The Phoenix Mercury had a pretty quiet free agency, a reality that was a little surprising given how successful the team was during the playoffs last season. At present, the team has added a lot of athletes by way of training camp contracts (which are only good for the duration of the camp) but only a handful are signed to definitely play for the team during the 2026 season.
In and of itself, that's isn't necessarily a big problem. The Mercury could choose to sign several athletes who are on training camp deals, or they may still bring over players from other teams (or players who haven't signed with anyone but who are league veterans, like Natasha Cloud). But on Tuesday the team announced news that might be a big problem: Kathryn Westbeld tore her ACL while playing overseas, and will miss the entirety of the 2026 as a result.
The news is disappointing for the Mercury, who benefitted enormously from Westbeld last year (especially when Natasha Mack was out due to an injury) but also for Westbeld herself. She enjoyed her first true season in the WNBA in 2025 and helped guide the team to the playoffs and the championship game; 2026 would have essentially amounted to her second season in the league.
The Mercury's season is shaping up to be a little mysterious
The Mercury made it clear that one of the team's priorities was making sure Alyssa Thomas resigned to the team. Phoenix cleared that hurdle early during free agency (and also resigned DeWanna Bonner to boot). Thomas brings a lot of power and dynacism to the Mercury, and also has a history of winning no matter where she goes — each of the teams she's been on have made it to the WNBA Finals every year since 2016.
But the team saw the depature of Satou Sabally, and will have to come up with an answer for how that will impact their style of place and success this season. Kahleah Copper, who has also played a huge part in the recent success the Mercury have enjoyed resigned with the team during free agency.
It's possible Phoenix is playing the long game, and assuming that some teams will exhaust their cap space before others. That's not wrong — plenty of teams are certainly coming close to doing so — but it is a little confusing. The team is expecting an influx of athletes who have been playing overseas, but will likely be tasked with finding a replacement for Westbeld very, very soon.
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