The MLB trade deadline last week delivered a whirlwind of moves.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Will the WNBA\u2019s trade deadline, scheduled for Thursday at 3 p.m., present the same level of drama?\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s hard to say.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After speaking with several coaches, general managers and agents, the sentiment around the league is that no one really knows what to expect.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s interesting, right?\u201d first-year Wings coach Chris Koclanes said last week. \u201cWhen you have teams that are right there, and is this their window? Do they need to add one more piece and really go for it? \u2026 That\u2019ll be the questions that all these GMs are asking themselves [before the deadline.] But yeah, we\u2019ll see what kind of movement ends up happening.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Head coach Chris Koclanes of the Dallas Wings looks on during the first half against the Indiana Fever at American Airlines Center on August 1, 2025. Getty Images<\/p>\n
There are a few reasons for this.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For starters, basically every player who\u2019s not on a rookie contract is eligible to be a free agent after this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Contending teams have to ask themselves whether it\u2019s worth surrendering one or more future assets, such as draft picks or players under contract beyond 2025, for essentially a two-month rental player.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said that\u2019s part of why teams who might be considered \u201csellers\u201d or looking to off-load talent for long-term assets may be at a disadvantage this time around.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt makes it more challenging for the teams that maybe have a player and maybe in an ordinary year could be a seller because of where they are and what their future goals are, that opportunity is a little less,\u201d she said. Since most players are on expiring deals, \u201cthe value isn\u2019t going to be there as it would maybe be in normal years.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve calls out to players during the first half of a WNBA basketball game against the Las Vegas Aces Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025, in Las Vegas. AP<\/p>\n
It\u2019s hard to say how big of a shift the 2026 free agent bonanza may impact the landscape of the league.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Will star players choose to re-sign with their current franchises? Or could another be more alluring?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Also, there\u2019s so much uncertainty looming ahead for the WNBA as collective bargaining agreement negotiations continue.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Expansion draft rules are part of the CBA, so teams don\u2019t know what to expect for this offseason\u2019s event for the incoming Toronto and Portland franchises.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Last year, teams were allowed to protect six players. That could change this time around.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also notable that historically the WNBA trade deadline often comes and goes without blockbuster moves.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The most significant midseason trade in the league\u2019s history was when the Sky dealt Sylvia Fowles to the Lynx in 2015.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fowles went on to help Minnesota win the WNBA Finals that season and played seven more seasons there before retiring from her Hall of Fame playing career.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Conversations between teams are constantly happening over the course of the season. That\u2019s been no different this time around.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Some of those discussions are just preliminary temperature checks to gauge other\u2019s interest, while others are more serious.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Morgan Tuck said the Sun are not actively looking to make a move. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Connecticut (5-21) is one of the teams who are in an opportunistic situation entering this week.\u00a0<\/p>\n
General manager Morgan Tuck told The Post she\u2019s not actively searching to make a move, but her door is always open.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, it\u2019s just seeing what comes in, right?\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve always been one to listen to what other teams are thinking or if there\u2019s interest in certain players, and I always listen. I just think it\u2019s a good way to get an idea of how they value things or what they think.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Sun\u2019s entire starting lineup from last season\u2019s WNBA semifinals run left in the offseason. Connecticut is in rebuilding mode and spent this offseason gathering draft capital and young players.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a tough season for the Sun, who earned their best win of the season Friday against the Liberty. But Tuck is excited about the players Connecticut has and for the Sun\u2019s future.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Marina Mabrey of the Connecticut Sun handles the ball during the game against the New York Liberty on August 1, 2025 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cNow I feel like we\u2019re in a position, based off where we\u2019re at, it\u2019s like, \u2018Alright, let\u2019s see what makes sense. If it makes sense, great, and if it doesn\u2019t, we\u2019ll be all right,\u2019 \u201d Tuck said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sun guard Marina Mabrey had been denied a trade request before the season, but seems to be in a solid spot now as she\u2019s settled into the season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Sun aren\u2019t actively shopping the seven-year guard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Players who have been mentioned as possible trade candidates include the Wings guard\/forward DiJonai Carrington and Mystics forward Aaliyah Edwards.\u00a0<\/p>\n
DiJonai Carrington of the Dallas Wings looks on during the game against the New York Liberty on July 28, 2025 at the College Park Center in Arlington, TX. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Whether the ongoing conversations translate into actual transactions will be seen in a few days.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou never know,\u201d coach Sandy Brondello said. \u201cThis league shows parity. Anyone can beat anyone on any given night. So I think that\u2019s great for the league. But where the teams [are], what they want to move and who they want to shift off \u2026 there\u2019s a lot of conversations behind the scenes there. But for us, we\u2019re happy with what we done, who we got.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The MLB trade deadline last week delivered a whirlwind of moves.\u00a0 Will the WNBA\u2019s trade deadline, scheduled for…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":114186,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[2472,2470,1520,62,67,132,68,232],"class_list":{"0":"post-114185","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-connecticut-sun","9":"tag-dallas-wings","10":"tag-new-york-liberty","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-unitedstates","14":"tag-us","15":"tag-wnba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114185"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114185\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}