Mercury to acquire Alyssa Thomas from Sun in blockbuster trade, per report

Thomas, who finished top five in MVP voting the last three seasons, has spent her entire career in Connecticut

The Phoenix Mercury are set to acquire five-time All-Star Alyssa Thomas from the Connecticut Sun in a blockbuster trade, according to Alexa Philippou. In exchange for Thomas, the Sun will reportedly receive Natasha Cloud, Rebecca Allen and the No. 12 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft. Tyasha Harris is also headed to Phoenix in the deal. 

Thomas, who has finished top five in MVP voting each of the last three seasons, was cored by the Sun earlier in the offseason. That granted the Sun exclusive negotiating rights, and as such this will be a sign-and-trade deal that cannot become official until Feb. 1, when the league's moratorium is lifted. 

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Jack Maloney

The No. 4 overall pick in the 2014 WNBA Draft, Thomas has spent her entire career with the Sun. Along the way she helped turn the team into a perennial contender and led them to Finals appearances in 2019 and 2022, though they fell short on both occasions. Her comments regarding the organization's lack of amenities, both during and after the season, foreshadowed her departure. 

"To have to share your court with a two-year-olds birthday party, [it's the] ultimate disrespect," Thomas said after the Sun's practice prior to Game 1 of their first-round playoff series against the Indiana Fever was disrupted. Sure enough, Thomas is now on her way to Phoenix, which recently opened a 58,000-square foot, $100 million facility. 

Now that we have the full details, let's grade the trade for both teams:

Mercury receive

• Alyssa Thomas
• Ty Harris

Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts wants to play fast, space the floor and shoot a lot of 3s, but he didn't really have the personnel to properly implement that philosophy last season. There were times when the Mercury looked awesome, but they were far too inconsistent 

Thomas' arrival gives the Mercury an engine for Tibbetts' system. While she herself is not a shooter, she is one of the best transition threats in the league and an excellent playmaker. Even on a Sun team that traditionally had terrible spacing, Thomas was nearly impossible to stop from getting into the paint. If the Mercury can space the floor around her, either with a stretch five or by playing small ball, she is going to create so many issues for opponents. 

On the defensive side of the ball, Thomas will single-handedly raise the Mercury's standards. The Mercury were ninth in the league in defensive rating last season (105.4), in large part because they were terrible at forcing turnovers (11th in opponent TO%) and got crushed on the offensive glass (12th in opp. OREB%). Thomas is a terrific rebounder and routinely among the league leaders in steals. She's finished as the runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year twice and is a six-time All-Defensive honoree. 

As for Harris, she's one of the more underrated players in the league and a better fit for what the Mercury want to do than Cloud. While she may not be quite on Cloud's level as a defender or playmaker, she's no slouch in either department, and more importantly she can shoot. Harris made 39.5% of her 3.9 attempts per game last season and is capable of playing off the ball. Cloud was at 30.8% from behind the arc last season and was most effective with the ball in her hands. 

Losing Rebecca Allen stings, but she only played 18 games last season and has been injury prone throughout her career. As for the No. 12 pick, it's unlikely the Mercury were going to find anyone at that spot who could help them this season. 

Grade: A

Sun receive

• Natasha Cloud
• Rebecca Allen
• No. 12 overall pick

Thomas and Harris' departure likely marks the start of a complete rebuild for the Sun, who, even with this trade, only have five players under contract for the 2025 season. With Thomas gone, it's hard to imagine other key veteran free agents, including DeWanna Bonner (Thomas' fiancée) and Brionna Jones, sticking around. DiJonai Carrington may also want to depart, but the Sun can match any offer since she is a restricted free agent. 

There were signs they were going down this path earlier in the offseason when coach Stephanie White left for the Indiana Fever and the team hired the relatively unknown -- at least in the United States -- Frenchman Rachid Meziane to replace her. While Meziane has had a lot of success overseas, that was not a hire that was going to convince everyone to re-sign for another run at the title. 

Cloud and Allen are both solid, respected veterans who will help set the standards in the locker room, but it's unlikely that either is going to be around after this season. In fact, that Sun might look to move one or both for more future assets before the trade deadline this summer. 

Getting back into the first round -- the Sun's own pick at No. 10 is going to the Chicago Sky via the Marina Mabrey trade -- at No. 12 is helpful. The draft starts to become a bit of a crap shoot at that point, but having another shot at adding a young player certainly doesn't hurt given their expected direction. 

If Thomas made it clear she was going to walk in free agency, there was really only so much the Sun could do at that point. Losing Harris as well stings, but she may have also signaled that she wanted out. The Sun are the obvious losers here, but this was a decent return considering the circumstances, especially if they're able to flip Cloud and Allen for younger players or more draft capital. 

Grade: C+