With the trade deadline closing in and a six-game losing streak, the rumors of a Kelsey Plum trade are not ideal for the Los Angeles Sparks. Having the two-time WNBA champion on the team would give them a chance to recover from their 10-17 record. Plum, who has been sidelined for five weeks due to injury, returned to practice on Thursday and has come forward with a statement on this matter.

“I’m not taking anything personal. I’m going to be where my feet are. I play for the Sparks. On Sunday, I’m going to suit up. Coming off the bench, and I’m actually really excited about it.”, as per an X post from Edwin Garcia of the Swish Appeal.

“There’s a lot of things that are in the unknown, and those are things outside of my control. For me, my control is to be here, play the highest level of basketball I can possibly play, and help my team win games, ” she noted as per another post by Garcia.

The Sparks’ game on Sunday against the Portland Fire assumes significant importance, as the WNBA trade deadline is 3 PM ET on Sunday, half an hour before Los Angeles and Portland tip off. While it is a good sign that Plum is racing to get back on the court, there is plenty of time for late drama. This is something that even Plum has indicated.

“The thing about professional sports is, it’s a business,” Plum said after Thursday’s practice.

Plum, 31, is on a $999,999 contract this season. She will be an unrestricted free agent after the season, free to sign with any of the league’s 15 teams. Losing her would be a blow for the Sparks; losing her without getting anything in return would be catastrophic. For the Sparks, trading Plum for assets beats losing her for nothing — so all options remain open, something that coach Lynne Roberts has indicated as well.

“Everything is on the table,” Roberts said on Thursday, as per John Davis.

“We’re not where we want to be, and so we’ve got to evaluate everything, and maybe that’s keep the group intact, maybe it’s not. We’ve got to evaluate everything. We have to figure out what we need to do to get this franchise where it needs to be.”

Kelsey Plum was averaging 23.9 points, 2.2 rebounds, 6.4 assists, and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 52.7% from the field and 38.3% from beyond the arc before being sidelined with a lower left leg soft-tissue injury. She has been unable to play since June 21, and her absence has its impact.

The Sparks have a 3-12 record in the 15 games they have played without her during this season, and 7-5 when she has featured. Sparks can’t afford to lose Plum’s 23.9 PPG, even if a trade brings back a prospect. Without her, all playoff hopes may be crushed.

Losing Plum Would Dent Sparks’ Playoff Hopes

The Sparks are five games out of eighth place, the final playoff spot, with 17 games left in the regular season.

However, if Kelsey Plum is indeed traded away, the chances of making the playoffs this year would be even lower. Any player who comes in her place would find it difficult to match her offensive output, with Plum being the leading scorer on this Sparks team by quite the margin. Only A’ja Wilson averaged more PPG than Plum before her injury.

The Sparks cannot afford the time that it would take a new player to adjust.

If Plum is traded, Sparks fans would feel hard done by, especially considering the way she was acquired. The Sparks parted with their second overall pick from the 2025 draft, which eventually turned out to be an All-Star in Dominique Malonga, to the Seattle Storm as part of a blockbuster three-way trade that ultimately landed Plum in LA and Jewell Loyd in Las Vegas.

So while it’s a good sign that Kelsey Plum could feature in Sunday’s game, it’s anybody’s guess where she will play after that deadline day.