"Worked for Jimmy so why not" - WNBA fans in shambles as Marina Mabrey draws Jimmy Butler comparisons amid Sun trade request standoff 

Guard Marina Mabrey has been in the headlines, as she's in a standoff with the Connecticut Sun after requesting a trade earlier this month. WNBA fans drew comparisons of the veteran guard's situation with the highly publicized saga between nine-time NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler and his former team, the Miami Heat.

A fan on X (formerly Twitter) referenced Butler's situation this season with Miami to Mabrey showing up at Connecticut's training camp ahead of the 2025 WNBA season. Here are fans' reactions to the post:

"I mean it worked for Jimmy so why not????," a fan posted.

"As she should I mean s**t," another fan said.

"might as well," a fan replied.

A fan referenced another NBA player, James Harden, whose trade requests have been accommodated several times by the teams he played on.

"Shoot put that harden fat suit and pretend to be pregnant and watch how quickly they’ll move off her," a fan wrote.

Several others found the post hilarious:

"why is the Internet so funny man," a fan posted.

"Lmfao yall play too damn much!," another fan wrote.

"I almost spit out my soup lol," one fan said.

Mabrey requested a trade from the team earlier this month. Sun president Jennifer Rizzoti told ESPN that the team had denied Mabrey's request and that it wasn't in the team's best interest to move on from the guard after trading for her last season.

Amid the WNBA free agency, the Sun's entire starting lineup from its final playoff game last season has already departed through trades and free agent signings. According to ESPN's Alexa Philippou, Connecticut is the first team in basketball to lose all its five starters from the final playoff game in the following offseason. Starters were first tracked in 1970-71.

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"Mind-blogging" - Marina Mabrey's agent blasts trade denial

Marina Mabrey's agent, Marcus Crenshaw, said that it's "mind-blogging" that the Connecticut Sun denied the trade request of its veteran guard. On Tuesday, Crenshaw provided a statement to ESPN's Alexa Philippou where he blasted the franchise's decision:

"In this current age of women's empowerment and support of the players, the CT Sun threatening to force Marina Mabrey to play for them after her trade request is mind-boggling," Crenshaw said. "Why would anyone try to force someone to play on their team when they don't want to be there? It's counterproductive in a ton of ways and everyone we have spoken to is perplexed about how they are handling Marina, after trading away Hall of Fame caliber players."

Connecticut traded Rachel Banham, Moriah Jefferson, a 2025 first-round pick and a 2026 pick swap to the Chicago Sky to acquire Mabrey midway through last season.

The 28-year-old was a steady contributor last season, averaging 14.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 40 games (16 with the Sun). In seven playoff games, she contributed 15.9 points per game.

Marina Mabrey signed a three-year, $620,000 contract extension with Chicago in 2023. She has one more year left on her contract and is set to be paid $210,000 in 2025, according to Spotrac.