Potential 2024 WNBA Deadline Deals

Ahead of next week's WNBA trade deadline, we offer some possible moves that teams could make, and explain why some teams might not be dealing

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With the confetti barely swept up from the medal ceremony at the Paris Olympic Games, we're hours away from the WNBA re-starting play. We're also less than a week away from another important date on the WNBA calendar - the trade deadline. Tuesday, August 20 is the final day that teams are allowed to trade pieces, and as we saw with the Marina Mabrey deal between Connecticut and Chicago just before the break, there are some possibilities out there. Unlike several recent seasons, most teams have at least a little cap space remaining, which makes deals significantly more plausible. So what might happen now that everyone's back in their offices and looking to set themselves up for the final stretch of the 2024 season?

First, the rules and technicalities. Both sides have to finish any trade legally under the salary cap. This seems obvious, but due to hardship exceptions teams can be legally over the cap (only Dallas are currently in this situation this year), which complicates matters. Those teams would actually have to save money in a deal, because they'd have to drop under the cap at the completion of the trade. Also important to note: Teams swap the entire salaries of players being traded. So even though the season is well over half completed, if a player on the supermax ($241,984) is dealt for someone on the base minimum ($64,154), then those numbers flip from one team's cap sheet to the other - and the team taking on the supermax player better have a lot of spare cap space in order to make it legal. The useful part of this is if you can trade a player away for nothing in return but draft picks (or the rights to some random player who isn't currently in the league), then that player's entire salary disappears from your cap sheet and becomes cap space.

Now what you normally need for deadline deals is a clear pack of 'buyers' and 'sellers'. Teams who think they can challenge for a title, and teams looking to future seasons who don't mind getting worse right now. On a basic level, the first half of the 2024 WNBA season appeared to offer us this split. Both in the standings and based on net rating - where there's a 9.5 points per 100 possessions gap in the middle of the list - we have five good teams this year, and then the rest. However, eight teams have to make the playoffs, and franchises like Phoenix, Indiana and Dallas may think they have a chance to be significantly better in the second half than they were in the first. And sometimes a team has lower goals than a championship, like just making the playoffs, which makes them more likely to 'buy' than 'sell' - especially if someone in the front office thinks a strong finish to the season could keep them in a job.

The other important element to keep in mind, even though it makes an article like this less exciting, is that if you can simply sign someone off the street who'd be just as good, then why give up assets to trade with another team? Rumors have been floating in recent days about the possibility of Gabby Williams signing for the remainder of 2024, Odyssey Sims and Monique Billings just had to be released from their hardship contracts by the Wings, and we've already seen players like Tiffany Hayes, Veronica Burton and Joyner Holmes sign as midseason free agents and become part of rotations. There's talent out there if you can find the right option, and it might not require a trade.

All of that said, let's start fake-trading!

Phoenix Mercury trade Sophie Cunningham and Sug Sutton to the Washington Mystics for Myisha Hines-Allen (and Phoenix send a third-round pick to Los Angeles to get them to take DiDi Richards for cap purposes)

This admittedly is a bit of a swing for Phoenix, but I think it's worth a shot. There's a chance that they think they're already good enough to make a second-half push, having gone 9-6 since Brittney Griner's return from injury, despite other injury issues leading to a fluctuating lineup. But the team I watched still wasn't genuinely competitive with the top-5 teams in the league. Capable of beating any of them on a given night, but very unlikely to beat any of them in a best-of-five. The collection of wings they assembled in the offseason has led to some fun, gimmicky lineups, but it's not really worked. So you make a move.

Washington Mystics forward Myisha Hines-Allen. Photo credit: Chris Poss

This deal would give up one of those wings in Cunningham, and a guard in Sutton who largely fell out of Nate Tibbetts's rotation by the time we hit the break. In return they get an actual power forward in Hines-Allen, who could give them some rebounding alongside Griner and defend opposing bigs without giving up several inches and plenty of weight. Hines-Allen's own injury issues have prevented us from seeing much of the player that had a breakout season in the Covid-forced bubble back in 2020, but there have been flashes. She's also still mobile enough that Phoenix could maintain some of their switchy defensive schemes from the first half of the season, just with more genuine presence in the middle. The hamstring injury that kept Rebecca Allen out of the Olympics is also apparently still troubling her, so Phoenix will be without the wing who's most capable of swinging to power forward on their roster, making a true four even more necessary.

Washington might ask for a pick to be thrown in to complete a deal like this (and Phoenix might be willing to add something like a second-rounder). But for them it would be about taking a look at Cunningham, and seeing if Sutton could be part of their future group as well. Sutton started her WNBA career with Washington, so there's some familiarity there, and she's still only 25. The Mystics still need a ballhandler, and Sutton looked like a WNBA-level talent last year in Phoenix. At the same time they'd be moving on from Hines-Allen, who had her best years with the Mystics but who hasn't really worked out on her current high-end contract due to all the injuries (and being trapped behind Elena Delle Donne whenever she was around and healthy enough to play). They'd be doing Hines-Allen a favor sending her somewhere with an immediate chance to make an impression and win.

Washington have meaningful cap space, but not enough to cut a player to create the extra roster spot for a two-for-one deal and then take on the extra expense of the additions. Hence the need for a third team like LA to take someone like Richards into their cap space to make the maths work.

For Phoenix, the side benefit here beyond Hines-Allen is that they'd be trading away $218,654 in salary and bringing back only $180,200. They'd finish with only 10 players on the roster, but an extra $38,454 in cap space to add to their current $23,877. Recently named as one of the teams in consideration by Gabby Williams, they could then offer her over $62,000 for the remainder of the season (and increased playing time, with Cunningham gone and Allen injured). The net loss in outside shooting around Griner could hurt, but it would be enough of a makeover for the Mercury that they could present new issues for opponents that aren't there with the current squad.

Atlanta Dream trade Cheyenne Parker, Aerial Powers, Maya Caldwell and a 2025 second-round pick to the Chicago Sky for Isabelle Harrison, Brianna Turner, and Dana Evans

Something hasn't worked in Atlanta this year. They can blame it on injuries, and missed time for Jordin Canada and Rhyne Howard have definitely made an impact, but even considering those a 7-17 record is a disaster for a team that was meant to be taking the next step towards contention. Canada, Howard and Allisha Gray are cemented in the starting perimeter spots when healthy, and they chose not to make a coaching change over the Olympic break, so this is an effort to change things up via their posts and bench. They don't own their 2025 first-round pick, so there's no value in just settling for a lottery spot.

Parker lost her starting spot after 10 games when Tanisha Wright decided her pairing with Tina Charles wasn't working, despite an all-star season in 2023. Powers has been her usual inconsistent presence off the bench. Caldwell is largely in this deal to make the numbers work.

In return, Atlanta would be getting a post with some scoring punch in Harrison, and a defensive presence in Turner who could potentially play alongside Charles and mitigate some of her deficiencies. They'd also be adding Evans, who's reportedly been on the trade block for a while in Chicago after being benched for Lindsay Allen. She'd give them another option to run the offense if Canada's broken finger continues to keep her out, and once Canada returns give them someone who's shown herself capable of providing energy and scoring from the bench. The pick in the deal is mostly for Evans, given everyone else involved besides Caldwell is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

Chicago do this for the pick, to bring home a former favorite in Parker, and to add another lively personality in Powers in the hope that Teresa Weatherspoon can help maximise her talents. Harrison and Turner are behind Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso in the pecking order in Chicago anyway, and they still have Elizabeth Williams around for veteran guidance, so giving up on Evans is the cost here. They have Moriah Jefferson and Rachel Banham, added in the recent Marina Mabrey trade, to help fill in the gaps.

Indiana Fever trade Lexie Hull and Grace Berger to the Washington Mystics for Karlie Samuelson

The Indiana Fever have been trying to find a 3 for quite some time now. They're not looking for a global superstar to fill the spot, just someone who can play some defense and hit some threes, especially now that they're building around Caitlin Clark. Two of their recent efforts to fill the spot were Hull, who can defend but continues to be ineffective on offense, and Katie Lou Samuelson, who was swiftly benched due to her defensive issues (then returned to the lineup for a stronger stretch of games just before the break, in all fairness to her).

The slightly older Samuelson sister (not counting Bonnie) doesn't have Katie Lou's size, but is a significantly better perimeter defender and over their WNBA careers actually a better 3-point shooter as well. Karlie could give Indiana what they actually need on the wing while Katie Lou continues to swing between the two forward spots providing spot minutes where necessary. Plus reuniting them on the same team would hopefully mitigate any unhappiness Karlie might feel at being traded away from the team where she signed a two-year deal as a free agent in the recent offseason.

For Washington this is a move towards youth and possibility. In Hull they'd be hoping for the same things that Indiana were dreaming of when they drafted her - a 3-and-D wing if she can ever get consistent enough with the '3' part. Berger looked like a useful prospect as a rookie last year but has virtually disappeared from Christie Sides's rotation. A solid ballhandler with a good jumpshot who's still only on the second year of her rookie-scale contract, she'd be worth a look at the point for the Mystics. It's a similar concept to the addition of Sutton posed in the deal above, but with extra room for optimism because Berger's had so little chance to show what she can do this year.

This deal, like the Hines-Allen one, would also require a side element where a team like Los Angeles takes on someone like Richards to keep Washington under the cap while making a two-for-one deal. Indiana would likely have to pay the incentive fee.

Dallas Wings trade Sevgi Uzun and a 2025 second-round pick to the Chicago Sky for the right to swap third-round picks in 2026 (i.e. as close to nothing as they can get)

The logic here is pretty basic. Dallas were just forced to release Odyssey Sims and Monique Billings because they were signed via hardship exceptions, granted due to all their injuries in the first half of the season. Billings was important initially but had started to fade from the rotation once Natasha Howard returned, and would presumably be marginalised further by the return of Satou Sabally. But Sims almost immediately became their starting point guard, and was still in that slot up to the final game before the break.

Those hardship deals swallowed up any remaining cap space that Dallas had, so they can't currently re-sign either player. This deal would remove Uzun's salary, pay Chicago a second-round pick to get them to take her, and allow Dallas to re-sign Sims once the 10-day waiting period the league requires for re-signing players has elapsed.

Dallas are in a strange situation, sitting bottom of the league at 6-19 but likely viewing themselves as a much better team than that when healthy. Both GM Greg Bibb and head coach Latricia Trammell will probably be hoping to push forward and win some games in the second half of the season - maybe even sneak into the playoffs - rather than give up on the year and think about lottery balls. Hence this kind of deal to move on from Uzun, the point guard Trammell seemed to have less and less confidence in as the season wore on, to bring back the ballhandler she almost immediately turned the offense over to once she was available.

Chicago would start these conversations asking for control of their 2025 first-round pick back, because Dallas own swap rights to it from the 2023 Marina Mabrey deal. But I'm not convinced Dallas would be willing to consider that, given how valuable those swap rights might be if Chicago end up in the lottery. So I think the Sky would settle for a second-round pick to agree to this deal (and the Wings could start talking to LA instead, if necessary). Chicago would have to cut someone to make room, or open up a roster spot with another deal elsewhere.

Alternative options to achieve the same thing could involve trading away Jaelyn Brown, or any of the other bench players in Dallas. Los Angeles are the only other team who could swallow a player into their cap space without sending anyone the other way.

New York Liberty, Connecticut Sun, Minnesota Lynx, Seattle Storm, Las Vegas Aces trade... nobody

I tried. The eagle-eyed amongst you will notice that after talking about 'buyers' and 'sellers' in the introduction, I proceeded to trade absolutely no one to or from the five teams that looked like genuine title contenders in the first half of the 2024 WNBA season. It's hard to find players that would actually play meaningful minutes for these teams, and therefore potentially improve them, especially as most have limited cap and roster space even if they're not quite as close to the limit as in previous years.

New York could maybe use a backup post, because Nyara Sabally is constantly getting hurt and she's the only true size they have beyond their starting lineup. But I don't really see anyone worth trading for who'd be a better option than just going small with Kayla Thornton or Kennedy Burke at the 4. Connecticut already made their big move with the Mabrey deal, and while even more shooting would be nice there aren't many obvious upgrades on what they already have. They only have one backup point guard now, but between Mabrey and Alyssa Thomas there are enough alternatives to run the offense.

For the Lynx I looked for true size. Against physical, big interior players they sometimes struggle with their quick, undersized frontcourt. But it's hard to find anyone worth trading for, and unlike most teams, the Lynx also don't have anyone obvious they'd want to cut or trade away. Cover at the 3 is the obvious addition in Seattle, with Jordan Horston showing talent there but her shaky jumpshot a potential issue in the playoffs (and Victoria Vivians a backup option they won't particularly want to use). But they'd either need to give up someone important like Mercedes Russell or Sami Whitcomb, or trade for someone cheap. That puts a real dent in their options (Karlie Samuelson or Stephanie Talbot would both be nice, but are a little too expensive).

Given Becky Hammon hasn't really managed to fit Megan Gustafson into her rotation in Las Vegas, the obvious option there would be someone who can play inside if Kiah Stokes gets played off the floor again in the playoffs. But options who look any better than Gustafson at the 5, or Alysha Clark as an undersized 4, are hard to find. They could be another option for a Hines-Allen deal, but the size of her contract complicates things.

In terms of the players available to the buyers, there aren't that many great 'rental' options. I've heard Azurá Stevens mentioned, but unless someone is giving up a decent first-round pick I think LA are more likely to keep her, see what she can show over the remaining weeks of the season, and potentially core her in the offseason if she's back to her old self. So this is where we end up. Phone calls will be made to the agents of Gabby Williams, Odyssey Sims, Monique Billings, and maybe even some of the other players we saw showcase themselves in recent weeks in France. Inquiries will be made into who might be available, then fade away when the cost starts being discussed. Los Angeles and Chicago will at least try to turn their excess cap space into a pick or two, but without deals that need the space to be completed might not find many paths to success (beyond Dallas, anyway). And just to be clear, August 20 is only the trade deadline - free agents can still be signed, and participate in the playoffs, right up until the last day of the regular season.

But for now, keep your eyes peeled for what might happen between now and next Tuesday.

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