---
title: "Kelsey Plum on Being Trade Bait: 'It's Business'"
description: "The Sparks are 10-17 and their best player is a free agent this winter, which is why her name keeps coming up before Sunday's WNBA trade deadline. Plum says she is not taking it personally."
category: "Sports"
category_url: https://herald.la/category/sports
author: "Valeria Ortiz"
published: 2026-07-31T01:52:10.000Z
updated: 2026-07-31T01:52:10.000Z
canonical: https://herald.la/article/kelsey-plum-on-being-trade-bait-it-s-business
tags: ["wnba", "sparks", "kelsey-plum", "trade-deadline", "los-angeles"]
---
# Kelsey Plum on Being Trade Bait: 'It's Business'

The Sparks are 10-17 and their best player is a free agent this winter, which is why her name keeps coming up before Sunday's WNBA trade deadline. Plum says she is not taking it personally.

The WNBA trade deadline is Sunday at 3 p.m. Eastern, and the most discussed name
in the league belongs to a player who has not been on the floor since June 21.

Kelsey Plum, asked about the reporting that the Sparks may move her,
[gave the answer of someone who has been in the league a while](https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/49493080/sparks-kelsey-plum-says-not-taking-trade-talk-personal):
"The thing about professional sports is, it's business. At the end of the day,
people have to do what's best for them and I respect that. And I'm not taking
anything personal."

She added: "There's a lot of things that are in the unknown, and those are things
outside of my control."

## Why her name is out there

Two facts drive the speculation, and neither is complicated.

The first is the standings. Los Angeles is 10-17. The season that was supposed to
be the payoff for bringing Plum to the Sparks has not been one.

The second is her contract. Plum reaches free agency this offseason, and she
declined to commit beyond the remainder of the 2026 season. A team in the
Sparks' position holding an expiring contract on a player of that caliber faces
an obvious question: trade her for something, or watch her leave in the winter for
nothing.

## What she was doing before the injury

The frustrating part, from Los Angeles's side, is that the basketball had been
working. In 12 appearances before a lower left leg injury shut her down on June
21, Plum averaged 23.9 points and 6.4 assists a game, both career highs.

She has not ruled out playing again this season. "I play for the Sparks, so on
Sunday, I'm going to suit up and I'm going to give them whatever minute
restriction," she said.

## What has and has not happened

No trade has been agreed. This is reporting on interest, not on a deal.

ESPN has identified the Golden State Valkyries as a possible destination, while
noting that
[Golden State has been reluctant to give up the rotation players a deal would require](https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/49482922/wnba-2026-trade-deadline-august-2-move-kelsey-plum-skylar-diggins).
That reluctance points at the structural problem with trading for Plum right now:
any team that wants her in the winter can simply wait and sign her, without
surrendering anything. The Sparks are trying to sell an asset that a buyer may be
able to get free in a few months.

Which is roughly what Plum was describing. Sunday afternoon settles it either way.

## Sources

- [Sparks' Kelsey Plum says she's not taking trade talk personally](https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/49493080/sparks-kelsey-plum-says-not-taking-trade-talk-personal)
- [Moves to watch for ahead of the WNBA trade deadline](https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/49482922/wnba-2026-trade-deadline-august-2-move-kelsey-plum-skylar-diggins)