The WNBA trade deadline is fast approaching, with deals needing to be done by 3:00 p.m. ET on Aug. 7. This could be an eventful deadline, or it could be a very quiet one, but I don't really see it landing somewhere in the middle.
That's because the impending CBA renegotiation led most players to sign deals that end this offseason. With most of the league on expiring deals, it should theoretically be easier to make deals, but with Minnesota and New York looking like the clear top two teams in the league, the second tier of contenders might be less apt to deal future picks away for a half-season rental than they would be if the battle for the title was more wide open.
Here are two teams that should buy and one that should sell at the trade deadline.
Buy: Atlanta Dream
Atlanta has done very well this year despite not having the personnel to run head coach Karl Smesko's system in the exact way it should be run. Now, the team has a shot to add some shooting.
Nia Coffey and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough are bit parts of the Dream rotation right now, but make a combined $300,000, so the team should be able to make salaries match for any deal they want. Those two don't have a ton of value, but could Atlanta's 2026 first-round pick be appealing to Chicago or Connecticut in potential deals for Ariel Atkins or Marina Mabrey?
Buy: Seattle Storm
The Storm are currently set to have three first-round picks in 2026. Unless there's an exodus of veteran talent this offseason, Seattle doesn't need that many picks.
Ideally, the Storm would like to hold on to the better of those (the one belonging to the Sparks), but they still have their own pick and the Aces' pick to work with.
The Storm have a strong starting unit, but could certainly use some additional bench depth at basically any spot. Someone like Wings wing DiJonai Carrington would be interesting off the Seattle bench, or maybe Wings forward Myisha Hines-Allen to provide some added depth.
Or heck, maybe make a three-team deal with the aforementioned Dream and be the landing spot for Shatori Walker-Kimbrough or Nia Coffey. Those aren't game-changing players, but they could provide decent bench minutes for Seattle.
Sell: Dallas Wings
I wrote last week that I didn't think the Wings would be able to find a workable Arike Ogunbowale trade. I still stand by that, but it doesn't mean the team shouldn't try, and there's actually been a new potential Arike suitor emerge in the past few days.
That team? Golden State. With Kayla Thornton done for the year, the Valkyries feel like they're stuck between two stations. They could just ride things out, start losing more games, hope to land in the lottery, but is that really what this front office wants to do? Golden State feels like a team that really wants to make a playoff push, despite that being a questionable long-term decision, and adding a player like Ogunbowale could help that push, as it would give them another offensive threat, albeit one having her worst WNBA campaign.
Ogunbowale isn't the only player Dallas should try to move, though. Maybe the Valkyries would be interested in a more direct Thornton replacement in DiJonai Carrington, a defense-first wing who just hasn't worked out in Dallas. Or heck, maybe a number of teams would have some interest there.
There probably isn't a trade market for Teaira McCowan or Myisha Hines-Allen, but Dallas might as well try! There's some good young talent on the team, but all the veterans should be potential trade candidates.
(There is exactly one scenario where Dallas should be a buyer, which is by finding a way to land Mystics forward Aaliyah Edwards, a former UConn teammate of Wings star Paige Bueckers. Edwards is someone who could be a legitimate part of the future in Dallas and is the only realistic player Dallas should give away a future draft pick for.)