Jackie Young, Kelsey Plum, Kelsey Mitchell Named as Potential Mystics Targets

The Washington Mystics should make a hard run at Jackie Young, Kelsey Plum, or Kelsey Mitchell in free agency, The Athletic’s Sabreena Merchant wrote Nov. 10, arguing that Washington “should throw anything and everything at that trio.”

Her reasoning is about scoring. Washington had the second-best defensive rating in the WNBA during the regular season, behind only the champion Valkyries, and the 12th-best offensive rating out of 15 teams. The Mystics went 28-16, up from 16-28 the year before, and Atlanta swept them in the first round.

“Shakira Austin (who earned her first All-WNBA nod in 2026), Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen aren’t going anywhere, thus, the task becomes finding a scorer who can fit in alongside that trio,” Merchant wrote.

Merchant wrote that cap space isn’t an issue. Austin is already locked in after the Mystics matched Toronto’s three-year, $3.57 million offer sheet for her in free agency this year, ESPN reported, and Citron and Iriafen are still on rookie-scale contracts from the 2025 draft. Besides Austin, Merchant counted only Micaela Onyenwere on a non-rookie deal, and Onyenwere’s is non-guaranteed. The league’s cap was $7 million in 2026.

Coach Sydney Johnson also runs basketball operations. He took over that side on April 6, the first day of free agency, when Washington parted ways with general manager Jamila Wideman, ESPN reported.

None of the three would be easy to pry loose. In the same piece, Merchant named re-signing Plum as Phoenix’s top priority and keeping Mitchell as Indiana’s. Aces coach Becky Hammon said after Las Vegas was swept by Golden State in the semifinals that keeping Young is a big priority.

Plum is the cleanest fit, according to Merchant, who wrote that she “fills the hole at point guard most naturally.” Phoenix gave up Monique Akoa Makani, its 2027 first-round pick, and a 2028 second-rounder to get Plum from Los Angeles at the trade deadline, after she started the season with the Sparks on a one-year deal. ESPN reported in August that Plum intends to go through a full free agency process.

Merchant’s note on Young is about age and defense. Young is three years younger than Plum and has been the better defender, Merchant wrote, though she “didn’t always exhibit that for the Aces in 2026.” Young averaged a career-high 18.9 points this season, her eighth in Las Vegas.

Mitchell isn’t a point guard, as Merchant noted, but she wrote that Mitchell would “do wonders for Washington’s offensive spacing” anyway. Mitchell set the WNBA single-season scoring record with 1,086 points for Indiana, where she has played all nine of her seasons.

Neither Young nor Mitchell can be cored, because the collective bargaining agreement reached in March ends core eligibility at seven years of service.

“I have to be selfish,” Mitchell said at her exit interview. “I think that’s where I am in my career … what I probably need and what’s probably best for me. So I have to be selfish in that room.”

“But I think, ultimately, being on the Fever and being a part of an organization that does come with a lot of ups and downs, what factors in and what is important for me is, obviously, having a good chemistry on and off the floor,” Mitchell continued. “I’ve only been with one team my entire career, so it’s all kind of like figuring this out. It’s hard, man.”

The Mystics get another shot at help before free agency opens. They hold Chicago’s pick in the Nov. 15 draft lottery through a swap, and its 16.1% chance at No. 1 trails only Houston and Toronto.