Five-time All-Star guard Kelsey Plum on Thursday said she’s “not taking anything personal” amid growing speculation that the Los Angeles Sparks could move her before Sunday’s trade deadline.
“The thing about professional sports is it’s business,” Plum told reporters. “At the end of the day, people have to do what’s best for them, and I respect that. And I’m not taking anything personal. For me, I’m going to be where my feet are.”
Plum, who has been out since June 21 because of a lower left leg injury, said she intends to play in the Sparks’ next game — on the road against the Portland Fire — which tips 30 minutes after Sunday’s 3 p.m. ET trade deadline.
“I play for the Sparks, so on Sunday, I’m going to suit up and I’m going to give them whatever minute restriction, fill-the-blank-in minutes of hell, coming off the bench,” Plum said following her first official team practice Thursday. “I’m actually really excited about it.”
The Sparks (10-17) are mired in a six-game losing streak and have gone 2-9 in this stretch without Plum, who also missed time earlier in the season because of an ankle injury.
Plum, who led the league in scoring earlier this season, is averaging 23.9 points and 6.4 assists per game — both career-highs — in 12 appearances.
The Sparks have fielded calls about possible deals to move Plum, sources told ESPN. And while those conversations have picked up this week, Los Angeles’ asking price has been too high for teams looking to deal for her, sources said.
There is also a concern that Plum, who hits free agency this offseason, would not commit past the remainder of this season, sources said.
Multiple front offices around the league considered the Golden State Valkyries as a potential landing spot for Plum, but a source familiar with the situation told ESPN that the Valkyries are reluctant to part with multiple “key contributors” to their roster whom the Sparks would want to make the deal work.
Built around their depth and a strength-in-numbers identity, the Valkyries have confidence in what their current group can accomplish, the source said, and do not want to rush into making a big move that could disrupt their continuity. Instead, making a move for Plum — or another big-name signing — could be put off until free agency.
Sources told ESPN there’s a real possibility that Plum remains with the Sparks through the deadline and for the rest of the season, with the understanding Los Angeles could very well lose her in free agency next winter.
Plum on Thursday did not address her future with the Sparks.
“There’s a lot of things that are in the unknown, and those are things outside of my control,” Plum said. “For me, my control is to be here, to play the highest level of basketball I could possibly play, and help my team win games.”
Los Angeles is in a precarious position: After initially committing to a rebuild, drafting Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson in 2024, it looked to fast-track its path toward contention by trading the No. 2 draft pick for Plum ahead of the 2025 campaign. The Sparks then brought in veterans Nneka Ogwumike and Ariel Atkins this past offseason, trading Jackson to acquire the latter.
But now the Sparks look unlikely to make the postseason for the sixth straight season while also not ensuring great position in the draft lottery.
The franchise’s vision for the future isn’t entirely clear either. The team parted ways with general manager Raegan Pebley earlier this month, elevating assistant GMs Zack Knowlton and Nate Nielsen, who are both new to the WNBA, in the interim.
Sparks ownership has taken on a more prominent role in running the team as of late, with executive Farhan Zaidi serving as a special advisor to owner Mark Walter. Zaidi indicated in an interview with the Los Angeles Times this week that the Sparks might be willing to change course after this disappointing 2026 campaign.
“We pushed in a lot of chips this year, and we had good reason to do that, but the reality is it hasn’t gone as we’d hoped or expected,” Zaidi told The Times. “Now we have to be open for anything. Everything has to be on the table for us. We have to take a long-term perspective rather than focusing on the rest of the season.
“… We have to be realistic where we are. We don’t want to be that team stuck in the middle. … Our dedicated fans will understand if we have to take a step back to get to that championship level. I can step back if I feel like we’re building something.”
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne also contributed to this report.
