1 Trade Idea for Every Eliminated 2026 WNBA Playoff Team

The Atlanta Dream's emergence as a WNBA Finals contender can be traced back to the April 6 trade that brought Angel Reese from the Chicago Sky. Winning at the highest level takes a talented, united team.

Still, the current WNBA Defensive Player of the Year has been the lifeblood of Atlanta's surge, which will culminate in a best-of-seven series against the Golden State Valkyries over the coming weeks.

Six franchises have been knocked out of the playoffs. As they plan for the offseason, they'll look for the best avenues for improvement, including the one trade that puts them over the top.

The Las Vegas Aces have dominated with three of the last four titles. The New York Liberty won in 2024. Both reached the semifinals; both need to improve. So do the Minnesota Lynx, Washington Mystics, Indiana Fever and Dallas Wings—and trades may be the best path forward.

Fever Add Needed Defender Alongside Caitlin Clark

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Indiana Fever Get: Ariel Atkins, 2027 No. 21

Los Angeles Sparks Get: Monique Billings, 2027 No. 11, 2028 second-round pick

The Fever have a strong regular-season roster around Caitlin Clark, but the squad needs significant help defensively for the postseason.

The team won 28 games, three fewer than the No. 3 Las Vegas Aces—a small gap. But for Indiana to make any real playoff noise, the franchise must surround Clark with proven defensive stoppers.

Atkins has earned All-Defensive Team honors in five seasons, including a first-team selection in 2022, and won a championship with the Washington Mystics in 2019.

She shot poorly from three-point range last season (28.2 percent), but playing alongside Clark could help Atkins generate better perimeter looks—ideally getting back to the 36.1 percent she shot the year prior with the Chicago Sky.

The Sparks are retooling after trading Kelsey Plum in-season and losing Nneka Ogwumike to a well-earned retirement. L.A. moves up 10 spots in the draft from No. 21 to No. 11, to go with (pre-lottery) Nos. 6, 7, and 16. Billings is in the final year of her contract; Atkins is talented but already 30. Indiana's 2028 second-round pick rounds out the deal.

If the Fever re-sign Kelsey Mitchell to a max deal and bring back free agents Sophie Cunningham and Myisha Hines-Allen, they can start Lexie Hull or Makayla Timpson alongside Atkins at forward.

Even with the maximum allowed salary cap growth to $7.9 million (13 percent), the money would be tight for Mitchell, Cunningham, and Hines-Allen, but not prohibitive. The projections should also account for Clark's potential EPIC renegotiation in 2027 and a three-year extension beginning in 2028.

A 3-Team Trade to Bolster Aces, Liberty and Wings

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Las Vegas Aces Get: Satou Sabally
New York Liberty Get: Alanna Smith, Janiah Barker
Dallas Wings Get: Leonie Fiebich

The Aces and Liberty are veteran squads with championship expectations built around stars like A'ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, and Sabrina Ionescu.

The Wings are one of the most exciting up-and-coming teams, leaping from 10 wins in 2025 to 27 in Paige Bueckers' second season.

That's with the Wings losing No. 1 overall pick Azzi Fudd in August with a knee injury. The team will keep improving, but Smith is a viable sacrifice. The 30-year-old veteran, formerly with the Minnesota Lynx, was Co-Defensive Player of the Year in 2025 with Wilson, but is miscast on this younger Dallas squad.

In addition to clearing Smith's salary, Dallas adds a shooting forward in Fiebich (26). The team would prioritize bringing back Awak Kuier (and possibly Maddy Siegrist), while adding more talent through its four 2027 draft picks (Nos. 10, 13, 25, and 30).

The Aces lose Barker, who missed her rookie campaign with a knee injury, but add a proven veteran in Sabally. She was out late in the year for New York after a significant head injury led to extended concussion symptoms. Provided she's fully clear of lingering issues, Las Vegas improves without giving up any significant players in the 2026 rotation.

Pencil Jackie Young back at near-maximum salary—perhaps taking slightly less to let the Aces fill out their bench.

The Liberty improve defensively with Smith, playing alongside Jonquel Jones, Stewart, and Ionescu. The emergence of Marine Fauthoux, along with the addition of Barker, helps offset the loss of Sabally and Fiebich.

The budget to round out the bench wouldn't be significant, but New York would have a solid two-year window with an expensive but ready-to-win roster.

Lynx Add Size Next to Olivia Miles

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Minnesota Lynx Get: Azura Stevens

Chicago Sky Get: Natasha Howard, 2027 No. 15

After a monster regular season led by unanimous Rookie of the Year Olivia Miles, the Minnesota Lynx's postseason run ended in a two-game sweep by the veteran, No. 8-seeded New York Liberty.

The Lynx drew a bad matchup, with New York's size and ability to close off the paint frustrating Miles and limiting her production.

The temptation is to make drastic changes after the disappointing finish, but the Lynx won 33 games, and Miles will improve and learn from her first WNBA playoff experience.

Howard, 6'2", was an important part of the team's regular season, but 6'6" Stevens gives the Lynx more frontcourt size and shooting.

Stevens, 30, struggled from range in Chicago, but she hit 38.1 percent from three in 2025 with the Los Angeles Sparks. Playing alongside Miles could help her regain some of her previous three-point efficiency. She's also nearly five years younger than Howard.

Chicago is in an odd spot: a lottery team in need of significant improvement that owes the Washington Mystics its 2028 first-round pick for Jacy Sheldon.

The team still has work to do to build a competitive roster, but getting out of Stevens' contract through 2028 gives it flexibility. Howard is a strong veteran on an expiring deal. The Sky also add another prospect via the 2027 first-round pick.

Mystics Make Big Swing for Marina Mabrey

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Washington Mystics Get: Marina Mabrey

Toronto Tempo Get: 2027 No. 3, Chicago's 2028 first-round pick

The Mystics improved significantly from a 16-win season in 2025 to the No. 5 seed with 28 wins. Still, the postseason was brief, ending in a first-round sweep by Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream.

Sonia Citron needs more help; Mabrey averaged 20.8 points per game for the 11-win Tempo. With the two together, the Mystics would need to round out the roster with complementary shooters and defenders.

Of course, this assumes the team doesn't jump to No. 1 with its Chicago Sky pick in the 2027 lottery; if so, Washington would likely target USC's JuJu Watkins. That wouldn't necessarily scuttle the trade, since the Mystics can offer future first-round picks instead—but they would also need assurances that Mabrey, in the final year of her deal, is committed to re-signing.

Despite Mabrey's tremendous performance for the Tempo, Toronto should hesitate to reinvest in the 30-year-old guard. Instead of rushing to win, the franchise should take its time and keep an eye on Connecticut's Sarah Strong, potentially the top overall pick in 2028, and other high-level prospects.

The better path forward is to add draft capital and build slowly with young, bright talent, despite the temptation to speed up the tempo.

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