Diana Taurasi announced her retirement from the WNBA on Tuesday.
The news meant that for the first time in over 20 years, the Phoenix Mercury would need a starting shooting guard. No player can truly replace Taurasi, but the Mercury will have to fill the void in some way.
While the team does have some talent as it stands now, the Mercury only has nine players on its current roster. With no draft picks in 2025, Phoenix will have to scour the free agent market for a replacement.
1. Aerial Powers
Powers is a 5'11" guard with a decade of WNBA experience. While she is years removed from her best seasons with the Washington Mystics, she still averaged nearly nine points per game last year with the Atlanta Dream. She has struggled with availability in recent seasons, but perhaps in a more expanded role, Powers could contribute steadily to the Mercury as an off-ball scorer.
2. Aari McDonald
McDonald is a different player than Taurasi was and stands at just 5'6", but she could produce heavily for the Mercury this season. The four-year veteran averaged just under nine points and four rebounds for the Los Angeles Sparks last season and was second in Rookie of the Year voting in 2021. The best part about McDonald is that she is only 26 years old, so she could still grow tremendously as a player.
3. Chennedy Carter
Carter is by far the best player on this list and is still just 26 years old. Last season for the Sky, she averaged 17.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. That means her 2024 campaign was slightly more productive than Taurasi's was, so Carter feels like an obvious replacement. She finished in fourth place for Most Improve Player Award voting last season and could be on the cusp of an All-Star appearance if she is given a Taurasi-like role with the Mercury this season.
Phoenix has a talented roster overall with players like Alyssa Thomas, Kahleah Copper and Satou Sabally, but it will be hard for any of them to replace a player like Diana Taurasi. In year one at least, it may have to be a "Moneyball" situation where they have to recreate her production and influence in the aggregate by tasking multiple players to fill the void.
Kahleah Copper should be the heir to the throne, however, as she was brought to Phoenix in 2024 and starred in her first season with the team. She led the Mercury with 21.1 points per game and added 4.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per contest. She is a bit more of a true wing than Taurasi was but the team will likely run through her and Thomas this year.
The Mercury have not been one of the premier teams in the league for several years now, so perhaps rebuilding the roster around players like Copper and Thomas is a good move for the future.