Over the last few weeks, the Connecticut Sun has entered a full-on makeover phase, completely changing the face of a squad that made it all the way to the WNBA semifinals last season. The entire 2024 starting lineup? Gone. Either traded or let loose in free agency. And now, only one key piece is left from last year’s team, guard Marina Mabrey, made it very clear that she doesn’t want to stick around for what’s looking like a rebuilding season. Mabrey requested a trade. But guess what? The Sun shut that request down.

We know that the baller landed in Connecticut last summer after pushing her way out of Chicago before the All-Star break. She put up solid numbers (14.4 points and 4.1 assists per game) mostly playing as the Sun’s first option off the bench. She helped push them to a five-game battle against the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA semifinals. 

But this year? Well, if she stays, she’ll likely take on a more pivotal role—unless she pulls what Arike Ogunbowale jokingly suggested.

Ogunbowale, feeling some type of way about Mabrey’s situation, took to Elon Musk’s X and posted a video of a hooper intentionally missing every shot, captioning it: “me all season if my trade request got denied.” Funny? Some fans thought so. Others? Not so much. 

A chunk of WNBA Twitter slammed the joke as “unprofessional.” The 4x WNBA All-Star, though, wasn’t about to let it slide. When someone questioned whether such a move would be professional, she clapped back, “of course not. twitter isn’t a real place, u supposed to laugh & keep scrolling.” 

But while Ogunbowale was all jokes, Mabrey’s agent isn’t playing around one bit. Marcus Crenshaw of The FAM agency went off after hearing that the Sun was refusing to trade Mabrey. He told ESPN’s Alexa Philippou, “In this current age of women’s empowerment and support of the players, the CT Sun threatening to force Marina Mabrey to play for them after her trade request is mind-boggling.” 

He went on to say that everyone they have spoken to is perplexed about how they are handling Marina, after trading away Hall of Fame caliber players. And he has a point. The Sun has shipped out big names left and right.

Will Marina Mabrey be the face of the Sun’s rebuild?

It started with All-Stars Brionna Jones and DeWanna Bonner leaving in free agency, and then longtime franchise pillars Alyssa Thomas and DiJonai Carrington were traded ahead of their contract expirations. In return, Connecticut got the No. 8 pick in the upcoming draft, WNBA champion Natasha Cloud and a handful of younger players meant to build for the future.

The Sun’s president, Jennifer Rizzotti, isn’t panicking about the team’s shakeup. “We feel good about the moves that we’ve made. We’ve been very intentional about our priorities,” she said, adding that by 2028, she expects every WNBA team to have upgraded training facilities. 

Right now, though, the Sun is lagging behind in that department. While teams like the Phoenix Mercury and Las Vegas Aces are opening top-tier training centers, Connecticut is still based inside the Mohegan Sun casino resort. Even the Los Angeles Sparks, who currently practice at a community college, have announced plans for their own facility.

Rizzotti admitted they knew trading for Mabrey was risky since she had already forced her way out of two teams, but they went for it anyway. And now, they don’t want to let her go. Well, considering her semi-finals and playoffs performance, they MUST not let him go. 

So what’s next? If Mabrey stays, she could finally get a shot at being the best player on a team. The Sun gave up a lot to get her, including their 2025 first-round pick, so it makes sense why they don’t want to part ways. But from her perspective, staying on a rebuilding team isn’t exactly appealing. 

We’ll have to wait and see how the next season plays out for the franchise and the athlete.