Bye, Bye Brittney; Griner Goes To Dream In Free Agency

Brittney Griner, a WNBA legend, is moving from the only home she has ever known, The Phoenix Mercury. She has agreed to a one year contract in Atlanta to play for their team, The Dream. However, Griner leaving isn’t the only thing that happened in Phoenix last night, the Mercury also traded for Alyssa Thomas, another all-star and Olympic gold-medalist. Brittney Griner was the number one pick in 2013, and played 11 seasons for the Mercury. Griner however, did not play in the entire 2022 WNBA season, because she was controversially arrested in February of 2022 in Russia for possessing illegal substances. Griner is special because, not only is she a super-star, she can also dunk. She holds the most dunks over a career in WNBA history with 26! After the Dream have had two rough seasons below .500, seeing a super-star come is a sign of hope. In addition, hiring a new coach-Karl Smesko, FGCU’s former head coach-who is known for playing smaller, perimeter line-ups. Smesko has no previous WNBA coaching experience, and having a perimeter team, with a post-control of Brittney Griner, is very appealing to any coach. It will be interesting to see how he manages the new talent. Just like others, the move is official, but will not happen until February 1st, due to free agency policies. Brittney Griner announced her departure around 8:30, just three hours after the Mercury finalized a trade to send Natasha Cloud, Rebecca Allen, and the number twelve pick in the 2025 WNBA draft to the Connecticut Sun in exchange for Alyssa Thomas and Tyasha Harris. In my opinion, this trade is slightly better for the Mercury, and I think they won the trade. They brought in another spectacular big who can fill the void of no Brittney Griner, for a number three option and first round pick. This is just speculation, but all the movement in Phoenix makes me wonder, do the Mercury know something we don’t? Is Diana Taurasi retiring? It would explain Griner’s departure, and the Mercury looking for another all-star for their roster. Stay tuned for more news! I called it, DT retired! Stay tuned for an article reflecting her career coming soon.