Sue Bird isn’t one to sugarcoat things, and when it comes to WNBA trades, she’s got a clear message: Teams have power, but players should have a say in their future. That’s why the situation unfolding between Marina Mabrey and the Connecticut Sun feels like a standoff with no easy resolution. As per Sue Bird, it is yet another example of a power struggle, highlighting what she has been talking about for some time now. The debate between organizational control and player autonomy. 

Mabrey wants out. The Sun won’t let her go. And Bird? She’s not surprised.

“If I’m Connecticut, I’m like, well, no, I’m not giving you up,” Bird said on her podcast with Megan Rapinoe. That sums up exactly how the Sun sees this—Mabrey is too valuable to lose, and they don’t plan on budging.

From the team’s perspective, this is a business decision. Connecticut has already lost several key players in the offseason—DeWanna Bonner and Brionna Jones departed in free agency, while Alyssa Thomas and DiJonai Carrington were traded. With such significant turnover, Mabrey, who averaged 14 points per game last season without even being a full-time starter, remains one of their most reliable assets. General Manager Morgan Tuck isn’t willing to weaken the roster further, especially when the franchise is trying to rebuild without completely bottoming out.

But that approach comes with consequences.

Bird acknowledged the tough balance between a team’s control and a player’s rights. “A player wants to go somewhere and they express that, and they should have the ability to express that, although she is under contract,” she said. That’s the core of the issue: Should a team force a player to stay if they’re unhappy?

Being locked into a contract is one thing. Feeling like you’re being held hostage is another. And that’s where things get complicated. Bird even joked about the tough spot Tuck is in. “What a first go. A tough first year,” she said. If Tuck trades Mabrey, she risks weakening the roster. If she doesn’t, she risks alienating players who might hesitate before signing with Connecticut in the future.

“It’ll be what it’ll be,” Bird added. “It’ll say a lot about both sides and how they want to conduct themselves.”

The biggest issue? Everyone knows Mabrey wants out. That shifts power to other teams, who can lowball Connecticut in trade talks. With salary cap restrictions making trades even harder, the Sun might not find a deal they like.

But if history tells us anything, it’s that things can change quickly. Connecticut might feel the need for a roster shake-up mid-season. That’s when another team might step up with a stronger offer. 

Either way, this situation isn’t new.

Sue Bird on Marina Mabrey’s déjà vu: “It could happen again”

Marina Mabrey has seen this movie before. Traded to Chicago, then out of Chicago. Now stuck in Connecticut, waiting for a move that might never come. If it all feels familiar, that’s because it is.

Last year, Mabrey went through a whirlwind with the Sky. She arrived in Chicago as a key piece in their rebuild, brought in to complement Kahleah Copper. The Sky gave up a serious haul—multiple picks—to land her in a four-team deal. It was clear they saw her as a major part of their future. Then, just months later, she was gone.

Sue Bird sees it, too. “Yeah, similar to last year, you know, she was in Chicago,” Bird said. “I don’t exactly know what happened, if I’m being honest. But all of a sudden, a trade gets made where Connecticut felt like they needed a player to make a playoff push. And that could happen again, right? There could be a team that needs a player like Marina midway through a season or the season.”

Mabrey had signed up to play under James Wade, the coach and GM who orchestrated the trade. But when Wade left midseason to take a job in the NBA, things changed fast. The system she believed in disappeared, and suddenly, she wasn’t sure where she fit.

“I came to play for James Wade, the system he had built and the vision he saw for me,” Mabrey said at the time. “After a while, it’s hard—you came for one thing, and it didn’t really end up panning out.” She hence requested a trade. Chicago made it happen. And just like that, she was shipped off to Connecticut.

Now, it’s happening all over again.

The Connecticut Sun were all-in on competing last season. But this off-season? A complete reset. All the starters were getting were traded. What was once a title-contending squad has been completely dismantled.

That leaves Mabrey, one of the last major pieces still standing. And just like in Chicago, she doesn’t want to be there anymore. She’s already asked for a trade. But this time, the team has not budged so far.

“We’re not hitting the panic button,” Sun president Jennifer Rizzotti said. “We feel good about the moves that we’ve made.”

Translation? Mabrey isn’t getting out that easily.