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Mercury sign Celeste Taylor to rest-of-season contract, ending her rookie year uncertainty

Originally posted on Burn City Sports | By Alec Cipollini | Last updated Sep 6, 2024 4:13 PM ET

It has been a rocky journey for Celeste Taylor to find a stable home in the WNBA since being drafted in April, but it looks like she has finally found some stability with the Phoenix Mercury.

Selected by the Indiana Fever with a second-round pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, she would then be waived, signed to a seven-day contract by Phoenix, released, picked up by the Connecticut Sun to a short-term deal, released again and brought back by the Mercury to two separate seven-day contracts.

Phoenix lost 90-77 to the Washington Mystics on Thursday, just hours before Taylor’s final short-term deal expired at midnight.

With both Rebecca Allen and Charisma Osborne out with injuries and the Mercury signing Amy Atwell on Thursday, there was uncertainty floating around about whether that was Taylor’s final game as a Mercury or not.

With speculation surrounding what Phoenix was going to do, the Mercury put those rumors to bed as she signed a rest-of-season contract to remain with the team.

With the expiration of her third 7-day contract, the Phoenix Mercury have signed Celeste Taylor to a rest-of-season contract to remain with the team and put this season’s uncertainty behind her.#ValleyTogether #WNBA https://t.co/gJFWdjR2FX

— Burn City Mercury (@BurnCityMercury) September 6, 2024

The 5-foot-11 guard is averaging 3.3 points, 1.8 assists and 1.3 rebounds per game with the Mercury. During this season as a whole, Taylor has played 17 games (one start), posting 2.2 points and 1.1 assists per game.

With Phoenix already signing her to three seven-day contracts, the team reached the WNBA limit of how many times a team could agree to terms with an individual player to that particular kind of deal. The team’s options were to either sign her to a rest-of-season deal or release her, and they picked the first choice.

“It’s been great. “This is a place that took a chance on me, believed in me all the way through the line of the players, to the staff, to the front office,” Taylor said after Thursday’s game. “Just being able to come in, feel wanted, feel like there are ways I can impact the game and be given an opportunity, I am very, very grateful.”

“This is a place that took a chance on me, believed in me.”

With her 7-day contract set to expire soon, Phoenix Mercury guard Celeste Taylor (@_celeste620) responded to @AlecCipollini about how her time in Phoenix has been.#ValleyTogether #WNBA #BallOnOurTerms pic.twitter.com/qPgq0lEGhJ

— Burn City Mercury (@BurnCityMercury) September 6, 2024

Multiple teammates of hers and head coach Nate Tibbetts have spoken highly of the 23-year-old since she originally joined the team on July 12, praising her ability to learn and communicate, showing signs of maturity, adapting to the professional game and being able to help her team in any way she can.

Allen (Right Hamstring) and Osborne (Lower Left Leg) have yet to be cleared to play. Both have not featured in a Mercury game since the WNBA’s Olympic break, with Osborne being out since June 22.

Phoenix heads on the road to face former Mercury Skylar Diggins-Smith and the Seattle Storm (20-14) on Saturday at 6 p.m. PT.

This article first appeared on Burn City Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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