Aces May Already Regret Letting Kelsey Plum Go

Plum was a key member of Las Vegas's championship-winning teams in 2022 and 2023, and few players in The W have the kind of pluck and skill set she does. Over her first two games with the Sparks, Plum is averaging 27.5 points, 5.5 assists and 3.0 steals. Loyd, who is a six-time All-Star and no slouch herself, has averaged 12.5 points and 4.5 rebounds over her first two games in an Aces uniform.

On the May 21 episode of The Ringer's WNBA Show, Seerat Sohi spoke to ESPN's Alexa Philippou about the first few games of the season, and they touched on one of the primary ways Las Vegas might miss its erstwhile shooting guard, particularly after getting blown out in the season opener by the New York Liberty, 92-78.

"I'm still not sure they made the moves they needed to in the off-season to properly respond to the issues the Liberty have posed to them," Philippou said, noting the Aces didn't add enough size to compete with the likes of Rebecca Lobo and Jonquel Jones. "Jewell Loyd was uninvolved for large swaths of the game, so that was an issue."

Sohi also noted that the Aces currently don't have anyone who can shoot corner 3's the same way Plum can. "That's an aspect of the Aces offense that's really vital to them," Sohi said. "They took more corner 3's than any team in The W last season." Loyd has her strengths, to be sure, but she's not the dime-dropper from the corners Plum is. 

Again, it's early. Both the Aces and Sparks are 1-1. But if the rest of the season plays out even remotely close to the way the first two games have, Hammon and company are going to wish they hadn't sent Plum packing.