Talbot was a key to the Mercury’s semifinal run in 2018.
All preseason, Phoenix has listed forward Stephanie Talbot’s injury as one of the reasons they were unable to get over the hump against Seattle in Games Three through Five of last year’s semifinals. Now, Talbot is headed to the Lynx in an unexpected move to get the Mercury down to 12 players before Thursday’s deadline to finalize rosters.
The deal was made official Tuesday. In return for Talbot, the Mercury will receive Minnesota’s 2020 second-round pick, a decent asset but not one that makes up for the surprise of taking a 24-year-old wing who was expected to help the Mercury this year.
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Talbot was one of the main catalysts for Phoenix’s midseason adaptation in 2018, stepping into a bigger role after an ACL tear stole the second half of the year from starting power forward Sancho Lyttle. Talbot played sparingly the first six weeks of the year but from July 21 on never played fewer than 20 minutes and started nearly every game. During the semifinals, Talbot’s concussion made it difficult for Phoenix to match Seattle’s versatility.
The bigger-picture question that Phoenix must answer after this deal is what their lineups will look like when they play small. It was their secret weapon after Lyttle’s injury, as coach Sandy Brondello moved DeWanna Bonner to the 4 spot and watched Phoenix take flight.
Without Talbot, it will be harder to make those lineups work, particularly during the first couple months of the season without Diana Taurasi, who is recovering from back surgery. The Mercury’s wing rotation features new faces like Essence Carson and rookie Sophie Cunningham (presuming that cutting Arica Carter is the last move to get Phoenix to 12 rostered players) as well as veterans Yvonne Turner and Bonner.
It appeared Talbot was the swing piece to making it all work. Without her, Bonner is the only player capable of defending both forward spots consistently. Lyttle is still recovering, Taurasi is out, and the team will play three rookies. How the rotation shakes out will be an even more fascinating question for this loaded roster than before. They have the talent to overpower most of the WNBA, but the fit just feels less smooth after this trade.
It was expected Phoenix would have to cut either the rookie Cunningham or a veteran like the injured Sancho Lyttle to cut the roster, but Mercury general manager Jim Pitman appears to have found a solution he preferred on the trade market.
By taking back nothing in salary in the trade, the Mercury sit about $22,000 over the salary cap assuming Carter is cut. Taurasi will take up a roster spot during her injury and count against the cap.
Phoenix is going all in on this season, as evidenced by prioritizing Lyttle and other veterans such as Leilani Mitchell and Camille Little with their last roster spots over a young, developing piece like Talbot. This small gamble will be measured by how close Phoenix comes to a championship in 2019.
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