Phoenix Mercury 2024 Season Preview
Diana Taurasi enters her twenty first season in the WNBA. Find out how the Phoenix Mercury do.
Lisa Donovan Posted on 5/6/2024.
The Phoenix Mercury went 9-31 in 2023, but hope to improve on that in 2024. The Phoenix Mercury have Diana Taurasi at point guard, Sophie Cunningham at shooting guard, Kahleah Copper at small forward after trading the third pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft to get her and Brittney Griner at center. The Phoenix Mercury also have Charisma Osborne as a depth player with their third round pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft after not having a first or second round pick.
Diana Taurasi becoming the first WNBA player to score 10,000 career points was the peak of the Phoenix Mercury 2023 season after being the only WNBA team with under 10 wins last year. Diana Taurasi averaged 16 points per game, 4.6 assists per game, and 3.6 rebounds per game at point guard in 2023. Sophie Cunningham averaged 11.6 points per game, 2.8 rebounds per game, and 2.1 assists per game next to Taurasi at shooting guard.
Kahleah Copper led the Chicago Sky in points per game at shooting guard last year, but she is versatile enough to play the wing at small forward which is where Copper will move after leading the Chicago Sky with 18.7 points per game in 2023. Copper had 25 points for the Chicago Sky when they got eliminated by the Las Vegas Aces.
Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner led the Phoenix Mercury in points in 2023. Brittney Griner had 17.5 points per game, 6.3 rebounds per game, 2.2 assists per game, and 1.6 blocks per game last year. Brittney Griner is versatile enough to play both power forward and center making her the one true big on the Phoenix Mercury.
Power forward is the one weakness on the Phoenix Mercury. It is also worth pointing out that Diana Taurasi, Sophie Cunningham, and Brittney Griner signed one year contracts to remain with the Mercury. Taurasi and Griner will retire as members of the Mercury after being number one overall draft picks in 2004 with Taurasi as a former Connecticut Huskie and 2013 with Griner as a former Baylor Bear on Kim Mulkey's Baylor basketball team. Sophie Cunningham, the Phoenix Mercury's 2019 second round pick is the wild card.
Phoenix may not be a playoff team this year since this team still needs a power forward to round out the starting five. If Taurasi or Griner retires after this season, the rebuild for the Phoenix Mercury could be longer. The Phoenix Mercury have $768,090 dollars to spend in 2025 with Copper being the only starter under contract for 2025. It will cost around $540,000 to retain Taurasi, Griner, and Cunningham if all three of those core players want to return to the Phoenix Mercury after this season. As long as Taurasi and Griner stay loyal to the Mercury, I really don't see a lot of turnover in Phoenix.
I can see the Phoenix Mercury competing in 2025 if two things happen. First a power forward to round out this starting five has to be addressed through a trade, Free Agency, or the 2025 WNBA Draft. Second, Taurasi, Griner, and Cunningham all have to agree to extensions with the Phoenix Mercury after this season. If those two things happen, the Phoenix Mercury could be a playoff team in 2025. There's also the possibility that the Mercury draft a successor to Taurasi in 2025 if the best player on the board in the first round is a point guard instead of a power forward, but that's a discussion for another day.
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