WNBA Rumors: Insider believes conundrum around Paige Bueckers' future caused Sparks to part with No. 2 pick in deal for Kelsey Plum

Paige Bueckers might be one of the biggest factors of the trade that sent WNBA star Kelsey Plum to the Los Angeles Sparks is one of the bigger moves of the offseason so far, but reports are surfacing that the move might have been motivated by an outside factor.

The LA Sparks' decision to trade away the second overall pick in the draft was caused by rumors that some of the top collegiate prospects were considering staying at school for another year.

According to Alexa Philipou, a women's basketball reporter for ESPN, the top players in women's college basketball, including UConn's Paige Bueckers and Notre Dame's Olivia Miles are considering using their last year of availability in order to avoid this year's WNBA draft in favor of staying at their schools. These rumors are likely why the Sparks decided to deal their top pick.

ESPN's Elle Duncan spoke about the reports with Gary Striewski, another ESPN reporter about Philipou's report. Duncan broke down reasoning as to why the Sparks decided to part with an extremely valuable asset, saying:

"Part of the reason why the Sparks were so willing to trade away that number two overall pick is that there's some whispers that maybe Paige Bueckers will use that other year of eligibility and stay in college."

The rumors surrounding the top college players potentially deciding to stay at the college level instead of entering the 2025 WNBA draft have been swirling for a while. The Dallas Wings have the top overall selection in this year's draft, but there have been talks that Paige Bueckers, the likely number one selection, will pass on becoming a pro to avoid playing for the Wings.

As the draft grows closer, more top collegiate players have been rumored to be considering doing the same in the hopes that a different team will secure the top overall pick in next year's draft. The Wings aren't a poorly run organization by any means, but their current standing in the league as a whole could be why Bueckers and others are hesistant to join them.

Why would Paige Bueckers and others decide to stay at school instead of going to the WNBA?

With the emergence of name, image and likeness(NIL) deals in the college sports world, prospects are able to make millions of dollars in brand deals. Because of that, the professional leagues like the WNBA aren't as attractive to Paige Bueckers and others as they might have been.

Bueckers currently has NIL deals worth more than $1.4 million this season at UConn, which is far more than the contract she would receive from the WNBA, even as a top pick.