Just one year on from reaching the WNBA Finals, the Phoenix Mercury are desperately gasping for air. Defensive frailties and a lack of consistency in performances have seen the franchise fall from contenders to pretenders in a matter of months. Even a late-season resurgence wouldn't change the fact that the Mercury are not a championship contender. Rethinking their yearly objective is now essential: ensuring their first-round pick falls into draft lottery range must be the aim.
Despite limping to an 8-16 record and falling to 12th overall in the standings, the Mercury's roster boasts some blockbuster names. Alyssa Thomas, Kahleah Copper, and DeWanna Bonner are all bona fide winners who will be struggling to accept the team's current plight.
However, these stars will not remain on the roster forever, and it is becoming clearer by the day that Phoenix requires an injection of youth if it wishes to stand any chance of competing at the highest level in the near future. Thomas and co. will not look upon this ideology lightly, but tanking could transform this dark season into something quite remarkable.
Phoenix's first-round pick could transform the franchise's future
From a league's perspective, tanking is an awful process. No professional athlete or coach should enter an arena with a feeling of contentment about losing. On each given night, players should be heading into the heat of battle with the ambition of outclassing their opponents. Nevertheless, the Mercury are past this now. If they were going to show some fight, we would have seen it. They must make a decision that benefits the franchise.
The upcoming 2027 draft class is bursting with talent that could change a team's entire trajectory. Under its current guise, Phoenix does not need an entire rebuild, but landing a future superstar could rekindle the fire that made this roster great once upon a time.
Tanking is only one part of the equation; a franchise will also require the luck of the draw to ensure its lottery pick can be packaged into a top-five selection. If the Mercury has Lady Luck on their side and is awarded a high pick, the front office will have the flexibility to decide if it is time to move on from its core veteran group.
Hannah Hidalgo and Phoenix are a match made in heaven
JuJu Watkins, Hannah Hidalgo, and Madison Booker are the leading names of the upcoming draft class; each of these three players would bring the Phoenix Mercury attributes that could reenergise the playing squad. However, Hidalgo could be the perfect fit.
What the Mercury currently lacks is defensive resilience and, quite frankly, effort on that side of the ball. Hannah Hidalgo's tenacity and determination when out of possession will reinvigorate the team's attitude in halting their opponents.
Throughout the 2025-26 NCAA season, Hidalgo averaged an incredible 5.6 steals per game -- while forcing the opposition into a high volume of turnovers on a nightly basis. For a smaller guard, the Notre Dame standout shows a relentless defensive attitude that strikes fear into the heart of the ball handler -- something Phoenix has not had all season long.
The fact of the matter is, the Phoenix Mercury are going nowhere and should prioritise the future. While nobody wants to see a team give up on all of their ambitions and lean into a tank, this franchise must salvage its disastrous year somehow. If accepting defeat results in landing a superstar rookie like Hannah Hidalgo, then a disappointing 2026 season would be more than worth it.
Add us as a preferred source on Google