Darnell Sallins
January 27, 2025, 12:10AM
As Championship Sunday was at its climax between the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday evening, the WNBA shocked the basketball landscape with a three-team blockbuster trade.
In the blockbuster trade, the Las Vegas Aces acquired All-Star guard Jewell Loyd from the Seattle Storm. The Aces sent All-Star guard Kelsey Plum to the Los Angeles Sparks. This is the first-ever WNBA trade that involved multiple No.1 overall picks.
Also in the trade, the Storm acquired the second overall pick from the Sparks in the upcoming 2025 WNBA Draft and forward Li Yueru as well as Las Vegas' 2026 first-round pick. The Aces acquired the 13th overall pick in the draft from the Sparks. While the Sparks acquired the ninth overall pick in the upcoming draft and a 2026 second-round pick from the Storm.
Now the deal can't be officially made until Saturday, Feb.1 because of the sign-and trade involving Kelsey Plum. Plum is a free agent this offseason where the Aces used their core designation on Plum thus the only for Plum to change team is through a trade. Plum will sign a one-year for the trade to work but hopes to be in LA beyond 2025.
With this trade, Jewell Loyd joins a championship made team led by WNBA MVP A'Ja Wilson and head coach Becky Hammon thus creating a new Big Three along with Chelesa Gray.
For Kelsey Plum, the trade to the Sparks provides her the opportunity to build a new Big Four of her own with second-year players Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson and veteran player Dearica Hamby in Los Angeles.
Check out my full breakdown of this trade in the YouTube video below
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