Marta Suárez reveals why she chose Mercury’s developmental spot over Valkyries

SAN FRANCISCO– After all the drama surrounding the Golden State Valkyries’ bizarre Marta Suárez-Flau’Jae Johnson draft night trade, and the Valkyries subsequently cutting the TCU rookie two weeks later, Suárez is in a good place with the Phoenix Mercury. Mainly because she gets to be herself with her new team.

Ahead of the Golden State’s home opener, Suárez spoke with several beat writers and revealed that the Valkyries actually offered her a developmental contract, which she turned down in favor of Phoenix.

“Yeah, of course,” Suárez told ClutchPoints when asked if the Valkyries tendered her an offer for one of their two developmental spots.

“They never just took me for granted. It’s just, you know, things happen, if [it was] a different season… It was very funny, because it kind of reminded me of college recruiting. Sometimes you’ve got to look at a lot of things and find the right fit for you. And at the end of the day, I’ve always made my decisions based on intuition. And the Bay is still home, like, whenever I get a chance, I’m gonna be up here. But it just felt like the opportunity to go to the Phoenix Mercury– I thought that was a very cool idea.”

Suárez’s reveal highlights an interesting wrinkle in how the Valkyries’ front office has operated this preseason.

On paper, Suárez has much more talent and potential than Miela Sowah, whom they added to one of their developmental spots, and Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda, whom they signed to replace Iliana Rupert. Thus, with Suárez snubbing Golden State, it seems likely that the front office had to pivot to other, less optimal options.

What Marta Suárez saw in Phoenix that she didn’t see in Golden State

But even more interesting is the reason why Suárez chose Phoenix over Golden State.

“I’m very hungry,” Suárez said. “I’m very hungry to play. I didn’t really get a chance here to be myself. And now to be able to share the core with really legends like [Alyssa Thomas], [DeWanna Bonner], and Kahleah Copper.”

“I really value that, and to be able to see them in their everyday. What they do, how they treat their bodies, how they approach the expectations of a franchise. They’ve been doing this for a long time, both in the men’s side and women’s side, so they know what needs to be done. I’m definitely not taking that for granted.”

Suárez’s answer is twofold. On the Valkyries, she didn’t see a pathway to playing how she believes she should play. And on Phoenix, the opportunity to sit and learn from proven players proved more enticing.

On a developmental contract with the Mercury, Suárez will be eligible to play in 12 games max, with her ability to practice with the team being where she’ll look to continue to grow. And that’s her main goal this season, continuing to develop.

“As long as I grow, I’ll be fine,” Suárez said. So, as a rookie season or developmental season, just trying to take in as much as I can see, share the court with these people, and learn as much as I can. Be a sponge.”

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