Diamond DeShields finds right fit with Phoenix Mercury

It’s a pretty seamless fit between the Phoenix Mercury and one of their newest acquisitions, forward Diamond DeShields.

DeShields is coming off winning a WNBA championship with the Chicago Sky in 2021, and while that was a big-time accomplishment for her, it came during a season in which DeShields was moved from the starting lineup to the bench.

She was vocal after the season that she wanted to return to Chicago, but as a starter, per the Chicago Sun-Times.

“I don’t belong on the bench,” DeShields said in November. “I played the role because that’s what I was called to do [in 2021]. I did that as gracefully as I could, but that’s not the role I want.”

Enter the Mercury, who after a busy offseason period have a projected star-studded lineup that includes Skylar Diggins-Smith, Diana Taurasi, Tina Charles and Brittney Griner. The only thing missing is a wing, where Kia Nurse was slotted in before she tore her ACL in the playoffs last season.

That’s where DeShields gets her wish to be a starter on a contender and she likes how what she does fits into what Phoenix needs.

“I think that there’s a very specific need for the style and type of player that I am,” DeShields said Monday. “I think defensively I’ll be able to be very helpful for this team and just playing in transition. I don’t really have too many questions about what my role will be. Obviously, we have scorers at all five positions and so I see myself as more of a defensive, two-way player and someone who can just do what I’ve always have done and play out in space and in transition.”

DeShields was a restricted free agent heading into the offseason and was acquired by the Mercury in a three-team deal, with Phoenix sending guard Bria Hartley and two second-round picks to the Indiana Fever, plus a first-round selection to Chicago. The Sky also received Indiana guard Julie Allemand.

It’s a great fresh start for DeShields, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft that was Second Team All-WNBA in 2019. The following year is when DeShields had issues with an injured knee that would later require surgery and coming back from last season was when DeShields was moved to the bench halfway through the season.

The 26-year-old still has plenty of basketball ahead for her and lands on a team that has loads of past precedent for winning that will help her get back on track to the type of player she was as she entered the league.

“If you look at the team, the team is full of champions,” she said. “Players that have won on many different levels. So I don’t think those expectations are going to be frightful or ones that the team won’t be able to meet or look past.

“I think the biggest thing is going to be just coming to work every day and focusing on us.”

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