Mercury star Diana Taurasi has agreed to return to Phoenix on a multiyear deal, the team announced.
A 16-season veteran, 38-year-old Taurasi is the WNBA's leading career scorer with 8,931 points and is a three-time league champion.
"WNBA players are more empowered and in control of their careers than ever before, and it is an incredibly important statement that Diana Taurasi has chosen to re-sign with the Mercury once again," Phoenix general manager Jim Pitman said Monday in a statement. "As I've said before, as long as Diana wants to play in the WNBA, we want her in a Mercury uniform. She is the heart of our franchise, the first face on our Mount Rushmore, the best winner and competitor in the women's game. The trajectory of our organization changed the day we drafted her [in 2004], and we are excited she will be here into the future."
WNBA free agents officially can begin signing with their teams on Monday, although Sue Bird will have to wait.
The Seattle Storm star is returning to the team, a WNBA source told ESPN, but Bird is not expected to sign Monday as the team works out salary-cap issues. Bird, a four-time WNBA champ who has played 17 seasons and is the league's career leader in assists (2,888), turned 40 in June.
One big-name player on the move is Candace Parker. The Chicago Sky announced the signing of Parker to a multiyear deal on Monday.
Parker's intended move had previously been reported by ESPN's Ramona Shelburne.
The 34-year-old forward/center had spent her entire career with the Los Angeles Sparks, who drafter Parker out of Tennessee with the No. 1 pick in the 2008 draft.
Parker, a two-time MVP and the 2016 WNBA Finals MVP, grew up in suburban Chicago and went to Naperville Central High School.
"Chicago is where my family raised me; where I first learned the game of basketball; and where I first fell in love with this orange ball," Parker said in a statement. "I am excited to continue the next chapter of my career where it all began. To my new teammates, my new organization, and my new fans: I'm home."
Sky coach and general manager James Wade said in a statement, "It says a lot about the strides we've made in the right direction, and we believe Candace is the one who is going to take us to that next level."
Among other signings announced on Monday:
Bird's former Storm teammate, forward Alysha Clark, is going to Washington. Clark won two titles with Seattle, where she played for nine seasons.
Forward Cheyenne Parker has signed with Atlanta after playing her first six WNBA seasons with Chicago and having career-high averages of 13.4 points and 6.4 rebounds last year.
Indiana has signed forward Jantel Lavender, who won a WNBA title with Los Angeles in 2016 and has played nine seasons in the league. Her most recent season was 2019 with Chicago; she did not play last year because of a foot injury.
Dallas signed guard Allisha Gray to a multiyear deal, keeping her with the franchise. The Wings drafted her at No. 4, and she was WNBA Rookie of the Year in 2017.