It’s been an eventful offseason in the WNBA. The new Unrivaled 3-on-3 league is up and running, Caitlin Clark is making news for, well, everything, and the league was shaken up earlier this week by a blockbuster three-team trade that sent Kelsey Plum to the L.A. Sparks, Jewell Loyd to the Las Vegas Aces, and the No. 2 pick in the draft to the Seattle Storm.
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This trade is fascinating on several levels. The ladies from the Good Follow podcast chimed in about it yesterday. They feel the trade could be a game-changer for the Sparks as they attempt to return to relevance after four straight seasons without a postseason appearance. Co-host Ros Gold-Onwude could barely contain herself as she listed the reasons the trade was a huge win for L.A.
“What the Sparks do have is young talent and a lot of size. They needed some extra guard play. Enter Kelsey Plum.”
Gold-Onwude talked about Plum’s work ethic and how she sacrificed in order to help the Aces become a championship team:
“Not only do you need talented guard play, when you’re trying to get back to the playoffs, you need a culture reset. And I think that Kelsey Plum does that as somebody who is a winner at every level.”
She mentioned how Plum has worked on her playmaking to become a more well-rounded player, but it’s the leadership aspect that Gold-Onwude was most excited to see benefit the Sparks.
“Her in combination with Dearica Hamby… those two are great veteran leaders who can help culture-set in the locker room and help Rickea Jackson and hopefully a healthy Cameron Brink take that next step forward.”
Kelsey Plum joining the Sparks is the perfect move for her at this point in her career
The Aces won back-to-back titles but failed to three-peat this past season, and there have been some signs that things were unraveling. Plum and Aces head coach Becky Hammon have seemed to be at odds this past year, with Hammon tearing into Plum on the bench during a playoff loss. She was reportedly offered an extension by the Aces but turned it down, paving the way for her to get a fresh start somewhere else.
Plum grew up in California, so a homecoming makes sense, especially in light of the personal things she’s dealt with in the past year as she and her husband, former NFL tight end Darren Waller, had a very public break-up. Being the veteran leader on a young, promising team is a role tshe should be well-suited for, especially after being overshadowed at times on the star-studded Aces roster.
Plum has done it all throughout her illustrious career. She set the NCAA record for points scored and was the first overall pick of the draft. She’s a WNBA All-Star Game MVP that has won two Olympic gold medals and two WNBA championships. The only thing left for her to do is to lead a team from the bottom of the league to the top, and now she’ll have that chance.
The Sparks haven’t had many reasons to be excited recently, especially after losing Cameron Brink to a torn ACL last year. Finally, things are starting to look up.
