WNBA trade deadline: Players on the move, grades for every deal
The 2025 WNBA trade deadline is quickly approaching, and there are several players to monitor as movement heats up before the deadline on Thursday, Aug. 7.
Only a couple of players have moved so far with DiJonai Carrington, last year’s Most Improved Player, going to the 2024 WNBA runner-up Minnesota Lynx and 2025 All-Star Brittney Sykes to the Seattle Storm.
Here are a few players that could move and here’s a round up of the 2025 WNBA trade deadline deals so far:
Aug. 5: Seattle Storm trade for Washington Mystics guard Brittney Sykes
Storm get:
- G Brittney Sykes
Mystics get:
- F Alysha Clark
- G Zia Cooke (has since been waived)
- 2026 first-round draft pick
Sykes is averaging 15.4 points, 4.3 assists and 1.2 steals per game, while shooting 31.8% from beyond the arc. The 5-foot-9 guard received her first All-Star selection this season and has four WNBA all-defensive team selections during her nine-year career, which also includes stints with the Atlanta Dream and Los Angeles Sparks. She signed with the Mystics as a free agent ahead of the 2023 season. Read more about the trade here.
Storm grade: A
Adding Sykes to Seattle does a few things. It gives the Storm a versatile defender who plays larger than they are, plus a player who can create for themselves and others. Sykes will all but certainly be inserted into the starting rotation, and that should be a very nice one-two punch with Wheeler. Additionally, Seattle now has fewer excuses not to succeed.
Mystics grade: A+
Heading into next season, the Mystics now have three first-round picks. That’s not including the other selections they have in the 2026 WNBA draft. Essentially, Washington would have plenty of options to choose from, including TCU guard Olivia Miles, UCLA Bruins center Lauren Betts and UConn Huskies guard Azzi Fudd.
Aug. 3: Minnesota Lynx trade for Dallas Wings guard DiJonai Carrington
Lynx get:
- G DiJonai Carrington
Wings get:
- F Diamond Miller
- G Karlie Samuelson (has since been waived)
- 2027 second-round draft pick
It is the second trade in a matter of months for Carrington, who was traded to the Wings from the Connecticut Sun back in February. The former second-round pick out of Baylor is averaging 10.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists this season. Read more about the trade here.
Lynx grade: B
Bringing in Carrington does a few things for Reeve’s squad. First, it adds valuable guard and wing depth. Carrington is more comfortable as a wing, but could take over point guard duties if necessary. She can even start if they need her to, which is huge. With that in mind, veteran Kayla McBride has to be jumping for joy right now. Carrington will fit nicely as depth behind her, and because she’s an excellent defender, it takes a lot more pressure off McBride to have to be everything all at once.
Wings grade: B
Guard Diamond Miller now has a new place to get more minutes and should thrive with the Wings. Veteran Karlie Samuelson is out for the season with an injury, but once healthy, there’s a chance she could add quality minutes, too. Also, future draft stock never hurts. The Wings are somewhat leaning into a soft rebuild and should continue making moves for the future.
When is the trade deadline?
The 2025 WNBA trade deadline is at 3 p.m. ET Thursday, Aug. 7. After that, teams cannot make trades for the remainder of the season.
Why aren’t many trades made in the WNBA?
The trade deadline in the WNBA is not traditionally as busy as those in the NFL, NBA or MLB. The WNBA’s hard salary cap ($1,507,100 per team) has no flexibility, meaning a team can’t go over. That means team have to be able to make the money work in any trade dollar for dollar.
Even with addition of the Golden State Valkyries, there are only 13 teams with 12 players each in the league. With fewer players, there are fewer trades.
