It’s not uncommon for sports trades to be universally reviled and mocked, especially in basketball.
Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison, for instance, still faces chants of “Fire Nico” after his largely ridiculed trade of former franchise cornerstone Luka Doncic in February.
(And yes, those chants persist despite the Mavs winning the NBA Draft lottery and picking prized rookie Cooper Flagg in June.)
But these sorts of trades will typically see front office or ownership types taking the brunt of the heat.
It’s much rarer for a player to be facing criticism given that they often have no say in it — not to say that players always come out unscathed from these situations.
Even rarer? When a WNBA trade — of all things — gets both player and league tossed under a searing microscope.
That’s what happened when the Dallas Wings agreed to a trade with the Las Vegas Aces, which was announced Monday.
𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐄 𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐓
Las Vegas has acquired NaLyssa Smith from the Dallas Wings in exchange for the Aces 2027 First Round Pick. pic.twitter.com/KF8VBZevJi
— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) June 30, 2025
Do you watch the WNBA?
The Aces acquired NaLyssa Smith from the Wings, sending back a 2027 first round pick in exchange.
It would’ve been a nothingburger of a deal (the Wings, a bottom-feeding team, acquire a future asset in exchange for a player whose contributions don’t really matter anyhow), but then Smith vocally complained about it.
sick to my stomach dawg , never seen this coming but .. i love you dallas nation, thank you 4 everything.
— #1 (@NaLyssaSmith) June 30, 2025
“sick to my stomach dawg,” Smith posted to X shortly after the trade. “Never this coming but .. i love you dallas nation, thank you 4 everything.”
Part of the reason Smith felt “sick,” according to Sports Illustrated, is that she’s in a relationship with controversial Wing guard DiJonai Carrington, who similarly seemed crestfallen over the abrupt trade.
💔
— dιjonaι carrιngтon♛ (@DijonaiVictoria) June 30, 2025
That drama, after being echoed by Fox News, sparked an avalanche of backlash for both Smith and the WNBA.
One of the leading voices against that came from Tomi Lahren:
I don’t care what any of y’all say, the WNBA is never going to be successful. Clark can’t save it. Nobody can. So embarrassing! pic.twitter.com/GGRSAIgRC1
— Tomi Lahren (@TomiLahren) June 30, 2025
“I don’t care what any of y’all say, the WNBA is never going to be successful,” Lahren wrote, saying that Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark “can’t save it.”
“Nobody can. So embarrassing!”
Lahren was hardly the only one who found this ridiculous.
This is the most WNBA thing to ever happen. https://t.co/MbmzkFmwR8
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) June 30, 2025
“This is the most WNBA thing to ever happen,” another X account posted, in a quip that’s garnered over 42,000 likes.
The comments under both the critical posts overwhelmingly agreed with those sentiments.
It is worth noting that while Smith admitted to being “sick” about it all, a follow-up post did note that she was looking forward to playing with the Aces (who, unlike the Wings, are fighting for a playoff spot), who employ A’ja Wilson, regarded by many as the greatest WNBA player of all time.
“on another note tho if i could’ve chose anywhere to go it would’ve been vegas so hella excited 4 this new opportunity wit my goat,” Smith posted in a follow-up X post.
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