All-Stars and Olympic gold medal teammates from the Paris Jewell Loyd and Kelsey Plum are changing WNBA teams in a massive three-team trade at the start of the league’s free agency.
Loyd, who made it known she wanted out of Seattle, will head to Las Vegas and the Aces, where she teams up with MVP (and another Paris Olympian) in A’ja Wilson. Plum will go to Los Angeles and join a Sparks team looking ready to compete for a playoff spot, and Seattle will get the No. 2 pick in the upcoming WNBA draft a story broken by Annie Constabile of the Chicago Sun-Times, then confirmed by ESPN.
Here is how the trade shakes out:
Las Vegas receives: Jewell Loyd, No. 13 overall pick (via Sparks)
Los Angeles receives: Kelsey Plum, No. 9 overall pick (via Seattle)
Seattle receives: No. 2 overall pick (via Sparks), Li Yueru
For an Aces team looking to regain its WNBA championship form (they lost in the semifinals last season to the eventual champion Liberty), they add more backcourt shot creation next to Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young. Loyd, a two-time NBA champion and six-time All-Star, averaged 19.7 points and 3.6 assists per game last season in Seattle. The Aces were concerned with the fall-off in Plum’s 3-point shooting last season, now they are betting Loyd — who had a steeper fall-off to 27.4% from 3 last season — can regain her shooting form, where she shot 35% or better from beyond the arc the four years before that.
Los Angeles is looking to return to the playoffs after having the worst record in the league last season. Plum gives the Sparks an All-Star point guard to put with rising stars Cameron Brink (returning from a torn ACL) and Rickea Jackson. Plum, a two-time WNBA champion and three-time All-Star, averaged 17.8 points and 4.2 assists per game last season.
Seattle, which is starting a rebuild, gets a very valuable pick to jumpstart that process. UConn’s Paige Bueckers is considered a lock to go No. 1, after that it’s much more open with USC power forward Kiki Iriafen, UConn’s two-guard Azzi Fudd, and Notre Dame’s point guard Olivia Miles in the mix.
WNBA free agency began last week, although deals cannot be signed before Feb. 1. There has been very little action so far, but this trade may unclog things and we’ll start to see some movement.
