WNBA Superstar Alyssa Thomas to Be Traded to Phoenix Mercury

The first domino to fall when it came to top WNBA players joining new teams this offseason occurred over the weekend when Kelsey Plum and Jewell Loyd were involved in a three-team trade that sent Loyd to the Las Vegas Aces and Plum to the Los Angeles Sparks.

Earlier on in the weekend, Chicago Sun-Times reporter Annie Costabile noted that once this trade went through, the rest of the free agency dominoes would likely soon follow.

And that’s exactly what has happened on January 28.

ESPN’s Alexa Philippou broke news on X Tuesday that longtime Connecticut Sun star Alyssa Thomas will be traded to the Phoenix Mercury.

In her ensuing article, Philippou wrote, “The Phoenix Mercury are finalizing a trade to acquire five-time All-Star forward Alyssa Thomas from the Connecticut Sun, sources told ESPN on Tuesday.

She later added, “Thomas was an unrestricted free agent but the Sun cored her, meaning the only way she could leave the team was to be traded. Thomas also had to sign off on her ultimate trade destination. Because the transaction involves a sign-and-trade, the move can’t be made official until Feb. 1.”

Thomas made waves earlier this month when she was critical of the Connecticut Sun’s sub-par facilities when compared to what Unrivaled has.

“I’m focused on Unrivaled right now. They have everything you possibly need here. They don’t really have a lot of those things in Connecticut. I’ve been trying to absorb as much knowledge as I can,” Thomas said, per an X post from Sara Jane Gamelli.

While details about what the Mercury are sending to Connecticut in return for Thomas are currently unclear, this is still a major trade that immediately alters the WNBA’s landscape for 2025.