Editor’s note: This article is part of our WNBA Trade Deadline coverage, following the moves reshaping the league. Let it never be said that the Phoenix Mercury are afraid to take chances.For the third consecutive season, the Mercury made a blockbuster trade to bring in a multi-time All-Star: first Kahleah Copper in 2024, then Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally in 2025 and now Kelsey Plum in 2026.Phoenix’s actions have made it clear this is a team that believes in reloading, not rebuilding.“Our goal is to win night in and night out,” general manager Nick U’Ren said. “We haven’t done enough of it this year, we hope that we’re winning at a high level both now and moving forward.”That isn’t always the type of sentiment expressed by a team that is eight games under .500. But Phoenix’s two best players coming into the deadline were 31 and 34 (Copper and Thomas). The team can’t tank because of the two-year lottery odds rule; the Mercury won too many games in 2025 to meaningfully improve their draft positioning for 2027.Coach Nate Tibbetts has been emphasizing for weeks that four or five teams are vying for the eighth and final playoff seed, and Phoenix is one of them, even as the Mercury currently sit 6.5 games behind the last playoff spot.U’Ren said he didn’t approach the deadline with the intention of buying or selling, but rather to evaluate whatever deals were available for Phoenix. The Mercury were even exploring the possibility of trading Thomas earlier this season, according to league sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. But once Plum was on the table, Phoenix went into talent acquisition mode, which has been the operating principle since U’Ren took over ahead of the 2024 season.The Mercury haven’t used a first-round pick during U’Ren’s tenure. Their 2027 selection is now in the hands of the Los Angeles Sparks as part of the cost of acquiring Plum. That was a risk Phoenix was willing to take because it has proven itself to be a free-agency and trade destination. When given the choice, the organization has prioritized bringing in a veteran star over developing one through the draft, and the franchise feels confident in its ability to re-recruit Plum once she becomes an unrestricted free agent after this season.“The chance to get Kelsey into our four walls and have her feel what we’re all about and have her feel our staff, our organizational dynamic was really important to us,” U’Ren said. “We wanted to be aggressive in getting her here as early as possible.”