High Post Hoops
Fansided

Phoenix Mercury in talks to acquire Tina Charles, Skylar Diggins-Smith

By Howard Megdal

MINNEAPOLIS - JULY 28: Back Row (L-R) Jewell Loyd, Angel McCoughtry, Tina Charles, Liz Cambage, Chiney Ogwumike, Rebekkah Brunson. Front Row (L-R) Allie Quigley, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Candace Parker, Chelsea Gray, and Maya Moore of Team Parker pose for a photo during the Verizon WNBA All-Star Game on July 28, 2018 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS - JULY 28: Back Row (L-R) Jewell Loyd, Angel McCoughtry, Tina Charles, Liz Cambage, Chiney Ogwumike, Rebekkah Brunson. Front Row (L-R) Allie Quigley, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Candace Parker, Chelsea Gray, and Maya Moore of Team Parker pose for a photo during the Verizon WNBA All-Star Game on July 28, 2018 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Make it a blockbuster night, Phoenix

In a pair of deals that would shake up the power structure in the WNBA, the Phoenix Mercury are in advanced talks to acquire both Skylar Diggins-Smith from the Dallas Wings and Tina Charles from the New York Liberty, multiple league sources have told High Post Hoops.

More from Dallas Wings

Neither deal is complete, but the Diggins-Smith deal is further along, with one source describing it as “getting across the finish line”.

The moves come amid a day that began with the Mercury trading DeWanna Bonner to the Connecticut Sun, seeming to signal that the team intended to retool for a world after Diana Taurasi.

But the acquisition of Charles, who could play a stretch four next to Brittney Griner, and Skylar Diggins-Smith, who could assume primary ball-handling duties and allow Taurasi to focus on her work off the ball, would give Phoenix a starting lineup as potent as any in the league.

In both cases, the return is still being negotiated, though many of the picks Phoenix acquired in the Connecticut deal are central to the talks with Dallas.

Both Charles and Diggins-Smith play alongside Griner and Taurasi on the USA Basketball senior team, giving the quartet a familiarity with one another already.

Love our 24/7 women’s basketball coverage? Join our Patreon now and support this work, while getting extra goodies and subscriber-only content for yourself.

Home/Phoenix Mercury