The Phoenix Mercury are expected to sign free-agent wing DeWanna Bonner, a league source confirmed to The Athletic.
Bonner, a six-time All-Star, signed with the Indiana Fever this past offseason, but the team waived her on June 25 after nine games. Bonner said in a statement that she requested to “move on” from the Fever, and Indiana looked at trading the veteran wing before waiving her.
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The 37-year-old veteran did not play more than 27 minutes in a game this year and took four shots or fewer in five of her nine appearances for Indiana. Before joining the Fever, she made the All-Star team in three of her five seasons with the Connecticut Sun, including 2023 and 2024.
In signing with Phoenix, Bonner is returning to the team that drafted her. The Mercury selected her with the No. 5 pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft, and she spent the first decade of her career with the franchise, winning two WNBA championships.
This year’s Mercury team, however, looks vastly different from those she starred on in the 2010s. The trio of Kahleah Copper, Satou Sabally and Alyssa Thomas currently leads Phoenix. Sabally and Thomas made the All-Star team this season, while Copper has played in just six games due to injury. Thomas is Bonner’s fiancé, and the two will reunite after playing with the Sun together for the last five seasons.
Phoenix traded for Thomas this past offseason, while Bonner, despite the Mercury’s intense recruiting efforts, decided to sign with Indiana this winter.
The Mercury enter Monday night’s game against the Dallas Wings tied for second in the league standings, alongside the reigning champion New York Liberty.
(Photo: Greg Fiume / Getty Images)
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