Sparks risk repeating familiar mistake with Kelsey Plum trade plan

Kelsey Plum and the Los Angeles Sparks are headed for a breakup this fall.

Plum has no plans to re-sign with the Sparks in 2027, according to The Athletic's Annie Costabile. Neither Plum nor her agent Zack Miller commented on the reporting, but Costabile wrote Tuesday "the sense from sources around the league" is that Plum will not play a third season in Los Angeles after a blockbuster three-team trade sent her to the Sparks from the Las Vegas Aces in 2025.

Seeing as Plum is on an expiring contract, that makes the All-Star combo guard one of the top trade chips on the market ahead of the Aug. 2 deadline. However, the Sparks reportedly have no urgency to deal Plum, even though Los Angeles is on the outside looking in with respect to the playoffs.

MORE: How the Wings can pair Paige Bueckers and Kelsey Plum to chase a WNBA championship

The Sparks are yet to engage in "meaningful" trade talks over Plum. And Los Angeles risks making a familiar mistake if Plum is not dealt by Sunday.

Sparks fans are no strangers to seeing marquee players leave Los Angeles in free agency because the franchise overvalued them.

Just this decade, Chelsea Gray, Nneka Ogwumike and Candace Parker all left the Sparks as free agents. Gray and Parker won WNBA championships elsewhere, while Ogwumike made a surprise return to Los Angeles after her contract with the Seattle Storm expired following the 2025 season.

The Sparks -- currently operating without a permanent general manager -- are 10-16 and on course to miss the playoffs for a sixth consecutive season. If Los Angeles holds on to Plum, the franchise has to be confident of changing her mind with an ambitious plan for 2027 and beyond.

Otherwise, the Sparks will remain firmly in the holding pattern that has defined them for the better part of a decade.

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