The Los Angeles Sparks traded Rickea Jackson for Ariel Atkins in a desperate effort to build a competitive team around Kelsey Plum and Nneka Ogwumike. As part of the sign-and-trade, the Sparks gave Atkins a three-year contract that will pay her over a million dollars a season through 2028.
That’s a huge contract for a player who hasn’t made an All-Star or All-Defensive team in a few years, but it looks even worse after Atkins put together the worst statistical season of her career. She averaged career lows in several categories with 8.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. She had never averaged fewer than 10 points before or shot worse than 33% from behind the arc.
The Sparks’ entire season was a mess. After years of high-level 3-and-D play, Atkins deserves the benefit of the doubt. She could easily have a bounce-back season with a more cohesive and competent team around her. The Indiana Fever, for example, desperately need at least one high-level wing defender next to Caitlin Clark.
Atkins, who has been named to several All-Defensive teams and shot at least 35% from three in all but two of her seasons in the W, would be an interesting trade target for them—but not with such an expensive contract attached to her. The Fever would have to be truly desperate to trade for that contract, with Aliyah Boston already locked into a max deal and Clark set to get a pay raise.
Where do the Sparks go from here?
With Kelsey Plum in Phoenix and Nneka Ogwumike retired, the Sparks have to face the music and finally go through a proper rebuild. They have some interesting young players in Cameron Brink, Rae Burrell, and Monique Akoa Makani, but will have to tank to get a true franchise star like JuJu Watkins or Sarah Strong in the 2028 WNBA Draft. While they have two picks in the 2027 draft, neither is a lottery pick.
Trading at least one of Atkins, Dearica Hamby, or Erica Wheeler for more picks would help with their rebuild. But neither Atkins’s nor Hamby’s contract is easy to move. They may just have to stick around and act as veteran presences for the Sparks’ younger players while collecting nice paychecks.
The worst thing is the Sparks really have no one to blame but themselves. They made bad trades, giving up the picks that became Dominique Malonga and Awa Fam, and handed out humongous contracts to players who didn’t live up to them. It will take a while to recover from that.
Add us as a preferred source on Google