For at least one game, the Phoenix Mercury silenced all of us who were skeptical about their decision to trade for Kelsey Plum.
Plum, who hadn’t suited up for the Los Angeles Sparks since June 21 due to a leg injury, played 21 minutes off the bench as the Mercury defeated the Chicago Sky, 106-101, on Monday night.
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In those 21 minutes, she didn’t simply score 20 points on 60 percent shooting from the field, including a 3-for-5 effort from behind the arc, but her final triple also proved to be the game-winning bucket, as she navigated into the paint, recovered the ball, dribbled out to the right corner and drained a pull-up 3 over a contest from Kamilla Cardoso.
That play demonstrated the comfort, confidence and impact that KP instantly is injecting into the Mercury.
Phoenix also outscored Chicago by a team-best 12 points in Plum’s minutes.
Her dazzling debut was complemented by a triple-double from Alyssa Thomas, with her 19-point, 15-rebound and 12-assist stat line extending her WNBA all-time triple-double record to 21. Kahleah Cooper also was outstanding, with her 31 points fleshing out the firepower of Phoenix’s new Big 3.
But, here comes the “but.”
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The victory put the Mercury at 12-19 and 5.5 games out of the No. 8 seed with 13 games to go.
As I expressed in my initial analysis of the trade, Plum’s addition should produce some fun basketball in Phoenix. But, to what end?
Sure, not everything for every team has to be about the playoffs and the championship. There is value in playing good basketball, winning games, demonstrating improvement, developing chemistry and just giving fans a reason or two to be excited. KP and the Mercury can do that.
That perspective, however, ignores the specific dynamics in Phoenix, and ultimately excuses what has been a failed season that can’t be fixed by Plum’s arrival.
This team made the 2025 WNBA Finals, with the 2026 season intended to be the “title or bust” follow up to last year’s overachievement. As our Zack Ward has covered, a championship is the lone void on Thomas’ resume. And at age 34, time is ticking to check that box.
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Yet, at best, the Plum-powered Mercury might look awesome for 14 games—and still not come close to making the playoffs, much less contending for the title.
And, how fantastic will these final now 13 games need to be to inspire confidence that, in fact, this team, despite the age of its foundational pieces and lack of additional assets, can be true contender in 2027?
Phoenix has chance to further shut down such skepticism on Wednesday when they play the Dream in Atlanta (7 p.m. ET, WNBA League Pass).
The Dream have posed problems for the Thomas-Copper iteration of the Mercury, as Phoenix was swept in their three games against Atlanta last season and lost the first matchup this season. Since leaving Las Vegas, Plum also hasn’t had much luck against Atlanta. Last season, the Dream also swept the Sparks, while Plum missed LA’s loss to Atlanta earlier this season.
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If the new-look Mercury can, in fact, reverse those trends, I guess I’ll have to begin to have more faith in the future of this team.
It’s just been one game, but how are you feeling about the Plum trade?
Especially you, Phoenix fans. Has your perspective become more positive? Are you just as confident as you always were? Or, do you remain unconvinced that this was the right move for the Mercury?
Let us know all your thoughts in the comments.
