Will Sparks trade Kelsey Plum? 3 potential landing spots that make sense
· Yahoo Sports
All signs point to WNBA superstar Kelsey Plum being on the trading block as the league’s deadline for deals approaches.
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The Athletic reported earlier this week that the 31-year-old five-time All-Star does not intend to re-sign with the Los Angeles Sparks this offseason when her one-year contract expires. The LA Times also reported that the plan is for the Sparks to move Plum before the deadline.
A former Sixth Player of the Year award winner, Plum has proven to be one of the most talented scoring guards in the WNBA and over the past two seasons with the Sparks has established herself as someone who can carry an offense. Despite battling some injuries this year, Plum is averaging a career-best 23.9 points per game, which is second in the league to only her former teammate, A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces. Plum is also posting a career-best 6.4 assists per game, which is sixth in the WNBA.
Before joining the Sparks, Plum helped the Aces win a pair of championships. In 2022, she was the All-Star Game MVP and was named to the All-WNBA First Team. In college at Washington, she set the NCAA career scoring record before it was broken by Caitlin Clark.
If Plum is indeed on the market, there should be several teams vying for her services. One thing that will be a hurdle for many buyers is her hefty contract of $999,999. Only so many teams have the cap space to absorb Plum.
With that, here’s a few landing spots that make sense:
Golden State Valkyries
The Valkyries are the team that would have to do the most gymnastics with their cap to make a deal for Plum work, but they are arguably the team that needs her the most. While Golden State has the WNBA’s second-best record and — by many metrics — the league’s top defense, it could really use a scorer of Plum’s caliber. The Valkyries are last in field goal percentage, 13th in points per game and 12th in points per scoring attempt.
Unfortunately, the Valkyries have no cap space. To make a deal for Plum work, Golden State will have to assemble a package that looks something akin to Justė Jocytė, Kayla Thornton and perhaps a few draft picks. Is that a deal that’s going to be enticing enough for the Sparks? Will Golden State be willing to part with that much if there’s no guarantee Plum will sign there long term? It’s hard to know. But on paper, adding a scorer like Plum to the Valkyries would make them look like a legitimate championship contender.
Washington Mystics
The Mystics are in the driver’s seat to grab the eighth and final playoff spot. Sonia Citron, Kiki Iriafen and Shakira Austin are emerging as one of the best trios in the league. But Washington ranks 12th or worst in several offensive categories, including points per game, 3-point percentage, points per scoring attempt and percentage of points from 3-point land. Needless to say, they could use a gifted offensive veteran like Plum.
Washington has plenty of cap space to absorb Plum and also has a few young players and draft picks to put together what could be an enticing package for the Sparks. Perhaps a deal that includes Georgia Amoore and UCLA product Angela Dugalić could work.
Portland Fire
The Fire have the most cap space available of any team in the WNBA at over $2 million. Taking in Plum’s contract won’t be a problem. The question is, do the Fire have anything that would be of interest to the Sparks in return for Plum?
Pairing Plum up with Bridget Carleton could make the Fire one of the most dangerous 3-point shooting teams in the league and perhaps kick-start them on a run in the second half of the season that puts them in contention for the final playoff spot.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Will Sparks trade Kelsey Plum? 3 potential landing spots that make sense