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WNBA trade grades: Sky deal All-Star guard Kahleah Copper to Mercury for No. 3 overall pick in 2024 draft – CBS Sports
The Chicago Sky have agreed to trade All-Star guard Kahleah Copper to the Phoenix Mercury in a blockbuster deal, the teams announced Tuesday. In return, the Sky will receive the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, the Mercury’s 2026 first-round pick, a 2025 second-round pick, rights to swap 2026 second-round picks, Brianna Turner and Michaela Onyenwere.
This is a stunning move that was not on anyone’s radar coming into the offseason. In September, after the conclusion of the regular season, the Sky signed Copper to a two-year extension that was set to keep the three-time All-Star in Chicago until 2025. It was a welcome bit of good news after a frustrating season, and everyone was pleased — most of all Copper. Now, just a few months later, she’s off to Phoenix.
Copper confirmed the news on her Instagram page Tuesday. Here is her full statement:
“7 years ago almost to the day, I was sitting in my apartment in Belgium when I was traded from DC to Chicago,” Copper wrote. “I was #JustAKidFromNorfPhilly tryna make a name for myself and for my family. I came to Chicago with a hunger and a desire to learn, make an impact in the community, and be great on the court. 7 years later I can honestly say, Chicago, I love y’all. We went through ups and downs together; we battled together; WE WON A CHAMPIONSHIP TOGETHER; and most importantly we supported one another.
“Now, 7 years and 4 days later, I find myself back in Belgium with Team USA and I’m saying goodbye – for now – to Chicago. I wanna thank y’all for rockin with me all these years. Thank you Michael Alter, Adam Fox, James Wade, and a very special thank you to Ann Crosby and Jeff Pagliocca. You two are my people and I’m forever grateful. Thank you also to the best teammates I’ve ever had, ima miss my dawgs!! Chicago fanss yall know yall got my heart!!! Thank you for all the support since I touched down.
“Phoenix ahhhhhh I’m ready and #ALLIN! To my new teammates and coaches: you’re getting all of me. My hunger, my desire, my competitive spirit. Every. Damn. Possession. X-Factor, I can’t wait to be on your side and bring another championship back to The Valley. Let’s get it!”
Let’s grade the trade.
The Mercury welcomed Brittney Griner back home and saw Diana Taurasi make more history in 2023, but that was about the only good news in what was otherwise a disastrous season. On the court, they finished in last place at 9-31 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2012, ending the longest active streak in the league. Off the court, All-Star point guard Skylar Diggins-Smith accused the franchise of preventing her from using the team facilities while she was on maternity leave.
This winter, they’ve made a number of changes to try and get back on the right track. They made Nate Tibbetts the highest-paid coach in WNBA history, hired long-time WNBA star Kristi Toliver to Tibbetts’ staff, signed Natasha Cloud in free agency and traded for Rebecca Allen. Acquiring Copper is the crowning achievement.
It took Copper, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2016 draft, some time to find her stride at the pro level, but once she did she established herself as one of the best wings in the league. She won Finals MVP in 2021 when the Sky won their first title in franchise history, and has been an All-Star in each of the last three seasons. Last summer, in her first as the primary option in Chicago, she put up a career-high 18.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and two assists per game as she dragged her team to the playoffs.
Copper’s ability to thrive on or off the ball makes her a perfect fit for this new Mercury team, as does her versatility on the defensive end. Getting her cost the Mercury a lot of draft compensation and an elite interior defender in Turner, but that was worth the price for an All-Star in their prime.
As for Bertsch, the UC Davis product was drafted by the Dallas Wings in 2019 but got her first WNBA action last season. Over 28 appearances with the Sky, including five starts, the 6-foot-4 forward averaged 4.4 points and 1.7 rebounds per game.
Grade: A
The Sky should not be in this position. Trading Copper, a franchise icon and elite two-way player at the top of her game, months after signing her to an extension, is the culmination of well over a year of total mismanagement from the organization.
After their collapse in the 2022 playoffs, it was clear that the majority of the 2021 title team’s core was going to depart. While disappointing, losing the likes of Candace Parker and Courtney Vandersloot, among others, gave the Sky a perfect opportunity to reset and begin a rebuild with some extremely talented draft classes on the horizon.
Instead, former head coach and general manager James Wade took an extremely short-sighted approach and mortgaged the future. He traded the team’s 2023 and 2024 first-round picks, as well as a 2025 first-round pick swap, to the Dallas Wings in exchange for Marina Mabrey, and signed a plethora of veterans in free agency in the hopes of remaining a playoff team. Then, he quit midway through the season to take a job as an assistant coach with the Toronto Raptors, leaving the Sky high and dry.
They snuck into the playoffs last season, but were swept immediately by the Las Vegas Aces in the first round and left without much of a future. When key free agents such as Skylar Diggins-Smith and Nneka Ogwumike swerved them to sign with the Storm, the Sky had little choice but to trade Copper and fully hit the re-set button.
Chicago did extract a strong return, however. Getting into this lottery is a win, especially if all three of Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers and Cameron Brink declare for the draft. There’s a chance Phoenix’s 2026 first is very valuable as well, and Turner is one of the better interior defenders around. Add in a solid wing in Onyenwere and a second-rounder, and that’s about as good as you can do in this situation. The Sky just shouldn’t have been here to begin with.
Grade: B+ (in a vacuum). D (overall vibes)
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