WNBA Rumors: Insider predicts Marina Mabrey's trade request saga to come to 'messy' end

By Zachary Howell

Modified Feb 22, 2025 16:28 GMT

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Marina Mabrey requested a trade away from the Connecticut Sun on February 5. More than two weeks later, she is still on the team and the Sun have denied her request to be moved. The result has been a tenuous relationship between Mabrey and the team, which has sparked conversation around the "player empowerment" era that the WNBA is ushering in.

When the Connecticut Sun denied Mabrey's trade request on Tuesday, WNBA experts questioned the decision, wondering why the Sun would retain her after she asked out. Her agent, Marcus Crenshaw, agreed when talking to ESPN about the situation, saying:

"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 remarked about the situation. "Why would anyone try to force someone to play on their team when they don’t want to be there?"

Retaining Marina Mabrey against her wishes might seem like a good idea for the Connecticut Sun, but according to Breakaway WNBA Insider Noa Dalzell, the saga could come to a "messy" end.

Marina Mabrey's trade request came at the worst time for the Connecticut Sun, who lost their entire starting five, as well as a couple of key bench pieces and head coach, this offseason. Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner and Brionna Jones all signed with other teams in free agency. Dijonai Carrington and Tyasha Harris were traded away to the Dallas Wings in an offseason of turmoil for the Sun.

When explaining why the team decided to hold on to Mabrey instead of trading her away, Connecticut Sun president Jen Rizzotti told reporters that it was a matter of the return not being equivalent to the Mabrey's value.

"[It] wasn’t in our best interest to move her [Mabrey] because of the value that we gave up to get her, but also that we place on her," said Jen Rizzotti.

If Marina Mabrey stays with the Sun, how can she rebuild her value before next offseason?

While Marina Mabrey might not want to play in Connecticut right now, she has the opportunity to earn a big payday with the new collective bargaining agreement is set into place next offseason. After the extreme roster turnover the Sun have undergone over the offseason, Mabrey figures to be the focal point for the team's offensive system under new coach Rachid Meziane.

Despite losing so many players in the offseason, the Sun still expect to be competitive. They brought in veterans to fill in their holes, including Tina Charles, Natasha Cloud and Diamond DeShields, amongst others.

However, the Mabrey trade saga leaves a sour taste in both Marina's and the team's mouths.