Only a few fans expected Phoenix Mercury’s season to fall apart this quickly. It’s a record they had not achieved since 2023. The Mercury slumped into their overall 7th defeat after a 75-68 loss against the New York Liberty. However, Nate Tibbetts does not  plan to keep Mercury in this position for long. He was back to the drawing board and decided to make an immediate roster move that came as a surprise. 

The Mercury waived Kiana Williams. She was averaging 4.8 points while playing 13.1 minutes per game this season. But she had her minutes rise from 9.7 per game from last year when she played 11 games with the Mercury. Her strong preseason performances, including a 16-point outing against the Chicago Sky, implied the possibility that she could garner a more important role.  According to Tibbetts, it was a required move in light of their recent record and he further hinted at more moves to correct the situation. 

“Kiana, that one was tough,” Tibbetts said Sunday after practice, according to Hayden Cilley. “Kiana’s been a really good part of our team here the last year and a half. Someone that I think a lot of as a person and a player. I think when you’re not winning, there’s moves that you’re going to make. And I am sure that we have got something coming.”

The Mercury haven’t had too many things go their way. The team is struggling on both sides of the court, with an offensive rating of 105.5 ranking 9th in the league and their defensive rating at the same place with 106.7.  The shots are just not going in, as the team is 42.3% from the field and 31.7% from the three-point line. Waiving Williams means they have reinforcements coming in the form of a guard option from the bench. Their starters need some respite, as only the Lynx and the Dream have better scoring benches. The following are the bench contributions (points+ rebounds+ assists) from across the league with the +/- as the label.

Sug Sutton, who was waived by the Fire, could be a good option for the Mercury to look at. She brings 3 years of experience in the league and impressed in the three games for the Fire. She averaged 11.3 points and 5.3 assists per game. In a bigger sample size, she averaged 7.4 points and 3.4 assists with the Mystics in 43 games last year.  And their fate might change with this shake-up coupled with a tactical one too.

They haven’t been as bad as their record suggests. The Mercury are among the best in creating chaos, inducing turnovers at 19.7% while conceding at just 16%. Their +/- of -1.7 is better than the 4-4 Sparks, the 3-5 Sky and the 3-4 Mystics as well.  “I think it was a step in the right direction. Last game they beat us badly in the third quarter, and I think we responded well. Now we just have to finish games,” Alyssa Thomas said after the Liberty loss. It comes down to making shots and if Kahleah Copper overcomes her shooting slump, this will be a completely different team. 

Kahleah Copper’s Resurgence Might Be the Spark Nate Tibbetts Needs

Kahleah Copper is one of the rocks for Nate Tibbetts. She was essential to the finals run last year, averaging 15.6 points per game. The numbers haven’t dropped. In fact, they are up, as she is averaging a team-high 18.4 points per game. However, the efficiency is down the drain as she is shooting at 33.3%. She is shooting a dismal 16.1% from the three-point line. Yet, she is not thinking much about the bad form and believes it will be  back soon. 

“Outside of basketball, it’s just letting it go and leaning into the people around me—the people that really care about me and really know who I am. You just have to keep shooting. I think it’s easy to get in your head and freeze everything, and then you don’t shoot it,” Copper said (via Hayden Cilley). “But no, I’m still going to shoot it. I put in too much work not to. I just have to trust that I’ll be rewarded. It’s definitely been feeling much better. I just have to get it off, just shoot it—no thoughts.”

Copper is too good to continue with these numbers and let this start define the season. But this year is slightly different. She is under more pressure after Satou Sabally’s exit, who was the top scorer for the Mercury. Her field goal attempts are up to a career high 17.6 per game from 12.9 last year.

They don’t have a distinctive third scorer, with Jovanna Nogic coming from the bench and Monique Akoa Makani only recently returning to the fold. If Nate Tibbetts diversifies the attempts across the team, it might help Copper get back her shot.