Report: Three-team WNBA trade has Loyd, Plum on move

Jewell Loyd. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Report: Blockbuster three-team WNBA trade has Jewell Loyd, Kelsey Plum on move

By Adam Gretz | Last updated Jan 26, 2025 9:16 PM ET

The Seattle Storm, Las Vegas Aces and Los Angeles Sparks got together on Sunday night to reportedly complete a blockbuster three-team trade that will see two All-Star players and several first-round draft picks all switch teams.

Six-time All-Star Jewell Loyd, who is on the move from Seattle to Las Vegas, and Kelsey Plum, who goes from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, are the two biggest names involved.

Here are the final details, according to ESPN:

Las Vegas receives: Loyd and No. 13 overall pick in 2025 WNBA Draft (from Los Angeles)

Los Angeles receives: Plum and the No. 9 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft (from Seattle)

Seattle receives: Li Yueru and the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA draft, both from Los Angeles

The Storm are acquiring the No. 2 pick in the 2025 WNBA draft and Li Yueru from the Sparks in this three-team trade, with the Sparks getting No. 9 from Seattle and the Aces receiving No. 13 from LA, sources tell me, @ramonashelburne, @alexaphilippou and @kendra__andrews. https://t.co/Di1CWmMyTF
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 27, 2025

Loyd, 31, joins an Aces team that has been one of the best in the WNBA over the past three years. They won back-to-back championships in 2022 and 2023 before losing in the semifinals in 2024 to the eventual champion New York Liberty.

Prior to this trade, she has spent her entire 10-year career in Seattle, winning a Rookie of the Year award and two championships.

She had expressed a desire to get a fresh start this offseason and will get exactly that on a loaded Vegas roster that should once again be one of the best teams in the league.

She averaged 19.7 points per game in 2024 and has averaged 16.9 points per game in her career.

Plum has been an All-Star in Vegas in each of the past three seasons and will give the Sparks a serious short-term upgrade as they try to improve from a 2024 season that saw them finish with the league's third-best record.

As for Seattle, this is an opportunity to get its own fresh start and add a potential high-level young talent into its organization. Notre Dame teammates Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron figure to be the next two picks off the board after UConn's Paige Bueckers (who is widely projected to be the No. 1 overall pick to Dallas).

Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on Twitter @AGretz

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