The Phoenix Mercury made another splash in their roster makeover, acquiring All-Star Satou Sabally and parting ways with veteran forward Sophie Cunningham, according to an ESPN report.
The network reported that Phoenix traded for the Dallas Wings’ two-time All-Star forward in a three-team deal with Indiana on Friday. The Mercury dealt Cunningham and their 2025 second-round pick (No. 19 overall) in the 2025 draft to the Indiana Fever.
Sabally is the second major acquisition by the Mercury, who traded for former Connecticut Sun All-Star and multi-year MVP candidate Alyssa Thomas on Tuesday.
Following the trade news, Sabally went on her Instagram to repost a photo created by Bleacher Report of herself, Thomas and Sabally’s new Phoenix teammate Kahleah Copper in Mercury uniforms. Sabally wrote a caption above the photo that read, “New beginnings.”
Sabally agreed with Dallas to be sent to the Mercury via sign-and-trade, one day before players can officially sign with teams in free agency on Saturday. Sabally and the Wings had to agree on the sign-and-trade deal after Dallas extended a core qualifying offer for her earlier this month.
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The Wings retained exclusive negotiating rights as Sabally met with teams in the free-agent market, so an agreement had to be reached with Sabally regarding her next destination.
The other players that the Mercury reportedly will receive in the Sabally trade include Kalani Brown and Sevgi Uzun. Dallas would acquire Ty Harris and NaLyssa Smith from Indiana, the rights to Mikiah Herbert Harrigan from Phoenix and Indiana’s No. 8 pick for 2025.
Harris came to Phoenix in the Thomas trade.
Sabally is entering her sixth season out of Oregon. Last season, she was the Wings’ second-leading scorer at 17.9 points per game behind the 2024 Phoenix All-Star Game MVP Arike Ogunbowale. She grabbed 6.4 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.3 steals, and was the team’s third-best in 3-point percentage on her career-high 45.2%.
Sabally earned the 2023 Most Improved Player award, was an All-WNBA First Team selection and was fifth in MVP voting that same year.
Cunningham, a Phoenix fan favorite, has spent her entire six-year career in the Valley. She averaged 8.4 points and 3.9 rebounds in 21 starts and played all 40 games last season.
Mercury’s 2025 salary cap outlook entering free agency
The Mercury are heading in a new direction from its veteran roster in 2025. They had a 19-21 record and first-round playoff exit under first-year coach Nate Tibbetts. However, it was a substantial improvement after a league-worst record of 9-31 in 2023.
Phoenix’s front office did a huge salary dump of their multiple starters and rotation players this week in free agency. That made room for the versatile 11-year forward Thomas and Sabally. According to Spotrac, their salary cap space sheet moved from fourth to third-most ($934,203) after those trades. They are behind No. 2 Seattle Storm and the expansion team Golden State Valkyries at the top.
Legendary Phoenix center Brittney Griner is off the books after she joined Atlanta as an unrestricted free agent Jan. 28.
In addition to the Cunningham deal, former starting point guard Natasha Cloud was sent to Connecticut with wing Rebecca Allen for Thomas. Griner was paid $150,000, and Cunningham signed a one-year, $100,000 extension for the next season last September. Cloud is owed $200,000 for 2025. Allen is due $160,000 for her second stint in Connecticut within three years, and her contract expires like Cloud’s in 2026.
The Mercury’s top salary is Copper, owed a $248,134 supermax for 2025. Thomas will get a supermax from Phoenix because of her $218,000 salary last year. She was cored by Connecticut, which kept her in supermax territory after the sign-and-trade. The same thing happened for Sabally, who was cored by Dallas before being sent to Phoenix.
Combining the salaries of Copper, Thomas and Sabally for 2025 would put the Mercury’s cap space just short of $700,000. That’s if Diana Taurasi, the team’s second-highest paid player last season, doesn’t return.
There’s also the possibility of the Mercury hosting a reunion with Thomas’ fiancée and unrestricted free agent DeWanna Bonner
, her fellow All-Star teammate who was paid $200,000 last year. ESPN reported that Phoenix is one of Bonner’s two finalists.
WNBA teams are hard-capped, so there likely won’t be more than four players at the max and supermax levels, given the roster size limited to 12.
Check back at azcentral for more updates on the Mercury’s player transactions and free agency breakdown.
