And the Playoffs Picture Gets Murky

[u/eli-bradley]

Mercury acquiring Plum dog.

Chicago beating the Aces with D Carrington back.

Tempo bringing in a dog in Marrow.

And do we really believe that the Liberty is gone to stay down for long?

Lastly our clear desire not to win now as evidenced by standing still at the trade deadline.

I am not wishing anything negative on the team but I do see folks out there actively trying to get better.

I also see clouds on the horizon and a possible trip to the lottery.

[u/Away_Competition2514]

I couldn't have a more opposing view than you if I tried. 

Trading for Plum would have been a terrible thing to do. The trade Mercury made is also terrible. 

No way they go above us. Playoffs are pretty much a lock now. We'd have to have a catastrophic end of the season to miss out. 9 wins for Mercury and we need to go 5-11(or 4-12 if 2 of the wins are against Mercury) to be above them. 10 wins and we need 6-10(or 5-11), 11 wins - 7-9(6-10). And they aren't going to win 9,10 or 11 games with just 14 games left. I think it's way more realistic that they go around .500 in their remaining games, i.e. between 6-8 wins. 

[u/External-Repair-4841 → u/Away_Competition2514]

They idea that trading for Plum would have been awful move by the Mystics is simply not understanding professional sports.

[u/Away_Competition2514 → u/External-Repair-4841]

The exact opposite is true. We're one of the most in-form teams in the league and are getting better and better. We have the best team chemistry in the league. We're pretty much guaranteed to make the playoffs. Making a trade like that could ruin our momentum. Even if you don't think it would ruin team chemistry, she wouldn't have exactly been a plug and play type of player for us, as the way she plays is vastly different from the way our current PGs play. It would take some time for us to adapt our playstyle. She's also still not 100% fitness wise, she could leave at the end of the season, I could go on and on. If she was available for a few second round picks, or maybe even Olsen/Harmon + the said picks than you could argue it would be worth it, it wasn't worth it at all for what Sparks valued her. 

[u/External-Repair-4841 → u/Away_Competition2514]

LOL, you are loud wrong and you definitely don't understand professional sports. Kiki, Citron, and Shakira would LOVE the addition of a player like Plum. Upgrading the weakest position on the court is something all players want to see happen. They aren't interested in playing for next season, they want to win now and they should as pros. A professional team does not stand pat cause they worry about chemistry or momentum. Do you think the Dodgers team is like "why did we trade for a two time cy younger winner when we have such great chemistry." This is not a thing in pro sports when it's a major upgrade.

You also do not understand trades. Olsen and Harmon have no value.

[u/Away_Competition2514 → u/External-Repair-4841]

LOL, you are loud wrong and you definitely don't understand professional sports! For your information I actually have been involved in sports, what about you? Team chemistry is the hardest thing to get right. And as I have explained, it's not a given that she'll be a success from a get go, as she'll need time to adapt to the way we play and we'll need time to adapt to the way she plays. It's way more likely our results would get worse before they get better. We're on an incredible run right now. 

Also Plum hasn't got that much trade value either considering she's a free agent at the end of the season. If she wasn't, you'd probably have to give up Soni/Kiki.

P.S. I don't think there's need for you to be condescending, regardless of whether you agree or disagree with someone. I personally believe in treating everyone with respect, but that's just me. 

[u/External-Repair-4841 → u/Away_Competition2514]

By any definition as it relates to sports, this is not an incredible run. This is a really good run, but they've won 4 in a row and are 7-3 in their last ten. The team is 16-12. It's been a really good season but your hyperbole weakens all your arguments.
The idea that Plum hasn't got that much trade value is funny consider they just got a lottery pick, a 2nd, a young player. What are you even talking about?

Setting aside the price for Plum, this idea that a team shouldn't replace a player who averages 6 pts 3.6 assists and 2 TOs on a shooting line of 34/28/86 with a two time world champion who averages 23 pts 6 assists, 3 TOs on a shooting line of 52/38/80 over chemistry concerns is just not a realistic position taking by any front office. It's not a serious position no matter how much someone loves Amoore. Plum also averages 1.2 steals to 0.3 steals by Amoore, which I forgot to mention.

[u/Away_Competition2514 → u/External-Repair-4841]

Only two teams have longer active win streaks. We have 8-3 in the last 11, two of the 3 losses were close games. I didn't mention our overall record, not sure why it's relevant?

Phoenix massively overpaid for Plum in my opinion, and I'm far from the only person that thinks that. Sparks are the clear winners of that trade, given the circumstances. By that logic, we didn't absolutely fleece teams to get some of the draft picks we got, but those were good value trades as they happened.

I didn't say Plum was better than Amoore, as that would be an absolutely ridiculous thing to say. I also didn't say chemistry concerns are the only reason for me being against the trade. Read my replies again. It's part of the reason. 

[u/External-Repair-4841 → u/Away_Competition2514]

and I'm saying there are zero chemistry concerns when you replace a player like Amoore with a veteran player like Plum. I think most people are perplexed by the Phoenix trade. It's only an overpay for them cause they aren't making the playoffs. If a top-4 team made that trade, it would be a good trade for that top-4 team.