Wednesday, January 29, 2025

Kelsey Plum traded to Sparks, Aces land Jewell Loyd in blockbuster three-team trade with Storm, per report

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The Kelsey Plum era in Las Vegas is over. The Aces dealt Plum to the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday in a blockbuster three-team trade sending six-time WNBA All-Star selection Jewell Loyd to Las Vegas and the No. 2 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft to the Seattle Storm, according to ESPN. Li Yueru, a 6-foot-7 center, also heads to Seattle in the deal. 

Plum, the Aces’ No. 1 overall pick in 2017, has been as excellent as initially advertised over her seven seasons with the franchise. The 30-year-old guard has made three All-Star teams, was named to the All-WNBA team in 2022, and helped Las Vegas win back-to-back WNBA championships in 2022 and 2023. 

Things didn’t go as smoothly for Plum and the Aces in 2024, as her field goal and 3-point percentages dipped from the year prior while Las Vegas fell to the eventual champion New York Liberty, 3-1, in the WNBA Playoffs semifinals. 

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Las Vegas will get a reset at the guard position in Loyd, who has a bit more size at 5-foot-11 compared to Plum at 5-foot-8. Loyd, 31, had spent her entire career in Seattle, winning Rookie of the Year in 2015 before leading the Storm to two WNBA championships. 

After parting ways with Curt Miller and replacing him with longtime University of Utah coach Lynne Roberts in November, the Sparks are making a win-now move with this deal. Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson both thoroughly impressed as rookies last season and are expected to take a leap, though the former is coming off a torn ACL. 

Dearica Hamby was the Sparks’ pleasant surprise amid a down 2024, as she set career highs in points (17.3), rebounds (9.2) and steals (1.7). Plum’s outside shooting ability should help space the floor for those three and unlock a higher level for the Los Angeles offense. 

The Storm, meanwhile, will pick second in what projects to be a fascinating 2025 WNBA Draft. UConn’s Paige Bueckers, LSU’s Aneesah Morrow and USC’s Kiki Iriafen are all in play for Seattle with that selection. 

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