After being waived by the Indiana Fever back in June, DeWanna Bonner re-signed with the Phoenix Mercury, but things still didn’t pan out as expected for the 39-year-old veteran.
With seven games left in the season, the Mercury decided to part ways with Bonner again, but this time they had to buy out the remainder of her contract.
That’s what piqued the interest of WNBA analyst Rachel DeMita, who explained her thoughts on it on her Courtside Club podcast.
In an official statement by the Mercury general manager Nick U’Ren, they explained that both sides “worked out a buyout agreement” built on their relationship, which would allow Bonner to “chase a title in what could be her final postseason.”
For DeMita, she felt that Bonner got what she wanted and more because of her contributions to the team, but also pointed out that her conditions could be another topic of discussion if it happened in a much more competitive league.
“If this were any other league, I feel like she would be so scrutinized for this. But you can’t even blame her. With every team that she’s been on, or at least the last two teams, if she wants out, she gets out,” said DeMita. “With the Indiana Fever, she left the Indiana Fever, and they didn’t even trade for her. They got nothing in return.
She added, “The Phoenix Mercury got nothing for her, and they had to pay her… So it’s like, DeWanna is literally doing whatever she wants to do.”
For what it’s worth, Bonner getting exactly what she wanted didn’t come easy, as she worked hard for it, which was evident in her numbers so far. This season, Bonner became just the third player in WNBA history to hit 8,000 career points, while holding the league’s all-time wins record outright with 379 combined regular-season and playoff victories.
As Bonner leaves Phoenix, she’ll be welcomed with open arms by the Atlanta Dream for the rest of the season in the hopes of adding a third championship to her trophy cabinet before calling it quits.
DeWanna Bonner’s chase for another title lands in Atlanta
After DeWanna Bonner closed her chapter with the Phoenix Mercury, she’ll be coming into the Atlanta Dream’s squad, which is brimming with confidence as they enter the playoffs.
Currently sitting in fourth place in the league, the offseason signings worked well for Atlanta, particularly after bringing in Angel Reese.
And with Bonner joining the team, their championship bid just got even better. The six-time All-Star, despite nearing the sunset of her career, is still putting up decent numbers, averaging 10.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game so far this season, with most of it coming from the bench.
With DeWanna Bonner joining the Dream, it just adds more threat from their second-stringers, who are currently averaging 17.2 points per game.
ESPN reported that Bonner’s salary is expected to be a prorated max contract worth about $116,000, which proves that despite her age, she’s still one of the most valuable players in the league.