Just before the WNBA All-Star Game/Olympic break officially commenced, a significant news drop came across the timelines of all WNBA fans.
The news drop, first reported by Annie Costabile of the Chicago Sun-Times, consisted of a shocking trade between the Connecticut Sun and Chicago Sky that sent Marina Mabrey to Uncasville, along with Chicago’s 2025 second-round pick. In return, Chicago received guards Rachel Banham and Moriah Jefferson, along with the Connecticut’s 2025 first-round pick and swap rights to Connecticut’s 2026 first-round pick.
There was a general consensus amongst fans that this was a good trade for Connecticut, and a head-scratcher for Chicago. Let’s talk about what it means for the Connecticut Sun.
Looking Ahead
The on-court business is what people look at the most when evaluating a trade.
As important as that is, this was a good trade for the Sun for reasons beyond the Xs and Os. Both Banham and Jefferson are under contract through next season, and both have protected contracts. It was a great move for Connecticut to get itself out from under those contracts, which didn’t make much sense in the first place at the time of the signings.
As it stands now, the only contracted players for Connecticut for the 2025 season are Marina Mabrey, Tyasha Harris and Olivia Nelson-Ododa. The big three of Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner and Brionna Jones are all entering free agency, and it’s possible they return. But this move gives the Sun front office a lot more flexibility in terms of roster construction. Connecticut will have a lot of spots to fill, and now there’s more money and space to do so.
Moving on to the draft picks. Because of Connecticut’s continued regular-season success, they haven’t had well-positioned picks in recent years and won’t over the next two years. The swap rights for the 2026 pick likely won’t even come into play since Chicago will have a better pick heading into the draft.
All in all, the Sun didn’t give up too much to take another crack at it.
Why It Makes Sense
On the court, Mabrey brings much-needed floor spacing.
The Sun rank 10th in the league in three-point percentage at 31.4%. Connecticut shot the long ball extremely well last season, which was largely due to Harris leading the league at 46.4%. She’s come back down to earth a bit and is still shooting well, but at just 35.1%. At the time of the trade, Mabrey’s knocking them down from deep at 34.8%.
Mabrey can be somewhat of a streaky player. Out of nowhere she could have a game where she lights it up and goes for 25. It’s nice having two of those players, with Bonner being the other. Mabrey has never really been an above-average defender, but she’s a solid rebounding guard who also sees the floor well and can distribute the ball.
The trade has already ignited some jokes online, as former on-court nemeses, Mabrey and Carrington, are now wearing the same color. They’re both professionals and will probably be buddies within a month, but fans are grabbing their popcorn and waiting for fireworks until then.
https://twitter.com/MsMeliss/status/1813655871215526124
New-Look Starting Lineup?
The addition of Mabrey, however, begs the question— what happens to the starting lineup?
Will Mabrey take Harris’ starting spot, or will she come off the bench as a dynamite sixth player? It shouldn’t be an option for Carrington to exit the starting lineup strictly for defensive purposes. Harris has settled in nicely in that role and is a true point guard, whereas Mabrey is a wing who has had to play the point because of roster construction.
Mabrey gives Head Coach Stephanie White the ability to play around a little more with lineups. Connecticut could run a productive “small” lineup when Jones is getting a breather, consisting of Thomas, Bonner, Carrington, Mabrey and Harris. Such a lineup would garner a lot of long-range shot attempts, as well as a lot of room for Thomas to operate, and for slashing guards like Carrington to get to the bucket.
Is It Enough?
The Sun made this move to get them over the hump.
Year in and year out, Connecticut is one of the best teams in the league, just to fall short in the Semis or Finals. In the grand scheme of things, this was a solid trade for the Sun, who didn’t have to part ways with key pieces of future teams, and improved the outlook for building next season’s team.
Mabrey hasn’t shown to be a player who moves the needle from contender to champion. She will make them better. But will it be good enough? Especially when the championship is going to run through Connecticut’s kryptonite— New York and/or Vegas.
The best-case scenario for Connecticut is to lock up a two seed and hope another team can knock them both out.
Leave a comment