NFL
The Phoenix Mercury finished the 2023 season dead last in the WNBA at 9-31. The Mercurys are in a win-now situation as they made some off-season moves. They have made some changes to the roaster that could make them contenders in the league.
One desperate need was that the Mercury needed a superstar on the team. A scorer and an all-star. So within that, the Mercury traded for Kahleah Cooper.
The Chicago Sky traded Kahleah Cooper to the Phoenix Mercury for Briana Turner, Michaela Onyenwere, and four draft picks, which includes the 3rd pick in the 2024 WNBA draft. The Mercury also gave up a 2025 second-round and a 2026 first-round pick.
Cooper comes with experience that can help the Mercury advance and become a top-contending team. With her joining, she will be the number 1 option on the team. Cooper comes off being the Finals MVP in 2021 with the Sky. She averages 18.7 ppl and shoots over 40% from the three. She is also a guard who can play the forward position if need be.
Mercury also acquired forward Morgan Bertsch from the Chicago Sky in that blockbuster trade back in February. Bertsch is a forward who played with the Dallas Wings.
The Phoenix Mercury signed forward Natasha Cloud from the Washington Mystics. Cloud spent her entire career with Washington before coming to the Valley. With Cloud, she brings tough defense, which the Mercury was in desperate need of. She also can facilitate and open the floor up as well as being a great passer. She averaged 12.7 ppg and 6.2 assists as she had a career-high this past WNBA season. Cloud played a total of 248 games with Washington through eight seasons. I also want to add she played a total of 30 playoff games and she brings a WNBA final experience to the team.
Cloud was named second-team all-defense in 2019 and first-team all-defense in 2022. She led the league in assists in 2022 and ranked in the top five in the category in 2019, 2021 and 2023. In the COVID-19 year 2020, Cloud had opted out that entire year.
This is a great addition to the Mercury. Alongside signing Cloud, the Mercury also brought in Rebecca Allen from the Connecticut Suns for Moriah Jefferson. Allen was also brought on due to her defensive plays. She played in all 40 games and made 27 starts for the Sun. Allen averaged 6.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 0.9 apg, 0.9 steals and a team-leading and career-high 1.3 blocks per game. Before playing with the Suns, Allen spent seven seasons with the New York Liberty.
Diana Taurasi is entering her 20th season in the WNBA. She stated in her exit interview after the 2023-2024 season ended that she is definitely going to return for the second year of her contract with the Mercury.
Taurasi is the first woman in the WNBA to have a total of 10,000 career points, and within that 10,000 points, Diana got 42 points in a single regulation game. In that game, she shot 12 for 21, which included 6 for 13 from three. She also shot 100% in her free throws 12 for 12 in that game back in 2023 against the Atlanta Dream. Taurasi averages 16 ppg, 4.9 apg, and 3.6 rpg.
After much speculation on whether she was going to re-sign with the Phoenix Mercury, Center star Brittany Griner has officially re-signed with the Mercury. In 2023, she averaged 17.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg, and 2.2 apg., Grindr also was ranked second in the league in field goal percentage at 56.0% and third in blocks at 1.6. She is third on the WNBA’s all-time blocks list. Grinder is entering her 11th season in the WNBA at 31 years old. She is a nine-time WNBA All-star, she won a WNBA championship in 2014 with the Mercury. She is a two-time scoring champion, three-time WNBA first team, and three-time all-WNBA second team. Griner also won WNBA Defensive Player of the Year two consecutive seasons in a row (2014 and 2015).
“Phoenix is home. the love and support my wife and I have received from the organization, community, and X-Factor over the last 11 years has meant everything to us. I’m excited to continue my career in a Mercury jersey and work towards bringing another championship back to the Valley.” Brittany Griner stated in a press conference this past Thursday.
The Phoenix Mercury team is set up to win now instead of going into a full rebuild. The Mercury has had two consecutive seasons where they were the worst team in the WNBA. They’ve traded away draft picks for the next couple of drafts, so everything is set up for them to be top contenders not only in the West but in the entire WNBA.
