Phoenix Mercury trade Sug Sutton to Mystics for Klara Lundquist on deadline day

The Phoenix Mercury traded guard Sug Sutton and a 2025 third-round pick to the Washington Mystics for the rights to Swedish guard Klara Lundquist, both teams announced on trade deadline day Tuesday.

Sutton earned the first triple-double in Mercury history last season, a breakout year that revitalized her WNBA career.

The Mystics took Sutton with the last pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft out of Texas and waived her the following year. Sutton suffered a back injury playing overseas and did not receive another WNBA contract until the Mercury signed her in 2023. She had played for her hometown St. Louis Surge in the Global Women’s Basketball Association in between.

THERE IT IS ‼@sugsutton gets her first career triple-double and the first in @PhoenixMercury franchise history #MoreThanGame pic.twitter.com/fKNM9uLkKt

— WNBA (@WNBA) September 9, 2023

Sutton played 40 games for Phoenix last year with 12 starts, averaging 8.2 points per game, 4.8 assists and 2.6 rebounds. She shot 38.5% from the field and 33.7% from deep.

This year, her minutes have dropped from 26.3 per game to 14.9, and her production has dipped significantly. She is averaging 2.9 points with 2.4 assists, shooting 30.6% from the floor and 27% from deep.

Lundquist is a 24-year-old who won the league MVP and Defender of the Year awards for Sodertalje Basketbollklubb in her home nation of Sweden last season. She is set to play for Spar Girona in Spain for the 2024-25 campaign.

The 5-foot-8 guard has played for the Swedish senior national team since 2016, putting up some eye-opening performances during the EuroBasket qualifiers in 2023.

Klara Lundquist appreciation post 🙇‍♀️🙌

The Swedish gem stepped up for 🇸🇪 to go 2-0 in the #EuroBasketWomen Qualifiers! 🔝 pic.twitter.com/v0Vuh4LEFa

— FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 🏀 (@EuroBasketWomen) November 17, 2023

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