Sports360AZ
By Jeff Metcalfe
In Bristol, Conn., Mat Ishbia had that “what do you mean the Phoenix Suns Big Three still aren’t playing together” look on his face.
Even his young daughter Jaime, wearing a Phoenix Mercury No. 10 (Megan Gustafson) jersey, looked as if she was required to bring a note home from school.
Simultaneously, at the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix, Mercury season ticket holders collectively groaned before half-heartedly sharing in a champagne toast to the team’s future with the No. 3 overall pick instead of No. 1 or 2 come April in the 2024 WNBA draft.
The letdown was natural even though the Mercury’s highest odds (37 percent) were to finish third in the WNBA draft lottery and that indeed happened. Indiana landed the No. 1 pick for a second straight year followed by the Los Angeles Sparks, Mercury and Seattle Storm, teams that failed to make the 2023 playoffs.
The Mercury went into the lottery with the second worst two-season record (24-51) behind Indiana (17-58). The Sparks were 29-46 over that stretch and Seattle 33-42. But lottery numbers and good fortune don’t always go your way.
The Mercury parlayed draft lottery No. 1 picks in 2004 (Diana Taurasi), 2007 (Lindsay Harding, traded for Tangela Smith) and 2013 (Brittney Griner) into three WNBA championships. Their 2007 windfall came in spite of having the lowest odds (2.5) for No. 1 in league history.
#Mercury GM on landing No. 3 overall pick in 2024 #wnba draft pic.twitter.com/nQYvJQY13s
— jeffmetcalfe (@jeffmetcalfe) December 10, 2023
They also had the 2006 No. 2 lottery pick in Cappie Pondexter, who played on two of Phoenix’s title teams.
So for the Mercury’s first draft lottery appearance since 2013 – after 10 consecutive playoff seasons – to have a No. 3 outcome is more cyclical than tragic.
That’s the tone Mercury general manager Nick U’Ren struck with the media after the nationally televised lottery.
“It’s human nature, once they start to reveal the picks your heart rate starts to go up a little bit,” U’Ren said. “But I think our whole organization has done a pretty good job of being quite pragmatic all week. If there was something we could do to control it, we absolutely would, but its match and odds and ping pong balls. I was quite ready for anything to happen today. The odds actually say this scenario was the most likely. This is no surprise and we’ll wake up tomorrow and get back to work.”
U’Ren was named in July to replace retiring Jim Pitman, still working for owner Ishbia as Suns executive vice president/chief financial officer. Previously, U’Ren was with the Golden State Warriors in various jobs for nine years.
In addition to No. 3 overall, the Mercury have the No. 25 and No. 29 picks (first and fifth picks of the third round) in the 2024 draft, scheduled for April 15. They have just six players under contract — Taurasi, Sophie Cunningham, Brianna Turner, Moriah Jefferson, Michaela Onyenwere and Kadi Sissoko – with Griner expected to re-sign, probably for a max salary (up from $165,100 in 2023).
Still with Skylar Diggins-Smith, out in 2023 on maternity leave, not returning, U’Ren has some salary cap leeway going into free agency in February.
“I’m really excited about the combination of what we can do with this team in January and February but then all the way into the draft and hopefully take a positive step forward next season (from a 9-31 record),” U’Ren said.
#Mercury GM Nick U’Ren after #wnba draft lottery pic.twitter.com/I3GfvXc3QN
— jeffmetcalfe (@jeffmetcalfe) December 10, 2023
Many of the projected top draft picks could return to college in 2024-25 because of extra eligibility granted for COVID or injury. Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, Connecticut’s Paige Bueckers and Aaliyah Edwards, Stanford’s Cameron Brink, South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso, LSU’s Angel Reese and Virginia Tech’s Georgia Amoore all fit into that category, with the incentive of lucrative NIL deals should they remain in school.
Taurasi, 41, going into her 20 th and likely final WNBA season, will leave a major hole in the back court and as a drawing card. If Clark and Bueckers are not available at No. 3 but 6-4 Brink is, the Mercury would do well to pair her and 6-9 Griner as a foundational front court under the new coaching staff headed by Nate Tibbetts and Kristi Toliver.
Toliver’s hiring as associate head coach was announced Dec. 1 with the remainder of Tibbetts’ staff still to come.
“We’re thrilled she chose to come work with us,” U’Ren said Toliver, a two-time WNBA champion with NBA assistant coaching experience. “She’ll be a tremendous asset to our team, our staff, our fan base.”
