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The WNBA trade deadline had quite a bit of action this season, with three significant trades occurring ahead of Thursday’s final bell. Here is a rundown of the trades and how they’ll impact the league:
The Mystics make two big trades
A trade between the Washington Mystics and Connecticut Sun took place with just hours to spare. The Mystics sent Aaliyah Edwards to the Sun and got back Jacy Sheldon in return. Washington can also swap Minnesota’s 2026 first-round pick for New York’s thanks to this trade.
What made this deal all the more compelling is that, according to Alexa Philippou of ESPN, Sheldon wanted out of Connecticut, searching for greener pastures.
Considering that the Sun are the doormat of the WNBA, any other scenario satisfies that desire.
For the Mystics, moving on from Edwards makes sense. The emergence of Kiki Iirafen had nullified her playing time. Now, they’ll have a guard in Sheldon who will have a chance to grow and demonstrate that she can produce more than her 7.5 points per game. She has become a great shooter, converting on 41 percent of her 3-point attempts. From the Sun perspective, they traded an unhappy player for a top talent in Edwards. They are not in win-now mode, so grabbing young talent is wise and necessary as they rebuild.
Washington made an even spicier deal earlier this week, trading Brittney Sykes to the Seattle Storm in exchange for Alysha Clark, Seattle’s 2026 first-round pick and Zia Cooke, who was immediately waived.
Giving up Sykes, who is averaging 15.4 points and 4.4 assists per game, is tough, but the Mystics are a fringe postseason team. They are good enough to make the playoffs, but nowhere near the quality needed to win it all. It appears Sykes didn’t fit their timeline, and also possibly requested a move. Washington valued more future draft capital as a way to improve.
The Storm, on the other hand, added an All-Star guard to their roster in Sykes, and are clearly going for it all right now.
The Lynx are aiming to win it all
On Sunday, the Minnesota Lynx took another step forward, acquiring DiJonai Carrington from the Dallas Wings. In return, Dallas received Diamond Miller, the injured Karlie Samuelson and a 2027 second-round pick.
Minnesota is already five and a half games in front of the No. 2 seed New York Liberty, but they are fully focused on winning it all after falling short in the 2024 WNBA Finals against New York. Adding an elite defensive player and former Most Improved Player in Carrington certainly bolsters their chances.
While the Lynx were buyers, the Wings were the sellers in this scenario. They got a young talent in Miller and some draft capital to help them try to gain talent in the 2027 draft.
The trade deadline is a time for teams to make decisions.
If you think you are close to contention but still lack something, you can make a deal. If you are far away from any playoff promise but have valuable players, you can sell current quality for future assets. With this year’s moves, the Lynx and the Storm got better. The Sun and the Wings are preparing for future years, and in some ways, the Mystics are as well.
Currently, these deals project to have the biggest impact for Seattle and Minnesota. We’ll get to see if these moves are enough to push them over the edge, or if they gave up too much and end the year still falling short of the main goal: a WNBA title.
