Your Guide to the Mercury’s Championship Offseason

Fri, May 1, 2015, 6:41 PM

Posted: May 1, 2015

The Mercury chased glory in 2014.

In 2015, they’re defending it.

In what could be considered the best WNBA season of all-time, the Mercury recorded a league-record 29 regular season wins and a 16-game win streak (the second-longest in WNBA history) en route to their third championship. Phoenix also led the league in attendance for the first time since the WNBA’s inaugural season in 1997.

With the 2015 home opener and ring ceremony less than 40 days away, PhoenixMercury.com gets you caught up on everything that happened during the busy offseason below:

Trophy Tour

The X-Factor is the best. Seriously.

To say “thank you” to its fans, the Mercury rolled out a one-of-a-kind trophy tour which made stops at over 30 locations throughout the Valley from October of 2014 through May of 2015.

The trophy has appeared at various events around the state including the Fiesta Bowl Parade, the Phoenix Pride Parade and at Phoenix City Hall when Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton formally recognized the team.

To date, in total, the 2014 WNBA Championship Trophy has been seen by more than 300,000 people.

Taurasi’s Status for 2015

Diana Taurasi will not play the 2015 WNBA season. Taurasi’s lucrative contract with the Russian team for which she has played during the last several WNBA offseasons includes an offer to pay her to rest this summer.

With that, and the prospect of playing in the 2016 Olympics and future WNBA seasons, she has chosen to rest during the 2015 campaign. Taurasi will return to the team for the 2016 season.

“An athlete’s career is finite, and we support any choice Diana makes in the best interest of her longterm health and which has the potential to prolong her career,” said Mercury General Manager Jim Pitman. “We know how much Diana cares about the Mercury organization, team and fans. While we do not underestimate her value to our team, we remain committed to our organization’s stated mission to win championships and create sustained success. We return the league’s best coach and the best core of players in the WNBA, we will work to improve the roster around them, and we will settle for nothing less than defending our title.”

Tiffany Bias’ Monster Offseason Workout

Just click here, and prepare to be amazed.

Offseason Additions

 

  • Cayla Francis (C): A versatile center, Francis has played professionally in Australia since 2007 and averaged 7.2 points and 4.5 rebounds with the Australian National Team during their run to a FIBA World Championships Bronze medal in 2014. This is her first stint in the WNBA.
  • Leilani Mitchell (G): Mitchell has spent all six seasons of her WNBA career with the New York Liberty and owns career averages of 5.4 points, 2.8 assists and 2.0 rebounds. Mitchell, 29, is a career 40.2-percent (233-of-579) shooter from beyond the three-point line and had her best season from beyond the arc in 2010 when she shot a league-best 48.6-percent (72-of-148).
  • Jasmine James (G): James, now fully recovered from a season-ending knee injury suffered in the 2013 offseason, played in 16 games in 2013 and averaged 3.1 points, 1.8 assists and 1.4 rebounds for the Mercury in 2013. In non-basketball news, she is one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.
  • Monique Currie (F): Currie adds a tough, veteran presence for Phoenix. Currie, who has spent eight of her nine seasons in the WNBA with the Washington Mystics, owns career averages of 10.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists.
  • Noelle Quinn (G/F): Quinn owns career averages of 5.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists and enters her ninth WNBA season in 2015.
  • Tess Madgen (G): Madgen has played professionally in Australia since 2008. The 5-foot-11 guard is currently playing with Melbourne in Australia’s WNBL where she ranks among the league leaders in points (15.2, 9th) and assists (4.6, 4th).
  • Marta Xargay (G): Xargay has spent the previous six seasons as a member of Perfumerias Avenida Baloncesto in the Spanish Liga Femenina. This season with Perfumerias Avenida, the 5-foot-11 guard is averaging over five points and nearly three assists per game.
  • Shameka Christon (G/F): Christon enters her 11th WNBA season and has career averages of 9.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists while shooting 34.3-percent from beyond the three-point line. She has played with the New York Liberty (2004-2009), Chicago Sky (2010) and San Antonio Stars (2012-2014).
  • Becca Tobin (C): Tobin graduated from ASU in 2011 after a four-year career on the Sun Devil women’s basketball team where she averaged 6.3 points and 4.79 rebounds in 128 career games. The 6-foot-5 center played professionally in Italy, Romania, Hungary and, most recently, in France.
  • DeWanna Bonner: Bonner back! The Mercury re-signed fan-favorite DeWanna Bonner in the offseason who has spent her entire career with the Mercury since being drafted by the club in 2009. Bonner owns career averages of 13.2 points and 4.1 rebounds in 200 career games played.

 

The Draft

The Mercury made four selections in the 2015 WNBA Draft.

 

  • Isabelle Harrison: A 6-foot-3 center from the University of Tennessee was the team’s first-round selection, going 12th overall.
  • Aex Harden: A 5-foot-11 guard out of Wichita State University taken 18th overall.
  • Zofia Hruscakova: A 6-foot-3 center from Slovakia with the 24th overall pick.
  • Promise Amukamara: A 5-foot-8 guard from Arizona State University who is a native of Glendale, AZ.

 

PhoenixMercury.com was in the war room for the entire draft, and documented the process on video. Click here to see the behind-the-scenes footage.

Exclusive Interviews

PhoenixMercury.com caught up with the vast majority of the team during the offseason.

 

 

The 2015 WNBA Schedule: Home Opener and Ring Ceremony

Training camp for the Phoenix Mercury is scheduled to open at US Airways Center on Sunday, May 17.

The Mercury will open the preseason on Tuesday, May 26 at Seattle for an 11 a.m. start. On Thursday, May 28, the two teams will return to US Airways Center for a special 12:30 p.m. tipoff.

The regular season tips off on Friday, June 5, at US Airways Center against the San Antonio Stars. Among other forthcoming surprises, the home opener will feature a special pregame ceremony celebrating the 2014 WNBA Champions with a ring presentation and a championship banner unveil.

Trust me; you don’t want to miss it.

As a reminder, tickets for the home opener and other Mercury games are available by calling 602-252-WNBA or by visiting PhoenixMercury.com.

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