Aces trade Plum to Sparks, acquire 6-time All Star Loyd from Storm
The Aces are trading guard Kelsey Plum and acquiring Seattle Storm guard Jewell Loyd in a three-team move, a source confirmed to the Review-Journal on Sunday.
The Aces will also receive the No. 13 pick in the 2025 WNBA draft, while the Storm are acquiring the No. 2 pick and center Li Yueru from the Los Angeles Sparks. The Sparks will take the No. 9 selection from Seattle and add Plum.
ESPN was the first to report the trade. It also said the Aces are sending their 2026 first-round pick to Seattle in the deal.
Plum, 30, has spent her entire WNBA career with the Aces after being selected first overall in 2017 out of Washington. The All-Star guard declined a contract extension this year. Sources said she requested a trade after the Aces extended her a core-qualifying offer Jan. 11.
Coach Becky Hammon said last month the team wouldn’t have won back-to-back WNBA championships in 2022 and 2023 without Plum and was trying to find an outcome that would work for everyone.
Loyd, the Aces’ newest player, is a two-time WNBA champion, a three-time All-WNBA selection and a two-time Olympic gold medalist. The 31-year-old was the No. 1 overall pick out of Notre Dame in 2015.
Loyd scored a career-high 24.7 points per game with the Storm in 2023. She averaged 19.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game last season.
Loyd requested a trade after a league investigation into bullying by Seattle coaches found no wrongdoing.
The fit
Sunday’s trade breaks up the Aces’ “Cour Four” of three-time MVP A’ja Wilson, guard Jackie Young, guard Chelsea Gray and Plum.
The move appears to work for all parties, however.
Plum will be closer to her family and her hometown of Poway, California, with the Sparks. She will also reunite with former Aces player Dearica Hamby.
Plum isn’t likely to sign an extension with Los Angeles until the WNBA has a new collective bargaining agreement, but she reportedly wants to stick around beyond this season.
The same is true for Loyd with the Aces, sources said. Wilson and Loyd have a close relationship after competing in two Olympics together for Team USA. Gray, Young and Plum were also on the American team that won gold in Paris this summer.
Big picture
The Aces, along with the rest of the WNBA, were quiet this offseason before this blockbuster trade.
Now, a domino effect is likely to take place around the league. That means the Aces have some decisions to make.
Veterans Alysha Clark, Tiffany Hayes and Sydney Colson remain unrestricted free agents. All of them indicated to the Review-Journal after the season they want to stay in Las Vegas, but the Aces don’t have much cap space available. The team already has Wilson, Young, Gray, center Kiah Stokes, center Megan Gustafson and forward Kierstan Bell under contract.
The Aces also have a reserved free agent in center Queen Egbo, who was signed toward the end of last season. The team has expressed interest in keeping unsigned 2024 draftee Liz Kitley as well.
The Aces will need to make their roster decisions without a general manager. President Nikki Fargas and vice president of basketball operations Tonya Holley took the lead on the Plum trade and are likely to continue leading the front office, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.
The 2025 first-round pick the Aces received in Sunday’s deal helps them replace the first-round pick they lost after the WNBA punished the team following an investigation into alleged violations of league and team workplace policies.
Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.
