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Storm GM breaks silence on three-team trade involving Jewell Loyd, Kelsey Plum

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matt Wadleigh | Last updated Feb 18, 2025 11:56 PM ET

On Jan. 26, the Seattle Storm, Las Vegas Aces and Los Angeles Sparks threw a major trade into the WNBA offseason.

The trade sent Kelsey Plum to LA and Jewell Loyd to Las Vegas as the headliners.

The deal also involved the Sparks receiving the No. 9 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft from the Storm with Seattle acquiring the No. 2 overall pick and Li Yueru from Los Angeles.

The Aces, in turn, landed the No. 13 overall pick, so there were a lot of moving parts.

Loyd, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 WNBA Draft, had spent her entire career with the Storm.

The six-time All-Star also won the 2023 WNBA All-Star Game MVP, a pair of WNBA titles and was named the 2015 Rookie of the Year among other accolades.

So, Loyd not being in Seattle will take time to get used to. On Tuesday, Storm general manager Talisa Rhea spoke about the trade, per Madeline Kenney.

"This is not to take away anything that Jewell did during her time here with Seattle," Rhea said. "And we’re appreciative for that.”

In December, Loyd requested a trade after investigations regarding the harassment and bullying from the team's coaching staff.

Those complaints were initially filed by Loyd, so it was a whirlwind of an offseason in Seattle.

Ultimately, no violations were found after the investigations, but Loyd still held fast to her desire to be traded.

Now, Loyd begins a new chapter for the first time in her WNBA career with the Aces, who ended the 2024 postseason with a 3-1 series loss to the New York Liberty in the Semifinals.

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

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