Where denying Marina Mabrey’s trade request leaves the Connecticut Sun

Order ‘Becoming Caitlin Clark’ and save 30%

Howard Megdal, founder and editor of The Next and The IX, just announced his latest book. It captures both the historic nature of Caitlin Clark’s rise and the critical context over the previous century that helped make it possible. Interviews with Clark, Lisa Bluder, C. Vivian Stringer, Jan Jensen, Molly Kazmer and so many others were vital to the process.

If you enjoy his coverage of women’s basketball every Wednesday at The IX, you will love “Becoming Caitlin Clark: The Unknown Origin Story of a Modern Basketball Superstar.” Click the link below to preorder and enter MEGDAL30 at checkout.

Now that the franchise will enter the 2025 season in a very different position than last season, losing all five of its starters, Mabrey has some doubts about what she agreed to during her trade to the Sun. She came to Connecticut to win a championship, and it seems that the window of opportunity has passed for that to happen anytime soon. The Sun team that Mabrey signed a contract with is very different than the one that will take the floor in 2025 under the direction of newly-hired head coach Rachid Meziane.

“In this current age of women’s empowerment and support of the players, the CT Sun threatening to force Marina Mabrey to play for them after her trade request is mind-boggling,” Mabrey’s agent, Marcus Crenshaw of The FAM agency said in a statement provided to ESPN. “Why would anyone try to force someone to play on their team when they don’t want to be there? It’s counterproductive in a ton of ways and everyone we have spoken to is perplexed about how they are handling Marina, after trading away Hall of Fame caliber players.”

“The coach parted ways. No free agents returned and they are doing all they can to try and force Marina to stay when she clearly doesn’t want to be there. It’s interesting.”

Team president Jennifer Rizzotti has a different perspective.

“The reasons that we have for not trading Marina are rooted in positivity,” Rizzotti told ESPN. “It’s rooted in a desire to build around her, have her here, have her be the catalyst for what we want to do offensively, taking advantage of her versatility, knowing that the style that [coach] Rashid [Meziane] plays with will suit her game, and knowing that we can put her in an individual situation to be really successful as this current CBA closes and a new one opens.”

The Sun can hardly afford to lose Mabrey, especially after losing so many players to trades and free agency. Mabrey’s presence on the court for the Sun comes with key advantages, including her ability to generate her own offense and her speciality in 3-point shooting. She left her alma mater Notre Dame as the program’s all-time leader in made three-pointers (274) and was the Chicago Sky’s top scorer alongside guard Chennedy Carter last season before being traded to the Sun.

With the addition of center Tina Charles, Mabrey’s offensive production will help the Sun spread the floor and free up the paint for Charles. The 5’11 guard has an assertive scoring style, taking some of the most difficult shots in basketball — stepbacks and fadeaways. Our Alissa Hirsh of The Next reported last season while Mabrey was still with the Sky that a large majority of her 3-point attempts throughout her career have been from at least 2 feet behind the three-point line.

Alissa Hirsh also reported that Latricia Trammell, former Dallas Wings head coach whom also coached Mabrey on the Los Angeles Sparks in 2019, spoke very highly of Mabrey when the Sky played the Wings in June 2024.

“She honestly believes every shot’s going in. I don’t care where she’s taking it from,” Trammell told reporters.

One factor that may have sparked Mabrey’s trade request is that the Sun are grouped with the few remaining WNBA teams that don’t have player practice facilities. The franchise has yet to announce any plans to build one. During the 2024 playoffs, the issue surfaced when the team had to share their practice court with a child’s birthday party.

The lack of resources and facility are not only making it difficult to attract free agents but may have pushed players away from the franchise including former Sun forward Alyssa Thomas. Thomas was drafted by the Sun in 2014 and had spent the entirety of her WNBA season with the franchise before her departure to Phoenix.

“I mean, Mohegan has to do better,” Thomas told The Next in September during the playoffs. “We’re [a] professional team. We’re competing for playoffs. And yeah, to have to share your court with a two-year-old[‘s] birthday party, [it’s the] ultimate disrespect. … We need more, we need better to compete at the highest level.”

Want even more women’s sports in your inbox?

Subscribe now to our sister publication The IX and receive our independent women’s sports newsletter six days a week. Learn more about your favorite athletes and teams around the world competing in soccer, tennis, basketball, golf, hockey and gymnastics from our incredible team of writers.

Readers of The Next now save 50% on their subscription to The IX.

Rizzotti told Eric Jackson of Sportico that the Sun “knew at the time that [Mabrey] had already forced her way out of two teams, so it was a bit risky … to trade for her, but we felt like it was worth it.” She also believes that it’s not an uncommon situation in professional sports for athletes under contract to navigate playing for teams that may not be their first choice.

“I think there’s probably a lot of professional athletes that are on teams that they don’t necessarily prefer to be on,” Rizzotti said. “I don’t think that this would be an isolated situation. … I think Marina is as competitive as they come. It’s one of the reasons that we wanted her here … it might also be seen as counterproductive for us to give in to every single trade request, right? So I think sometimes you get put in a no-win situation, and I think we’re trying to be as fair as we can to a lot of different constituents.”

Looking ahead to the 2025 season, there are a lot of unknowns in Uncasville. Despite losing five starters and a head coach in the offseason, Rizzotti believes the Sun have made moves in free agency that will set them up for the future — a future that includes Mabrey.

“We’re not hitting the panic button,” Rizzotti said. “We feel good about the moves that we’ve made. We’ve been very intentional about our priorities. … And by 2028, I don’t think there will be a WNBA team without a new [training] facility. That’s the way it should be.”