The WNBA offseason has been a busy one and only continues to get more interesting. The Phoenix Mercury recently dealt veteran point guard Natasha Cloud to the Connecticut Sun as part of a four-team trade that also included the Indian Fever and the Dallas Wings. The surprising move caught many by surprise, but none more than Cloud herself.
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Cloud, 33, had signed with the Mercury just one season ago after spending 9 years with the Washington Mystics, a team she helped capture a WNBA championship in 2019.
In her final year in Washington, Cloud averaged 12.7 PPG and helped bring the Mystics back to the playoffs. Unfortunately, they were eliminated by the New York Liberty in the first round. Suffice to say, a change needed to be made.
The latest trade involving Cloud helped get Alyssa Thomas to the Mercury. It also took her completely by surprise. She spoke about it in detail during an interview on the OGs podcast with hosts Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller.
“I found out through an assistant coach texting me ‘I really appreciated coaching you. You a real one,'” Cloud began. “I said, ‘Huh?'”
Cloud then divulged a conversation she had with the Mercury GM and expressed how frustrating it was to be kept in the dark. She understood the deal was business but admitted to being upset because the GM and head coach Nate Tibbetts, assured her she would “retire a Mercury.”
“The trade is business, I understand that, but y’all owed me more for what I gave to that organization,” she stated.
Natasha cloud talks about the phoenix Mercury and Connecticut sun trade
The way she found out she was traded is diabolical pic.twitter.com/b34JX5zFkt
— Domo (@ddubxdo) March 11, 2025
The Tibbetts relationship seems to be the aspect that affected Cloud the most. She told Haslem and Miller that she had called Nate the night before, but he never answered.
“He ain’t pickup,” she recalled. “I knew why once the next day it happened. You always call me back.”
Cloud will be entering the 2025 WNBA season with a chip on her shoulder. The Sun play the Mercury on June 18th. Fans must wonder if Cloud is keeping a watchful eye on that date with plans to unleash a revenge game against her former squad.
