Natasha Cloud had been told she was going to retire with the Mercury prior to her trade for Alyssa Thomas to the Connecticut Sun.
The Phoenix Mercury’s season opener is fast approaching. The team will tip off its preseason on May 6 against the Las Vegas Aces. As the Phoenix Suns season comes to a close, it might be time to start turning our heads to the WNBA.
On Tuesday, as the team introduced Alyssa Thomas, the general manager of the Mercury was asked about former point guard Natasha Cloud, who said she was promised to retire with the organization before she was traded in the offseason.
“I’m not going to get into specifics,” Nick U’Ren said. “We’re so thankful for what [Cloud] did for the organization. Both on and off the floor, from choosing us in free agency last year and what she was able to bring to the floor.
“The nature of this business,” he continued, “is when you can acquire a talent like Alyssa (Thomas), you have to give up something of great value.”
Cloud had said she found out she was traded not by the team, but on social media.
Phantom BC/Connecticut Sun guard Natasha Cloud says the last few weeks have been a “whirlwind.”
She says she was told she was going to be able to retire as a Phoenix Mercury and found out about the trade on social media.#Unrivaled #WNBA pic.twitter.com/dgD2cDdXB6
— Desert Wave Media (@DesertWaveCo) February 8, 2025
“The last few weeks have been a whirlwind, to say the least,” Cloud said, via Desert Wave Media. “I think for the public view if this isn’t proof enough of the business of the NBA, the WNBA, and any professional sports, this is what it is.”
The Mercury introduced Alyssa Thomas, who they acquired in the trade for Cloud, in Downtown Phoenix at the team’s practice facility.
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