Kelsey Plum returns to Seattle for the first time with a new team, the Los Angeles Sparks, and her old coach Mike Neighbors, who partnered with the former Huskies great and carried the Washington women’s basketball team to three NCAA tournaments and the 2016 Final Four.
“For me it’s funny because I feel like college is a second life and it’s like coming back (to that),” Plum said two weeks ago at the WNBA All-Star Game when asked about reuniting with Neighbors, who is an assistant coach. “It’s like coming back to this lingo and these terms. It’s funny because a lot of my teammates look at me like ‘What does that mean?’ It’s like we’re speaking a different language.
“We have a new staff that’s growing with a young team, so you’re going to see some kinks in the road. But I have all the faith in the world that we’re going to be there in the end when we need to be.”
Following a 5-13 start that dropped them to 12th in the 13-team standings, Los Angeles (11-15) has climbed back into playoff contention while winning six of their past eight games, including five in a row.
Plum’s homecoming is an opportune time to review and hand out grades on the blockbuster three-team trade that included former Storm star Jewell Loyd who was shipped to Las Vegas while Seattle collected a couple of first-round picks as primary compensation.
Storm
Received: Li Yueru, No. 2 pick in 2025 draft (from LA), 2026 first-round pick (from Las Vegas)
Grade: Incomplete
Analysis: The Storm selected Dominique Malonga with the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft and the early results have been mixed.
Some nights the 6-foot-6 French center looks like a budding phenom while tallying 11 points and eight rebounds in fewer than 10 minutes during an instrumental road win against the New York Liberty.
At other times, the 19-year-old rookie — the third youngest player to ever play in the WNBA — will have a four-game stretch where she tallies twice as many fouls (8) as points (4).
The Storm struck gold when they drafted Australian centers Lauren Jackson and Ezi Magbegor, who made their debuts when they were 20 in 2001 and 2020, respectively.
That’s a high bar for Malonga.
Jackson, who is arguably the most dominant player in Storm history, became a three-time league MVP and Naismith Hall of Famer, while Magbegor, a 2023 All-Star, developed into one of the league’s best interior defenders.
Malonga is averaging 5.0 points on 46.5% field-goal shooting, 3.5 rebounds and 10 minutes in 26 games off the bench, which probably won’t be enough to warrant a spot on the All-Rookie team and it remains to be seen if she’ll consistently provide a lift for a sagging Storm bench during the final weeks of the season.
This trade would look a lot better for the Storm had they retained Li Yueru, a 6-7 center who asked to be dealt and was sent to Dallas after just nine games in Seattle.
During 15 games with the Wings, including 11 starts, the third-year veteran is averaging career-highs in points (8.1) and rebounds (6.8) while shooting 45.2% from the field, 37.9% on three-pointers and 84.4% on free throws.
The Storm received conditional draft picks (second round in 2026 and third round in 2027) for Li, which adds to their war chest of draft capital.
The Storm are flush with three first-round picks next year, including picks from Los Angeles (stemming from a 2024 trade) and Las Vegas that become even more valuable if they miss the playoffs.
Sparks
Receive: Plum, No. 9 pick in 2025 draft (Seattle), 2026 second-round pick (from Seattle)
Grade: B+
Analysis: The Sparks finished last in the league at 8-32 in 2024 and first-year coach Roberts, who spent 9½ seasons compiling a 165-116 record with the Utah women’s basketball team, needed a perimeter scorer like Plum to run her high-octane offense that ranked fourth in the nation during the 2022-23 season.
In her L.A. debut, Plum scored 37 points — the most by a WNBA player in a season opener — during a blowout victory against Golden State.
However, the Sparks won just four of their next 17 games.
Still, Plum, who played in her fourth straight All-Star Game, has delivered the goods. She’s increased her scoring (20.2 points per game) from last year and is averaging career highs in rebounds (3.2), assists (6.0) and steals (1.4) to offset 3.2 turnovers per game.
With the No. 9 pick, the Sparks selected guard Sarah Ashlee Barker, and the former Alabama standout is averaging 3.5 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists while starting seven of 23 games. Lately, her minutes and production have diminished while scoring three points in the past 12 games.
Aces
Receive: Loyd, No. 13 pick in 2025 draft (from LA)
Grade: C-
Analysis: Initially Las Vegas received high marks for landing a six-time All-Star guard who averaged 22.2 points the previous two years and led the league in scoring (24.7 points per game) in 2023.
On paper, slotting Loyd in Plum’s old spot seemed like a seamless fit considering her ties to Aces stars A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray — the quartet shares the same agent, Jade-Li English.
But on the court, it’s not working.
Loyd is averaging 10.7 points — her fewest since her 2015 rookie year — and a career-low 1.9 assist per game. She’s shooting 37.0% from the field and 35.6% on three-pointers, but Loyd isn’t getting to the free-throw line like she did in her last two years with the Storm. She averaged a career-high 7.5 attempts in 2023 and 6.8 in 2024. This year, she’s down to 1.5 free throws per game.
After hinting about the move for weeks, coach Becky Hammon replaced Loyd in the lineup on Sunday. It’s the first time she came off the bench since 2019, which snapped a streak of 196 consecutive starts.
Loyd responded with one of her best games while scoring 20 points on 6-for-11 shooting, including 4 of 9 on three-point attempts and 4 for 4 at the line. But she regressed again Tuesday and tallied eight points on 33.3% shooting.
Backup guard Aaliyah Nye, who the Aces selected with L.A.’s pick, has played every game and been a pleasant surprise. Her 4.9 points per game is second among rookies selected in the second round.
The Aces (14-13) have lost as many games as they did last year and are in danger of finishing outside the top four teams for the first since 2018 when they missed the playoffs.
Making matters worse, Las Vegas does not have a first-round draft pick for the next two years.