traded veteran guard, All-Star and leading scorer Brittney Sykes to the Seattle Storm for Alysha Clark and a 2026 first-round draft pick. Aaliyah Edwards was then dealt to the Connecticut Sun for Jacy Sheldon. Wideman also cut Sika Koné, who had been away from the team while competing for her home country of Mali.

Washington will feel the absence of Sykes. As our own Josh Felton wrote when analyzing the trade, Sykes was the Mystics’ sole offensive engine and primary initiator. As good as Citron and Iriafen are, neither of their play styles are rooted in initiation. Citron has occasionally shown the ability to operate on the ball, but her strengths lie in finishing offensive possessions, not starting them. Iriafen is similar. She cleans up sloppy possessions with tough finishes, but her inconsistent post footwork and fictional perimeter game prevent her from scaling up into a true offensive initiator.

After clutching onto a spot at the bottom of the playoff bracket for most of the regular season, it feels more likely than not that Washington will slip up and perhaps miss the postseason. Young talent does not easily compensate for a midseason identity shift. All Mystics fans know, however, that deals are being made with the future in mind.

The true evaluation of the Sykes trade should not be, “Did the Mystics get better?,” but instead, “Will the Mystics get better?” Sykes was on an expiring contract, which is likely why she yielded a much smaller return than Ariel Atkins, who Wideman dealt in return for the No. 3 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft (which became Citron). Given that she’s slowly approaching a waning chapter of her career, Washington is doing Sykes a favor by dealing her to a contender. As much grace as she showed to her teammates in DC, her prime shouldn’t be spent tied down by a rebuilding roster. Sykes exit fits neatly into the jigsaw puzzle of Washington’s youthful future.

Aaliyah Edwards’ departure, in contrast, is one of those ambiguous middle pieces that make you put down the puzzle and go do the dishes. One that makes you realize puzzles aren’t that fun after all. Edwards is a woman of many reputations. To UConn fans, a legend who strengthened a foundation so that the program could win a ring just one year after her graduation. To Unrivaled fans, a work-in-progress wing who’s isolation game is second to one. To the DMV faithful, the decision who deprived them of Maryland-native Angel Reese. To the Mystics coaching staff, it’s complicated.

There is no objective outlook on Edwards nor her future. Even when she was banished to the bench, I’ve stayed relatively high on the Canadian’s potential. She never peaked at the levels of starting forwards Kiki Iriafen or Shakira Austin, but having a third hyper-physical post player is a luxury, not a burden. Edwards has also been transparent about her journey towards becoming a 3/4 perimeter forward instead of a 4/5 post player. She’s never been big enough, especially on the defensive side of the ball, for the Mystics to deploy her as a center, even though that was more of her skillset under Geno Auriemma.

Edwards thrived as a perimeter slasher in the 3-on-3 environment of Unrivaled, but that growth hasn’t yet manifested in the WNBA. The harsh truth is that becoming a better shooter is hard. It’s very, very hard. Very few players have come into professional basketball as non-shooters and changed that reputation by the end of their career, let alone their first few seasons. Improving your 3-point percentage by just three to five percent in one off-season is seen as a miracle. As high as I am on Edwards future, I’ve sat 10 feet away while she reps out 3s in dozens of pre-game warmups. Not once has she looked close to consistent. She’s 0-for-14 in her WNBA career from beyond the arc. She ended her 139-game college career 3-for-9. It’s just not realistic to expect her to ever become a floor spacer. Maybe it was better for Washington not to delay the inevitable, and give her a fresh start on a team with available minutes.

The Mystics will now make three first-round draft selections for the second year in a row, an early staple of the Wideman era. Wideman can’t be expected to scavenge the amount of talent that this year’s draft yielded, especially because two of next year’s three picks will more than likely fall within the last five fist-round selections (Seattle’s first and the better of New York or Minnesota’s first). Either way, picks are of paramount value to a rebuilding team.

Jacy Sheldon comes to DC by way of Connecticut. She had a decent rookie season with the Dallas Wings, building upon a formidable college career at Ohio State. When it comes to minutes and points, her professional production looks ironically similar to the outgoing Edwards. It was a one-for-one swap, after all. However, as a floor-spacing guard, Sheldon is an archetype that head coach Sydney Johnson will have an easier time slotting into lineups to maximize his star forwards. Sheldon won’t take over games with her scoring. Her minutes will live and die by her spacing and ability to make the right play when called upon. Whether or not she’ll be a part of Washington’s future is up in the air. For now, Washington has another young prospect to experiment with.

Finally, Alysha Clark has returned to the capital after three seasons in the West. She spent one of her 13 WNBA seasons in Washington in 2022, starting 29 games for a Mystics team that went 22-14. The former Sixth Player of the Year likely won’t see a start for Johnson’s collective, but she’s the perfect kind of veteran for his young core. She’s played in 410 career regular season games, 37 playoff games and won three WNBA championships. There’s nothing that Clark can’t teach Washington’s youngsters about experience. She won’t provide much besides the occasional 3 on the court, but that means she won’t be taking shots away from the rookies. Clark isn’t here for herself. She’s here for the team, which can be a liberating role when coming from internal strife in Seattle.

Short-term outlooks for a long-term project

The newest iteration of the Mystics will likely fail to compete at the level of their past selves. Without Sykes, they don’t have a pure “bucket getter”. Shakira Austin may now be the team’s go-to end of game threat. Citron and Iriafen, as previously mentioned, have room to grow as initiators. Sug Sutton and Jade Melbourne are ball-dominant guards, but they operate almost exclusively off of ball screens. Sheldon, Clark and Stefanie Dolson are primarily catch-and-shoot players. Emily Engstler has been seeing more and more minutes, but her scoring isn’t consistent. She has great games, and she has shaky ones. Lucy Olsen is a passable secondary ball handler, but doesn’t have many advantages over league-average defenders. On paper, the Mystics are no longer playoff contenders.

Luckily, basketball isn’t played on paper. If Austin, Citron and Iriafen can tap into the outer reaches of their talent, Washington could absolutely win enough games to secure one of the final postseason vacancies. Regardless of whether or not they succeed, they’ll grow as players and professionals. The Mystics are running a marathon, not a sprint. They need to hit on a couple more draft selections, become an attractive organization for free agents, and keep building on Johnson’s culture of encouragement and empowerment. Wideman and her front office have made it clear that they won’t over-invest in a season without championship potential. The future comes first.