Analyst Hints at Major Development After Phoenix Mercury Fail To Re-Sign WNBA All-Star

The WNBA free agency started off with some of the obvious news, following A’ja Wilson, Sabrin Ionescu, and Breanna Stewart already confirming their destinations. Those franchises also chose to prioritize free-agent signings. For the Phoenix Mercury, though, the situation is completely different.

While the 2025 WNBA finalists are looking to keep their core intact, one of the ‘Big 3’ expressed a desire to make a move. Interestingly, there is no update from the other two stars either.

Phoenix Mercury To Lose All-Star In Free Agency

Under Nate Tibbetts, the Mercury side defeated the Liberty team and Lynx before falling to eventual champions Aces. Kahlah Copper, Satou Sabally, and Alyssa Thomas were instrumental throughout the regular season and impactful for the side.

But according to Annie Constabile, Sabally is not committing to the franchise for the 2026 season, which spices up the free agency.

Satou Sabally is not expected to re-sign with the Mercury, multiple sources tell me. Meetings with multiple teams are anticipated over the coming days when negotiations open up tomorrow.

— Annie Costabile (@AnnieCostabile) April 8, 2026

The former Wings star averaged 21.7 points before suffering a concussion during Game 3 and missing Game 4. In the regular season, she averaged 16.3 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.3 steals.

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Although the Mercury roster might look different, the team already made efforts to keep hold of its stars and extended qualifying offers to Monique Akoa Makani, forward Kathryn Westbeld, forward Natasha Mack, and forward Kiana Williams.

While the Phoenix franchise would miss the megastar, the player would look to challenge for the title with another contender’s side.

Possible Destination For Satou Sabally

The three-time All-Star would attract significant interest from all franchises in the league, except the Mercury and Wings. During her time at the Phoenix Mercury, Sabally shared the reason for leaving the Dallas franchise despite having a max offer on the table. So, fans can rule out those two franchises as a possible destination for the 2020 rookie.

One name that would make immediate sense for the move would be the Toronto Tempo, with Champion coach Sandy Brondello at the helm, and sister Nyara Sabally recently joining the team via the expansion draft.

Looking at her experience and impact on the floor, Sabally would attract a minimum ‘veteran max contract’, and the teams that could offer her that much sum would be Golden State Valkyries and Seattle Storm. Most shocking destinations would be the Indiana Fever and the Atlanta Dream, who are competitive teams and just have enough to add the 27-year-old enforcer.