LOS ANGELES — The Sparks are in limbo between at least two scenarios entering Sunday’s WNBA trade deadline.
Los Angeles will either trade away a veteran like five-time All-Star Kelsey Plum, who is an unrestricted free agent, or move forward with the team’s current veteran-led roster, which features five of their top seven players who are current or former All-Stars.
“I want to play basketball,” said Plum when directly asked if she wanted to be traded.
It was Plum’s second practice with the team after recovering from a lower left leg injury that caused her to miss the past 11 games. The Sparks went 2-9 without their leading scorer.
Meanwhile, the Sparks (10-17), currently on a season-long six-game losing streak, are five games back with 17 to play.
“What I can control is what we’re doing on the court with who we have,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. “So until I hear that we’ve made a trade, these are the guys, and I’m cool with that.”
Roberts said she does not have an issue coaching through the uncertainty surrounding the trade deadline.
“You just show up and do your job,” Roberts said. “There’s things you can’t control. There’s things you can. This is something I can’t control. Neither can the players, so we’ve got to focus on the task at hand. That’s going to Portland and doing our best to beat them.”
Without a swift turnaround, the Sparks will miss the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season. They haven’t played postseason basketball since 2020 and have not won a playoff game since 2019.
Plum, who is on an expiring contract, did not directly answer questions Thursday about whether she wants to re-sign with the Sparks. She was still relatively mum on her future with the Sparks in her last media availability Friday, approximately 48 hours before the deadline.
“I feel good, Plum said. “Like I said before, I’m just going to be who I am, there’s nothing I can do, you know. So I’m just excited to play. I haven’t played in over a month, and so for me, I love to play, so I’m looking forward to competing.”
If Plum, who averaged 23.9 points and 6.4 assists in 12 games, is still on the roster for Sunday’s 12:30 tipoff at the Portland Fire, she’s vowed to come off the bench and be catalyst who helps her team win games.
“You get to see how the game is flowing,” Plum said. “Sometimes you need a lot more energy, sometimes you need maybe defensively some alterations, or offensively, maybe you gotta push the pace more. It just kind of depends on the game, but I would say overall, my experience coming off the bench is changing the pace of the game. Trying to change what’s going on in terms of like play faster and stuff like that. I’ve actually always thrived coming off the bench. I don’t change who I am. I’m going to be who I am.”
The Sparks acquired Plum in a three-team trade with the Las Vegas Aces and Seattle Storm that involved sending the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 draft to Seattle. The Storm sent six-time All-Star Jewell Loyd to Las Vegas.
Hamby ‘not worried’ about trade deadline
Another player who knows firsthand what it is like to be traded is three-time All-Star Dearica Hamby, who was traded by the Aces to the Sparks when she was pregnant in January 2023.
With Roberts repeatedly saying everything is on the table, the 2022 WNBA champion knows she could also be moved before the trade deadline.
“I’m at peace with whatever decision is made,” Hamby said, who re-signed with the Sparks before the season a three-year contract. “I’ve gone through the ‘heartbreakest,’ so to say, of trades, so I’m a pro. Whatever they feel they need to do necessary to help the organization, they gotta do, but I feel fine. I’m not worried.”
“I’m in the moment right now. I signed here for three years to be here for three years,” Hamby said after Friday’s last full practice before flying to Portland on Saturday. “But if the organization feels otherwise at some point, they gotta do what they gotta do, and I gotta do what I gotta do. So, no hard feelings. I understand my value both ways. Having three years is valuable, and being tradeable has value, so just whatever happens, happens. I’m not really concerned with that. It’s not consuming me. I’m just here today.”
Hamby and Plum both came off the bench for Las Vegas during the 2021 season, which was the year before the Aces won back-to-back championships.
“She asked me to come off the bench with her,” Hamby said jokingly, who has started all 27 games but has no plans to reassume a bench role.
The Sparks won their only game with Portland this season with an 89-72 home victory on June 7. Hamby led the way with 22 points and 12 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Hamby is not giving up hope on the team’s playoff aspirations. Thirteen games remain in August, followed by the league’s FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup break from Aug. 31 to Sept. 16, and the final four regular-season games between Sept. 17-24.
“We’ve seen it really come down to the last game,” Hamby said. “Anything can happen. Other teams can get injured. We’ve dealt with our injuries on the front end of things. But like you said, there’s 17 games left, so until there isn’t a chance, there is a chance, and we’re just gonna have to win some games.”
Roberts also believes her team is on the cusp of a winning streak.
“Really close and that’s our focus,” Roberts said. “We just gotta do it one at a time … there’s urgency but also a not-panic look four weeks ahead. We gotta look 48 hours ahead.”
SPARKS (10-17) AT PORTLAND (11-18)
When: 12:30 p.m. Sunday
Where: Moda Center, Portland
TV: NBC, Peacock