The queen of the triple-double is on the move.
The Phoenix Mercury are finalizing a sign-and-trade to acquire five-time All- Star forward Alyssa Thomas from the Connecticut Sun, ESPN’s Alex Philippou reported Tuesday.
The transaction cannot be finalized until February 1, according to Philippou.
The Sun had exclusive negotiating rights with Thomas after tagging her with a core designation to stop her from testing unrestricted free agency this offseason.
Thomas, who has completed the last three seasons as an All-Star and MVP finalist, is a two-time Defensive Player of the Year runner-up. She was the catalyst for Sun reaching the WNBA Finals in 2019 and 2022.
The five-time All-Star made her feelings of frustration and dissatisfaction known with the Sun during the 2024 postseason. The team got ready for their first-round matchup with Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever under adverse conditions, on a half-court shared with a community center event, a setup Thomas described to The Next Hoops’ Noa Dalzell as “the ultimate disrespect.”
“It’s normal at this point. I mean, Mohegan has to do better,” Thomas told Dalzell. “We’re [a] professional team. We’re competing for playoffs… We need more, we need better to compete at the highest level.”
Embed from Getty ImagesThat was not the only time Thomas appeared unhappy with the low-class standards set by the Sun organization. She said after winning a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics with Team USA that the experience had shown her the Sun were “super behind” in terms of practice facilities (NBC Sports Boston’s Justin Leger.)
The Mercury, meanwhile, unveiled a state-of-the-art $100 million practice facility ahead of the 2024 WNBA season. Access to those facilities might have encouraged Thomas, who had to give approval to any potential sign-and-trade, to agree to the move to the ‘Valley of the Sun’, Phoenix.
Thomas heading to the Mercury could help convince her partner and former Sun teammate DeWanna Bonner to sign in Phoenix as well. Bonner became an unrestricted free agency after the 2024 campaign.
The departure of Thomas and the potential exit of Bonner mark the end of an era of sustained excellence for the Sun, who have reached the semifinal in five consecutive seasons with the duo on the team.
The Mercury roster is also in flux with staple Brittney Griner hitting free agency and Diana Taurasi potentially hanging up her sneakers. Should Griner and Taurasi both leave, the Mercury could theoretically build around the nucleus of Thomas and potentially Bonner.
The news marks the second blockbuster WNBA trade reported by Philippou this week, following the news of a blockbuster three-team trade that sent Jewell Loyd to the Las Vegas Aces and Kelsey Plum to the Los Angeles Sparks.
