DeWanna Bonner leaves Mercury for Sun in sign-and-trade
Feb 11, 2020, 9:08 AM | Updated: 9:50 am
DeWanna Bonner #24 of the Phoenix Mercury runs out onto the court before WNBA game against the Connecticut Sun at Talking Stick Resort Arena on July 5, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
DeWanna Bonner’s decade-long run with the Phoenix Mercury has come to an end as the three-time WNBA All-Star was signed and traded to the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday.
The Sun sent the Mercury three first-round picks; the Nos. 7 and 10 picks in the 2020 WNBA Draft, which is April 17, and a first-rounder in 2021. Phoenix also has its own draft pick, which is fifth overall.
“We drafted DeWanna Bonner in 2009, and together we won championships in 2009 and 2014. We watched as she became a Sixth Woman of the Year, All-Star, All-WNBA player and most importantly a mother,” Mercury general manager Jim Pitman said in a statement.
“Ultimately, she has decided the next stage of her career does not include us and we wish her the best. She and her daughters, Cali and Demi, will remain a part of the Mercury family.”
Bonner, who was the fifth overall pick by Phoenix in 2009, made the All-Star teams in three of her last four seasons played (she missed 2017 while pregnant).
The 6-foot-4 forward averaged 17.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game last year for the Mercury. Behind teammate Brittney Griner’s 20.7 points per game, Bonner was the second-leading scorer for Phoenix and fifth in the league.
She appeared in 335 games with Phoenix over 10 seasons, compiling 4,820 points, 2,072 rebounds and 705 assists. Bonner won the 2009 and 2014 WNBA titles with the Mercury.
In 2015, she made First Team All-WNBA and also has three Sixth Woman of the Year wins from 2009-2011.
Bonner was an unrestricted free agent, and the sign-and-trade helped her receive a larger deal under the WNBA’s recently updated collective bargaining agreement that upgraded player salaries.
