Star guard Natasha Cloud recalled the moment she found out that the Phoenix Mercury were trading her to the Connecticut Sun and how she found out about the trade on social media
23:50 ET, 12 Mar 2025
Natasha Cloud revealed how she found out that she had been traded from the Phoenix Mercury to the Connecticut Sun.
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The star guard, currently playing in Unrivaled for Phantom BC, was part of a massive four-team trade that also included the Indiana Fever and Dallas Wings. Among those involved in the trade were Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally, who were headed to Phoenix; Sophie Cunningham, who was sent to Indiana; DiJonai Carrington and NaLyssa Smith, who were sent to Dallas; and Cloud, who was traded to Connecticut, among many other players and picks.
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While the magnitude of the trade was shocking to those following the league, it also came as a surprise for Cloud. In a recent appearance on ‘The OGs’ podcast, the 33-year-old explained that Mercury leadership did not brief her before the deal was finalized.
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“The business part of it, we understand,” Cloud began to former Miami Heat stars Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller. “So if you’re going to trade me, just communicate with me and then don’t just send me anywhere. Like, allow me to route myself where I want to.
“I found out an assistant coach texting me, ‘I really appreciated coaching you. You were a real one.’ So I called our GM. I’m like, ‘You got something to tell me?’ He gonna tell me, ‘Yeah, there was an opportunity to grab [Thomas],’ which I’m like, I get it. That’s not the problem.
“At what point were you going to call because you didn’t just find out this morning. I’m in this game 10 years. I’ve been in talks about trades and all that.” Cloud also shared how she also was recruiting Sabally and Thomas to play with her in Phoenix before the trade was finalized.
The star guard then explained how she called head coach Nate Tibbetts to discuss the trade and how Tibbetts told Cloud she “was going to retire a Phoenix Mercury,” only for the team to trade her after one season. Ultimately, while Cloud understands the trade was a business move, the fact that the team chose not to contact her was the main issue.
Haslem, a three-time NBA champion with the Heat, shared in Cloud’s disdain, adding: “You could call me in the office to watch film, but you can’t call me in the office and tell me, ‘Hey, we’re going to make a move.'”
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Cloud’s comments are just the latest she’s made in the aftermath of the trade. Speaking to reporters after an Unrivaled matchup, the star explained how her trade further showed how players are often seen as commodities rather than people by teams in the WNBA.
“I think for the public view, if this isn’t proof enough of the business of the NBA, the WNBA… this is what it is. It’s really hard to be loyal to organizations in this situation when you can just up and move no matter what,” she told reporters.
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“And so that was really hard for me, uprooting my family to the West Coast, being told I was going to retire as a Phoenix Mercury, and to then be shipped out and find out with you guys on social media, that was really fun for me.”
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