Marina Mabrey’s trade request: how we got here and what might happen next

Photo by David Berding/Getty Images

The Connecticut Sun guard wants out. She’s far from the first WNBA player in this position.

Marina Mabrey wants the Connecticut Sun to trade her.

Sun president Jen Rizzotti wants her to finish out her contract.

The result? A standoff between a star player and one of the WNBA’s earliest, and winningnest, franchises.

How Marina Mabrey’s trade request came to be

Mabrey initially landed on the Sun in July soon after requesting a trade from the Chicago Sky. She wasn’t quite an All-Star talent, at least not yet, but she was nonetheless a high-scorer and impactful player who reportedly wanted a chance to compete for a championship contender.

The Sun, who were near the top of the league’s standings at the time, wanted to add another offensive option to bolster their championship odds. And, while the trade made sense in the short-term — Mabrey averaged 14.9 points and shot 42.4% from three in Connecticut — the Sun once again came up short in the playoffs, losing to the Minnesota Lynx in a deciding Game 5 of the WNBA semi-finals.

Since then, it’s been an offseason of unprecedented turnover in Uncasville — head coach Stephanie White left for the Indiana Fever, the team’s Big Three core of Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner, and Brionna Jones all departed as free agents, and backcourt starters DiJonai Carrington and Ty Harris were traded to Dallas. Backup point guard Veronica Burton was selected by the Golden State Valkyries in their expansion draft, and veteran Tiffany Mitchell joined the Las Vegas Aces as a free agent.

The Sun are the first team in WNBA and NBA history to lose their entire starting five from their final playoff game in the following offseason.

In their absence, the Sun have reshaped their roster entirely — adding veteran Tina Charles via free agency, Natasha Cloud and Jacy Sheldon via trade, and players like Diamond DeSheilds and Lindsay Allen from Chicago.

Mabrey, one of only two rotation players to return to Connecticut, subsequently requested a trade, which was first reported by ESPN.

Breaking: Guard Marina Mabrey has requested a trade from the Connecticut Sun, her agent, The FAM’s Marcus Crenshaw, told ESPN Wednesday.

Mabrey averaged 14.4 points and 4.1 assists per game last season across stints with the Chicago Sky and Sun, whom she was traded to midseason pic.twitter.com/R95jAFYVqu

— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) February 5, 2025

While Connecticut’s roster has been overhauled, they’re not necessarily heading into a rebuilding season. Charles and Cloud are both proven vets, and by adding them both, the Sun are signifying their desire to remain competitive.

In December, ahead of free agency, Sun general manager Morgan Tuck told SB Nation that the franchise plans on being as competitive as possible.

“We’re a Connecticut team, and Connecticut is known for having really competitive teams and really good teams — so I don’t think we can shy away from that and the expectations around how good we need to be,” she said.

The Connecticut Sun declined Mabrey’s trade request

Sun president Jen Rizzotti told Sportico’s Eric Jackson earlier this week that Mabrey’s request would be denied. Mabrey’s agent, Marcus Crenshaw of The FAM agency, swiftly criticized Sun’s decision to ESPN.

“In this current age of women’s empowerment and support of the players, the CT Sun threatening to force Marina Mabrey to play for them after her trade request is mind-boggling,” Crenshaw said. “Why would anyone try to force someone to play on their team when they don’t want to be there? It’s counterproductive in a ton of ways and everyone we have spoken to is perplexed about how they are handling Marina, after trading away Hall of Fame caliber players.”

“The coach parted ways,” he continued. “No free agents returned and they are doing all they can to try and force Marina to stay when she clearly doesn’t want to be there. It’s interesting.”

In a follow-up to her initial statements to Sportico, Rizzotti told ESPN that the organization decided it “wasn’t in our best interest to move her because of the value that we gave up to get her, but also that we place on her.”

She elaborated: “The reasons that we have for not trading Marina are rooted in positivity. It’s rooted in a desire to build around her, have her here, have her be the catalyst for what we want to do offensively, taking advantage of her versatility, knowing that the style that Rashid [Meziane] plays with will suit her game, and knowing that we can put her in an individual situation to be really successful as this current CBA closes and a new one opens.”

The 2026 will be a particularly lucrative time for WNBA free agents because a new collective bargaining agreement is expected to ensure higher player salaries starting next offseason. Mabrey could position herself well for a big payday and the opportunity to join a franchise of her choosing as an unrestricted free agent.

A brief history of Marina Mabrey and other recent WNBA trade requests

Mabrey, who was drafted 19th overall in the 2019 WNBA draft, has requested three trades in the past two years. The previous two were fulfilled; she wanted out of the Dallas Wings in 2023 and was subsequently sent to the Sky in a four-team trade. Then, after playing a season and a half in Chicago, she requested a trade to the Sun; the situation in Chicago had quickly changed, and after Kahleah Copper asked out, it was clear the Sky were headed toward a rebuild.

In her Sportico interview, Rizzotti brought up this history: “We knew at the time that she had already forced her way out of two teams, so it was a bit risky for us to trade for her. But we felt like it was worth it.”

Photo by Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Mabrey expecting to have her request granted is rooted not just in her own history, though. It’s also been the norm in the W. In the last few years, there have been several notable examples of high-profile players requesting to be traded, and seeing that request ultimately be fulfilled.

Jewell Loyd (2024): The most recent player to successfully request a trade was Jewell Loyd, who asked to leave the Storm after spending the first decade of her career in Seattle. Loyd’s trade request came in just hours after the Storm announced that an external investigation into reported accusations of harassment and bullying by the team’s coaching staff had concluded without finding any violations.

Photo by Harry How/Getty Images

Still, the Storm granted Loyd’s wish and traded her to the Las Vegas Aces. In return, they acquired Li Yueru and the No. 2 pick from the Sparks (via a three-team trade). Loyd won two championships with Seattle.

Kahleah Copper (2024): After spending most of her career in Chicago, Kahleah Copper requested a trade ahead of the 2024 season after watching how the Sky approached free agency. Copper communicated with the organization about “wanting to compete”, per ESPN, and the Sky sent her to the Phoenix Mercury, which she described as “a really good position.”

Jonquel Jones (2023): The Sun granting trade requests is not unprecedented either. Ahead of the 2023 WNBA season, Jonquel Jones requested a trade from the Connecticut Sun — specifically to the New York Liberty — and got her wish granted. In a three-team trade, the Sun acquired Ty Harris, Rebecca Allen, and the No. 6 2023 pick, while Jones went on to win a Finals MVP with the Liberty the following season.

Allisha Gray (2023): Allisha Gray requested a trade from the Dallas Wings during the 2022 season after spending the first six years of her career with the organization. She was ultimately traded for the No. 3 in the 2023 draft to the Atlanta Dream in the offseason.

Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images

These four players are in a different boat than Mabrey; all four spent years with their previous organization, and all four were drafted by them. Loyd and Copper won championships with those same franchises earlier in their careers. And considering how much the Sun gave up to acquire Mabrey, it’s understandable that they wouldn’t be thrilled to flip her again so soon, particularly if they’re not able to recoup that value.

What’s next for Mabrey and the Sun?

We’re still only a few months away from the WNBA season actually tipping off, so it’s still possible that either the Sun could change their minds regarding potentially reversing their decision. Or, Mabrey may recognize she has the opportunity to have the Sun offense run through her as a primary scoring option ahead of what projects to be a historically lucrative WNBA free agency period.

Or, this saga will get more messy — only time will tell.