Former WNBA first-round draft pick Marta Suárez signed another seven-day contract with the Phoenix Mercury on Friday, July 17.
Suárez was released on July 16. She spent more than a month with the organization after signing a developmental contract on May 6. After being released from that deal, the team signed Suárez to a seven-day contract on July 9.
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The Mercury forward’s journey in the league has been a winding one.
On May 2, the Golden State Valkyries waived Suárez. She was originally selected 16th overall by Seattle during the 2026 WNBA Draft. However, on draft night, Golden State made a surprising move when they traded their eighth overall pick, Flau’Jae Johnson, to the Storm for the draft rights to Suárez and a 2028 second-round pick.
Golden State general manager Ohemaa Nyanin said the club agreed to trade picks with Seattle ahead of the draft. She sidestepped questions on draft night about trading Johnson and acquiring Suárez.
“I’m going to take a beat to be able to eloquently give a response. I don’t have a lot of details to share,” Nyanin said at the time. “One, because I’m exhausted. Two, because I want to be very thoughtful when I’m talking about other humans and their basketball abilities and how they would or would not show up for our squad.”
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She did speak highly of Suárez, who had a breakout season at TCU during the 2025-2026 season and was named to the All-Big 12 team.
“Marta is fierce. She’s fearless,” Nyanin said. “She has a very high basketball IQ. Her high character is off the charts. … We felt like she would be a great fit.”Meghan L. Hall contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rookie Marta Suárez signs second 7-day contract with Phoenix Mercury
