The Phoenix Mercury have added two-time Champion, five-time All-Star, and two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, Kelsey Plum via trade.

Reported by Shams Charania and Kendra Andrews of ESPN, the Mercury acquired Kelsey Plum in exchange for Monique Akoa Makani, a 2027 first-round pick and a 2028 second-round pick.

This is now the fourth time that the Mercury have made a trade for an All-Star in the Mat Ishbia and Nick U’Ren era.

At the present moment, the Mercury are six games behind the 8th-place Liberty, at 11-19. They are 12th in offensive rating at 104.7, 12th in defensive rating at 108.7 and 10th in Net rating at -4.0.

Let’s take a closer look at how Kelsey Plum will shift things for the Mercury.

Pyrotechnic Kelsey Plum

In Kelsey Plum, the Phoenix Mercury have added one of the most lethal scorers in the WNBA over the last four seasons.

In this window since becoming a perineal All-Star in 2022, she’s ranked nothing less than 11th in the W in scoring on a per game basis. She’s averaged 19.4 PPG in this frame of time, on 51.5% from two, 38.2% from three (on 7.0 attempts…!), and 87.3% from the line.

I start with her foundation — the ability to turn corners and get downhill, creating the first domino a defense has to react to. Off the threat of that corner-turn alone, she’s able to garner two, and in many instances two-and-a-half or more, defenders committed to the ball.

This season, for players north of 170 drives, she’s third in drives per game at 17.6 (per Genius Sports).

Through that same crop of 30 players that are north of 170 drives this season, her 18.1 PPG via drives is first, blow-by rate of 21.2 is fourth, and 1.19 points per chance via drives (that includes assist points) ranks first.

She’s firmly one of the best getting downhill, and generally makes good decisions that put pressure on a defenses (on individuals and a team) while dictating the terms of play.

Aligned there, she’s also at 10.0 PPG in the paint, which makes her one of just 13 players in double-digits there, and also one of just two guards in that dominant group (the other being Olivia Miles, who was at 10.1 paint PPG entering play on Sunday) – per WNBA.com.

Lastly, she’s also at an incredible 66.3% in the paint and 85.7% specifically at the rim on 42 attempts.

Due to the constant pressure she keeps on a defense, she’s also able to both embrace and even seek contact to play off, which often renders defenders prone to fouling her – aligning well with Alyssa Thomas, Kahleah Copper, and the Mercury as a team this season.

Her drive, paint, and rim finishing are deadly, and she has all the craft and creativity to navigate to where she wants to be, on her terms.

Plums’s Potent Playmaking

Plum is averaging 6.4 assists per game this season, which is a career-best mark.

To understand just how solid her playmaking has been at the helm of an offense — against defenses fully set to take things away from her — she ranks sixth in the W in assists per game.

That in mind, she’s also at 8.6 kickout passes per 75 possessions, which ranks sixth in the W for players with 70+ assists this season. That stat is indicative of how frequently she turns the corner and, in complement to that, can spray passes out to the perimeter as the defense loads up to stop her drives.

Defenses like to load the gaps and show late low help in anticipation of her drives. Her court mapping and understanding of how to draw two to the ball and get off it is key to countering coverages and finding solutions. She’ll have plenty of talented teammates that can play off the attention she demands from opponents.

plum’s stealthy screen setting impact

Plum’s underrated and undervalued skill is her understanding of — and willingness to engage in — screening.

She’s certainly not new, in any capacity, to one of the main triggers for the Mercury – setting picks for Alyssa Thomas (or what was, in her Vegas case, A’ja Wilson, and in Los Angeles, DeArica Hamby and Nneka Ogwumike) in an inverted fashion. That makes for one of the most troublesome tandem actions in the entire W.

I asked her about both setting inverted pick-and-roll’s, and how hard it is to guard the ones led by Alyssa, in her introductory presser.

“Yeah, I think it’s one of the most difficult actions to guard in the league. She’s a freight train coming down the lane. I’ve been at the receiving end a lot of those shoulder hits,” said Plum.

“So, I’m grateful to not be on that other side anymore. But I think at the end of the day, one of the things about her, she’s just one of the best passers in the world. So, I think you’ve just got to be able to read that ball screen coverage and let her do her thing and give her give her space and uh, just play with pace. She’s going to make the play for me. All I have to do is, you know, convert.”

Additionally, Plum is good with working in guard-guard screening actions, as well as screening off-ball in “double away” or “split” actions. We could also see her being used plenty in “Rip DHO/Peja” actions where she may set a back screen for Copper or DeWanna Bonner, then flow off that into a handoff from Thomas.

She embraces the physicality part of the game as much as anyone, and those qualities show in all parts of her game.

Mercury challenges ahead, integrating kelsey plum

Establishing roles amidst the “Big 3” faction is where my eyes will be most. Additionally:

• Who’s taking how many shots, and when – relative to matchup and game flow
• Go-to actions when in the “clutch”
• Creating space for Plum isolations and drives
• Offensive tempo
• Defending in the clutch with Plum, as teams hunt her out in actions or to make help decisions at the rim (she will compete and draw plenty of fouls on opponents while navigating screens, because of it)

The Mercury have a ton to sort through with not much time afforded to do so, post trade deadline. 14 games are left on the schedule, and they have a playoff chase top of mind.