Amid a league-wide reshuffle that has familiar faces on unfamiliar teams and eight new head coaches across 13 teams, the Phoenix Mercury perhaps underwent the most dramatic reorganization. After all, saying goodbye to Diana Taurasi after 20 years is like removing the central pillar and hoping the building won’t topple. Add to that Brittney Griner packing her bags for Atlanta and Sophie Cunningham trading the desert heat for Indiana’s, and it looked like Phoenix was heading for a full-blown identity crisis.

Or were they?

“Phoenix continues to be intriguing because, similar to last year, they’re top-loaded,” Hall of Famer and ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo told reporters. And sure enough, the Mercury didn’t waste time. As soon as these veterans left, they began reloading, with Alyssa Thomas taking the lead. Then came Dallas Wings’ beloved forward Satou Sabally, joining the 2021 Finals MVP Kahleah Copper. Just like that, they had a shiny new core. However, not everyone was buying the hype. And now, even the ones who rolled out the red carpet are thinking of rolling it back into a log.

It all came up on May 15th, the day when all 12 WNBA teams had to finalize their rosters down to 12 players for the 2025 season, which kicks off this Friday. As always, this period has been a stressful one for fringe players and rookies who were drafted beyond the first round. These are typically the players on the chopping block. Honestly, what’s harder is that you never know. Which players will teams keep and which ones will they let go? No one has a good guess, and that’s because no one really knows what goes on behind closed doors in a front office.

However, the decision to waive Caitlin Clark’s former teammate, Celeste Taylor, was not just unexpected—it sent shockwaves through the W community. I mean, why not? The second-year guard spent time with three teams—the Indiana Fever, the Connecticut Sun, and the Phoenix Mercury—but still found a place on none of them. That, too, after averaging 20.1 minutes per game and making four starts with the Mercury once she joined the team about midway through the season.

And that’s what intrigued spectators. As head coach Nate Tibbetts felt the heat, he explained the reason behind this controversial move himself while speaking to the media on May 15th. “When you have a competitive camp, you’re gonna have to make some tough decisions. We really like Celeste as a player and as a person. Because of some other roster stuff that has gone on, we had to make a decision to not bring Celeste back,” he told Desert Wave Media.

The Mercury had 16 players to choose from, including Alexa, Kitija, Megan, Murjanatu, and Temira. But still, they opted to cut Taylor, who had already been involved in two stints with Phoenix. Notably, she appeared in 15 regular-season games for them last season. Still, it seems it wasn’t enough to secure her a spot.

So now, you can guess how the fans reacted.

Agitated fans feel triggered for an obvious reason

As usual, fans didn’t hesitate to dive into the comment section, filling it with frustration.

“What is going on in the W this season?” penned a user disappointed with the moves made ahead of this regular season.

And that reaction totally made sense. This season, there have been plenty of shocking cuts. There was Shyanne Sellers, who scored in double figures in 23 of the 27 games in her senior season with Maryland and was a top-ten finalist for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award. Yet, she was waived, not once but twice. Drafted 17th overall, she was first waived by the expansion team Golden State Valkyries on May 3 and was then picked up by the Atlanta Dream, only to be waived again on May 12.

Then there was Bree Hall, widely said to be the perfect fit for the Indiana Fever’s new vision, and who brought with her the experience of 2 NCAA championships. Another head-scratcher came when the Las Vegas Aces waived Harmoni Turner, who made an identity for herself as an ambitious guard at Harvard and was the reigning Ivy League Player of the Year.

“I’m muted ‘waived’ from my feed. I’m done,” wrote another user. Obviously, Mercury’s decision to cut Taylor was another blow. Why not? She’s delivered several notable performances during her professional basketball career, both in the W and internationally.

Just consider her 6-assist game with the Mercury on September 6, where she showcased her playmaking abilities and went 2-4 from three with 2 steals.. Later that month, she delivered again, dropping five assists during a September 22 game for Phoenix. Also, considering the 14.9 minutes she played per game last year, everyone thought she had a place carved out for her. Well, that’s enough to judge a player’s impact, so it makes sense fans are buzzing.

“Celeste Taylor being waived by the Mercury is shocking. She played well enough last year for them to earn a small bench role.”
Even if that wasn’t enough, Taylor has some impressive achievements on her resume. While playing for the Sydney Flames in Australia’s Women’s National Basketball League, she dropped 18 points against the Perth Lynx. In her debut as a starter for the Flames, she recorded eight points, four rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block in a high-scoring victory over the Canberra Capitals. So, there’s no doubt she could have at least filled a bench role for the Mercury.

And she showed flashes of that in the preseason games also. Remember her big-time triple to tie the game at 66 against the Golden State Valkyries? Yes, GSV ended up winning that game, but you don’t waive a player who stepped up in a close game, right? After all, what are preseason games for, if not for gauging who will be a support system in the long run?

“I’m asking in disbelief. I didn’t expect PHX to waive her. Looks like their bench could use her—not that I don’t understand how the W works,” shared another user.

If you’re saying the Mercury had no other option, that would be incorrect. They had only five protected players to begin their regular season roster; the rest were unprotected. Of the seven who were in training camp, three were rookies. Clearly, they had choices.

“Why not waive Alexa, Kitija, Megan, Murjanatu, or Temi instead?” one fan questioned. But according to the head coach, Taylor was an “easy pick” due to “roster stuff.” Still, this isn’t anything new for the former Indiana Fever guard. She’s had a 7-day contract with the Fever, two stints with the Mercury, and a 2-game short run with the Sun. Taylor definitely knows how to navigate team transitions.

She will now enter the waiver process for 48 hours for other teams to make their move. If unclaimed, she will become a free agent, and that seems most likely for now. It barely happens that players are picked off waivers, especially at such a time.

While the backlash against the team is understandable, Taylor’s situation highlights one of the most talked-about problems of the league. There are 13 teams and only 12 roster spots. Just imagine how many dreams get trampled upon because of that, and not because of a lack of talent, but because of a lack of numbers. Teams will keep making these decisions until structural changes are seen in the system, and the W actually starts giving developing players their rightful place.