Phoenix Mercury Sign Former Indiana Fever Player

Robin Lundberg | Jul 12, 2024

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The Phoenix Mercury have signed a familiar face ahead of their matchup with the Indiana Fever. The Mercury have brought in Celeste Taylor on a seven-day contract, this coming on the heels of Taylor being waived by the Fever just recently.

The Phoenix Mercury have signed rookie guard Celeste Taylor to a seven-day contract. pic.twitter.com/X7ogPytqgr

— Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) July 12, 2024

This sort of back-end of the roster move does not generally make news but in this instance it is noteworthy because of all the extra discussion that comes with anything Indiana does, along with the fact that the Mercury and Fever are set to meet again hours after this was announced.

Some Fever fans were upset when the team parted ways with Taylor due to her defensive reputation. Celeste was a Naismith Defensive Player of the Year finalist and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year last season at Ohio State. Not to mention she was the 15th pick in the WNBA Draft by Indiana.

Though it should be noted that her replacement, Damiris Dantas, has begun to contribute for the Fever. Dantas scored 7 points in just 7 minutes in the high profile win for the team against the New York Liberty. Meanwhile, Taylor logged only 16 total minutes on the season before the Fever decided to part ways with the first-round selection. She scored 3 total points during her time there.

NEW: Phoenix Mercury guard Celeste Taylor is AVAILABLE for Friday’s game against the Indiana Fever, according to the Mercury. #WNBA #ValleyTogether #FeverRising https://t.co/fdCHLc9qJ0

— Desert Wave Media (@DesertWaveCo) July 12, 2024

The Mercury announced that Taylor will be available for the game against Indiana, so perhaps she will get the chance to show what she can do that she was not given during her short time with the Fever.