Revisiting the 4 biggest recent WNBA midseason trades

The WNBA trade deadline is just around the corner — coming up on Sunday at 2 pm ET — and while activity has historically been pretty limited in the days leading up to the deadline, that’s begun to change as of late.

But, over the past few years, midseason transactions have become more commonplace. As the deadline nears, let’s take a look at which transactions proved successful, and which ones didn’t.

The Aces traded for NaLyssa Smith last June, and she ended up being the missing piece in their title run. Smith, who had begun the year with the Dallas Wings, immediately became an impact player alongside A’ja Wilson in Las Vegas.

In the first half of the year in Dallas, she had averaged 6.7 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, while shooting just 42.1% from the field. But in the final 27 games of the season with Las Vegas, Smith bumped that average to 8.2 points on 55.6% shooting. This season, she is averaging 11.8 points on a scorching-hot 66.7% shooting.

Smith was traded to the Wings in exchange for the Aces’ 2027 first-round draft pick; how impactful that player ends up being remains to be seen. Regardless, because the move resulted in a title, it’ll be hard to argue that it’s unsuccessful in any way.

The Minnesota Lynx traded for DiJonai Carrington ahead of the trade deadline, in exchange for Diamond Miller, Karlie Samuelson and a 2027 second-round draft pick. Carrington fit seamlessly — she averaged 8.6 points off the bench, while shooting 45.5% from beyond the arc in 11 regular-season games. But in the second game of the playoffs, she suffered a left mid-foot sprain that ruled her out of the rest of the playoffs.

Ultimately, the Lynx lost to the Mercury in the Semi-Finals. But it made sense for them to go out and pursue Carrington, since Miller wasn’t playing, Samuelson was out for the season, and a championship appeared within each.

The Sun went all-in ahead of the 2024 playoffs, and while it didn’t pan out, it made sense to go all-in at the time. Connecticut went on to lose in Game 5 of the Semi-Finals, but Mabrey gave them a boost through that playoffs and very well could have been the missing piece to a title.

The Sun received Mabrey and a 2025 second-round draft pick in exchange for Rachel Banham, Moriah Jefferson, a 2025 first-round draft pick, and the right to swap 2026 first-round picks. Mabrey had a career year for Connecticut last season, but ultimately walked away in free agency to join the Toronto Tempo.

In hindsight, the 2024 midseason trade didn’t pan out for the Sun and cost them crucial draft capital. But, considering that the Sun were one of the WNBA’s best teams, and DeWanna Bonner, Alyssa Thomas, and Brionna Jones were all potentially going to depart in the offseason, it made sense for them to go all-in ahead of the 2024 playoffs and add a talented scorer to a veteran group eager to win a franchise-first title.

The Lynx traded for then-Washington Mystics forward Myisha Hines-Allen ahead of the 2024 playoffs, in exchange for Olivia Epoupa, forward Sika Koné, and a second-round pick in the 2026 WNBA draft.

Hines-Allen joined Minnesota to help bolster the frontcourt ahead of their Finals run. She averaged 4 points and 3.3 rebounds off the bench in 10 playoff games that season, but ultimately fell out of the rotation. The former Louisville star didn’t end up being the missing piece for the Lynx, who fell to the New York Liberty in the Finals.

But, like the Marina Mabrey trade, it made sense for a championship contender to make a move in hopes of bolstering their roster in the short-term.

Which championship contenders will look to add a final piece to their roster ahead of the trade deadline? It worked out for the Aces last year, and other teams may increasingly follow suit.