The Los Angeles Sparks executed a blockbuster deal hours before the 2026 WNBA trade deadline, moving Kelsey Plum to the Phoenix Mercury in exchange for Monique Akoa Makani, a 2027 first-round pick and a 2028 second-rounder.
The deal, clearly, doesn’t make LA better in the immediate future. Plum is averaging 23.9 points and 6.4 assists per game, while Akoa Makani is a second-year player averaging 9.4 points and 2.5 assists.
But, it is a move that sets the Sparks up to do what is necessary at the moment:
tank, tank and tank.
The Sparks are currently five games out of the eighth and final playoff spot. Trading Plum didn’t make them a better team, but they are no longer feebly chasing a postseason berth.
Now, it’s all about getting the top draft pick. While the WNBA has a lottery, a team can better their odds. It is now in LA’s best interest to lose as much as possible and give themselves a chance of winning that No. 1 spot.
JuJu Watkins, if she declares, will be the top pick, and she’s a bona fide superstar, transcendent player. These last few draft classes have brought ready-now players into the league, and Watkins, on paper, will be next.
Considering she’s from LA and plays college ball for USC, Watkins remaining in Southern California and suiting up for the Sparks would continue the script for her storybook career.
Regardless of how the lottery plays out, the Sparks did the right thing choosing this path.
The writing has been on the wall for a while with this team.
They haven’t had a winning season since 2020. It’s time to stop pretending they are one move away or just need to get healthy. They weren’t close to a playoff spot and even further from title contention.
Sometimes, the best way to go up is to go down.
They’ve moved Plum, and did so with enough time to tank and salvage what’s left of this year by preparing to get better through the draft.
The rest of this season should be about figuring out who is part of LA’s future and who is not. That way, when the organization hires a new general manager, the Sparks can hit the ground running and this rebuild can actually lead to something, and this carousel of mediocrity can come to an end.
The easiest thing the Sparks could’ve done in this moment is nothing. They could’ve just kept Plum, hoped she’d return next season and taken the risk of losing her for nothing later.
However, that would’ve been LA being bystanders. That type of cowardice shouldn’t be acceptable. One can’t be passive in their own progress. The Sparks knew they weren’t good enough, and they took action.
They deserve a pat on the back for this move…but also maybe a bop on the head for digging themselves into such a mess to begin with.
