In February four WNBA teams announced a massive trade that sent players all over the place: Rebecca Allen, Natasha Cloud, and Jacy Sheldon went to the Connecticut Sun (along with the No. 8 overall draft pick), Dijonai Carrington, NaLyssa Smith, and Tyasha Harris joined the Dallas Wings (who also picked up the rights to Kiki Herbert Harrigan and the No. 12 overall draft pick), the Indiana Fever picked up Sophie Cunningham and Jaelyn Brown (as well as the No. 18 overall draft pick), and the Phoenix Mercury added Satou Sabally, Alyssa Thomas, Kalani Brown, and Sevgi Uzun.
It will take weeks to see the full impact of the trade roll out across the league, but if early games are any indication, the Mercury might end up walking away from this deal as the ultimate victors.
Sabally and Thomas could be unstoppable
The Mercury played the team's first regular season game against the Seattle Storm on Saturday, May 17. They were down a player — star Kahleah Copper is out for 4-6 weeks following a left knee arthroscopy — but still deftly defeated the team 81-58 at home in Phoenix.
Sabally and Thomas were an immediate and nearly impenetrable threat; the duo combined for 47 points, with Sabally racking up the most points (27) of any Mercury player in their debut, and Thomas adding her own 20 to the total. Sabally showed she was more than capable of filling in gaps left by Copper's absence and immediately quelled whispers from her detractors. She was an especially deep offensive force, making it impossible for defenders to stop her on the perimeter.
The Mercury's positionless basketball is working
Ahead of the regular season, Coach Nate Tibbets told reporters the team has been working a "positionless" basketball scheme, and that Thomas in particular will serve multiple roles this season (the point guard, power forward, and center). While the true impact of this scheme likely won't be seen until Copper returns to the fold, it's already clear that Tibbets is on to something.
The concept of positionless basketball is an intriguing one, and the Mercury certainly have the roster to pull it off. With the depature of Mercury stalwarts Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner, now is the time to retool the game and see what the team can come up with, and it's clear that they're up for the challenge.
The team's second game of the season is Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Sparks. The Sparks are coming off a win against the Valkyries and a loss against the Lynx, and will be playing without Rickea Jackson, who suffered a concussion during their Minnesota game. Sabally and Thomas are likely to have no problem bowling over the Sparks' defense (though rookie Sarah Ashee Barker might have something to say about that).