Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- Each WNBA team faces a critical juncture after the All-Star break with one key change needed to reshape their second-half trajectory.
- The changes range from roster adjustments and role redefinitions to strategic shifts in minutes and trade strategies.
- How these moves play out will determine which teams climb into the playoff picture and which ones begin building for the future.
The WNBA All-Star Game is behind us and the second half of the 2026 season awaits. Will it just be more of the same, or will something shake up a season where it already looks like we know who the eight playoff teams will be?
Well, one thing's for sure: changes only happen if change happen. The "s" is there for a reason. A team makes one change, something with the roster or the lineup, and it has the potential to create a domino effect leading to more changes. Let's talk about what that one change is for each WNBA team.
Atlanta Dream: Figure out Brionna Jones' role
Last season, the pairing of Brionna Jones and Brittney Griner was a primary concern coming into the year, and that concern proved to be true as the duo never really figured out how to play together. For 2026, it was the same situation with a different name, as the team let Griner walk in free agency and traded for Angel Reese. Same concerns, but it's taken longer to get an answer, as Jones has been out with a knee injury for most of this season.
In her first two games back, the rust has been apparent, as she's shooting just 30 percent from the field and zero percent from 3-point range. So far, the pairing of Jones and Reese has played 17 minutes together, and the results have been good, with a +42.7 net rating. Small sample, though — the lack of spacing when the two are out there could be a concern, so the Dream need to figure out whether to stagger minutes there or to just let the two go out there together to work things through. These first two games suggest the latter as a good approach.
Chicago Sky: Trade Jacy Sheldon
Yes, I'm going to continue to sound like a broken record about this until it happens. The Chicago Sky are going nowhere and have too many veteran guards. Trade one of them. Jacy Sheldon makes the most sense because she has more trade value than Natasha Cloud at this point, and because the Sky aren't going to trade Courtney Vandersloot. (And, well...the logistics of a Skylar Diggins trade seem impossible to pull off midseason).
Sheldon has struggled to find a home in the WNBA, but the upside is certainly there if a contender is looking to add a third guard who can do some secondary creation and can theoretically shoot — her efficiency is down this year, but I think we can at least partially attribute that to *waves arms wildly* everything happening in Chicago.
Connecticut Sun: Focus on youth
Specifically, this means that it's time to get Kennedy Burke off the floor. She's a good player, but she can go be a good player on a contending team via trade. The 29-year-old wing is averaging a career-high 23.4 minutes per game this season, which is really just blocking the path for some young players who the Sun need to see more of to determine if they're part of the future once the team moves to Houston.
The big one we need to see? Gianna Kneepkens. The rookie entered the league as a very divisive prospect. She was an elite 3-point shooter in college, but her inability to create her own shot was viewed as a potential impediment toward her being a rotation piece at this level. So far, that's...basically been the case, as she's only shooting 24 percent from deep. Connecticut needs to find more minutes for her to see if she can work herself out of his shooting funk or if the lack of creation skill really is going to keep her from making a mark in the W.
Dallas Wings: Let Awak Kuier play as much as she can
Jessica Shepard has been a huge, huge addition in Dallas. Sure, she doesn't provide much on the defensive end — her only block this season was in the All-Star Game — but she helps the offense run smoothly. The same can't be said for the other big offseason addition, Alanna Smith, who simply hasn't worked out for the Wings and has fallen to the fringes of the rotation.
At this point, playing Smith more feels like a bad move. Dallas' net rating is 16.1 points per 100 possessions worse with Smith on the floor. Instead, the team should see if Awak Kuier can be the answer beside Shepard. Kuier is an athletic five who can move about the court well and has the length to make a major impact, though consistency has been an issue. But the WIngs have a net rating of +4.9 in the 323 minutes that Kuier and Shepard have shared the floor, and the answer here — an imperfect answer, to be fair — might be to just make sure Kuier is out there as much as physically possible.
Golden State Valkyries: Get Janelle Salaun even more minutes
Yes, she's cruising toward the Sixth Player of the Year award at the moment, but the Valkyries need to make sure they're good enough offensively to contend for a title in a way that doesn't hurt too much defensively. That's why I think the best solution for that issue isn't to make a trade, but it's to get Salaun on the floor more, even if that means starting her.
A 39.4 percent shooter from 3-point range, Salaun gives the Valkyries a viable long-distance shooter, though she's finished poorly inside of the arc. She can help space the floor for the team, and it'd probably behoove the team to get her minutes closer to last season's 27 per game than this season's 22.4.
Indiana Fever: Get the ball in Kelsey Mitchell's hands more
With Caitlin Clark injured last season, we got a chance to see what this version of Kelsey Mitchell looks like as THE lead guard. The results were strong, as Mitchell broke the 20-point-per-game threshold for the first time. This season, she's upped the scoring even more, but it's interesting to note that her assists and usage are both down.
One thing I'd like to see more of in the second half is Mitchell as the primary ball-handler with Caitlin Clark working off-ball more. Clark still has massive turnover issues and takes a few too many ill-advised shots off the dribble, and exploring some different looks could make this team harder to defend.
Las Vegas Aces: Replace Stephanie Talbot
The Las Vegas Aces have played 26 games. Stephanie Talbot has been in the starting lineup for 25 of those. Despite that, she is averaging 3.5 points per game this season. The team's offensive rating goes from 108.3 with Talbot on the court up to 119.7 with her off the court. It's time for a change. You need someone in the starting lineup who can make shots at least some percentage of the time.
How do the Aces replace her? Internally, the options aren't great. Jewell Loyd works best off the bench at this point in her career and while Justine Pissott has shown some promise, she's probably not the answer. That means it's time to turn to the trade market to see if the team can get someone who can fill in there. Considering Talbot's lack of production, there should be a number of trade targets who can slide in at the three.
Los Angeles Sparks: Trade someone
Take your pick of who. It shouldn't be Cameron Brink, though it's possible that it will be. But the Sparks have basically lost their playoff shot with Kelsey Plum sidelined, so it's time to start thinking about the future.
Dearica Hamby being on a long-term deal likely makes it tough to move her, but there are players who can be dealt here. Erica Wheeler is under contract for 2027 at an affordable price if there's a team looking for an additional ball handler. Rae Burrell could be a great extra wing on a contender. And if the team really, really wants to deal Brink away, it can likely fetch a decent return there.
Minnesota Lynx: Get Dorka Juhasz more minutes
Napheesa Collier has returned. The perennial MVP candidate was sidelined for most of the season with an ankle injury, bjut debuted right before the All-Star break and immediately looked like herself. Getting her back makes an already good team into the likely title favorites.
But there's another player on this roster who has been out most of this season who the team needs to also work in: Dorka Juhasz, the 2026 EuroLeague MVP. Juhasz has played in six games so far this season but is struggling with her shot, knocking down just 36.4 percent of her shots. The Lynx can afford to let her work through those woes at the moment, because the reward on the other end if she does is that you have potentially the best bench big in the league.
New York Liberty: Trade away a backup wing
The New York Liberty have found themselves in a weird spot. This is an excessively talented roster, but issues with fit coupled with injuries throughout the season have the team underperforming. It's time to rethink some things.
One thing to rethink: the backup wing situation. Betnijah Laney-Hamilton has barely been playing, so New York could try to get a future draft asset by trading her to a contender that needs wing help. Does that feel like a bit of an admission that the 2026 season is a failure? Sure! But the Liberty need some self-awareness here, and when Laney-Hamilton is one of three backup wings on expiring deals, there's no point keeping all three, and Laney-Hamilton has significantly more trade value than Rebekah Gardner or Rebecca Allen.
Phoenix Mercury: I don't even know
This Mercury season is over, and really, this whole era of Mercury basketball feeks over. As good as Alyssa Thomas and Kahleah Copper are, they've reached the point where the two of them together aren't quite enough to make up for the complete lack of talent across the rest of the roster.
That's why the Mercury should spend the rest of this season figuring out which of their young, international players can be in Phoenix for the long run. Except, uhh...even the young international players aren't that young. Seven players have seen the court this season for Phoenix who were born outside of the United States, but five of those were born in the 1990s and don't really count as young. I guess giving DeWanna Bonner's minutes to someone else could be a start? Trading away everyone you can? IDK, it's time for Phoenix to radically reshape this roster, and that likely can't happen until the offseason.
Portland Fire: Trade Bridget Carleton
Yes, I am advocating that a team that isn't too far outside of the playoff picture should trade someone who has arguably been its best player. The reason is simple: Portland's ability to contend relied heavily on a fairly top-heavy roster and with Sarah Ashlee Barker now done for the year with a torn ACL, the bottom is likely to fall out.
So, it's time to turn toward the future. No one really looked at this roster in the preseason and said "yeah, this is a playoff team." With Barker out, the path to the postseason gets even tougher, so it's time to find a contender that's willing to give up a first-round pick and a young player for Carleton, who has done super well as a first opton but still works best as a second or third option on a contender.
Seattle Storm: Trade Ezi Magbegor ... if possible
The problem here is that Ezi Magbegor is dealing with a ton of injury issues this season and has played in just four games, so her trade value might be fairly low. But Seattle is in rebuild mode and has a pair of young bigs who they can build around in Dominique Malonga and Awa Fam, which puts Magbegor in a weird spot. She's too good to come off the bench, but the other two are too promising for Seattle to jeopardize their upside by moving one of them to the bench once Magbegor is back.
Magbegor is under contract through the 2028 season, so a team in need of long-term help up front should definitely be on the phone with Seattle. Could this be a spot for the Dallas Wings to move off the Arike Ogunbowale contract? Could a rebuilding team see Magbegor as a key piece to rebuild around?
Toronto Tempo: Focus more on development
The Tempo tried to follow in the footsteps of the Valkyries last year, building an intriguing expansion roster with playoff upside. But after going 2-8 over their last 10 games, the Tempo have slipped to 10th n the standings, four games back of the Mystics for the final playoff spot. It's not impossible for Toronto to claw its way into a playoff spot, but what's the point?
This just doesn't feel like a team that's going to replicate Golden State's success. Instead, what seems important here is thinking about how to build on a relatively successful first season to potentially put the team in line to contend for a playoff spot next season. One thing the team can do: get Kiki Rice as much playing time as possible. They could also look to trade one or both of Julie Allemand or Kia Nurse for future draft assets.
Washington Mystics: Add a wing to the roster
The Washington Mystics have been one of the league's biggest surprises, with the team very firmly in the No. 8 seed at the moment thanks to the trio of Kiki Iriafen, Sonia Citron and Shakira Austin. Georgia Amoore has done a good enough job manning the point, but the other wing spot has been an issue.
Cotie McMahon has shown upside, but she's still a rookie and hasn't been consistent. Michaela Onyenwere is having the best season of her career, but how long can a career 34.7 percent 3-point shooter keep shooting 43.2 percent from deep? Adding someone else to the rotation can make this an even more dangerous team and essentially clinch the No. 8 seed.
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