Mercury acquire Kahleah Copper from Sky for draft picks, Onyenwere and Turner
FILE - Chicago Sky’s Kahleah Copper drives to the basket during a WNBA basketball game against the Seattle Storm Friday, July 28, 2023, in Chicago. The Phoenix Mercury acquired 2021 Finals MVP Kahleah Copper from the Chicago Sky for four draft picks, including the No. 3 choice this year. Chicago also will receive Michaela Onyenwere and Brianna Turner from the Mercury . “To my new teammates and coaches: you’re getting all of me,” Copper said on Instagram on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. “My hunger, my desire, my competitive spirit. Every. Damn. Possession.”(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)
The Phoenix Mercury acquired 2021 Finals MVP Kahleah Copper from the Chicago Sky for four draft picks, including the No. 3 choice this year.
Chicago also will receive Michaela Onyenwere and Brianna Turner from the Mercury.
“To my new teammates and coaches: you’re getting all of me,” Copper said on Instagram on Tuesday. “My hunger, my desire, my competitive spirit. Every. Damn. Possession.”
Copper had agreed to a two-year extension with Chicago last September and solidified herself as the centerpiece of the organization. She averaged 12 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists during her seven seasons with the Sky, including a career-best 18.7 last year.
“The opportunity to add a player of Kahleah’s caliber in the prime of her career is rare,” Mercury general manager Nick U’Ren said. “She is one of the most dynamic and athletic players in our league, with a true knack for scoring the ball. She is also a fierce competitor, proven champion and the ultimate two-way player, who can disrupt the game on the defensive end with her length and activity.”
The 29-year-old guard was stellar the past three seasons, including during the Sky’s championship run in 2021 when she averaged 17.7 points and 5.9 rebounds on the way to earning the Finals MVP.
The Mercury will also give Chicago it’s first round pick in 2026 and send back the 2025 second-round pick that the Sky had given to Phoenix in an earlier trade. Chicago is also sending Morgan Bertsch to the Mercury.
Turner spent five seasons in Phoenix, appearing in 158 games and earning All-Defensive first-team selections in 2020 and 2021. Onyenwere, who was the league’s Rookie of the Year in 2021, was acquired by Phoenix last season. She averaged 8.9 points and 3.7 rebounds last season.
It’s been an aggressive offseason for Phoenix as they try to add to the dynamic duo of Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi, who is in the final year of her contract. The Mercury added Natasha Cloud as a free agent and then acquired Rebecca Allen in a sign-and-trade deal with the Connecticut Sun over the weekend.
The Sky brought back guard Diamond DeShields, who played her first four seasons with the team before going to Phoenix in 2022. She sat out last season because of injury.