Natasha Cloud says leaving the Mystics to join the Mercury felt like ripping a Band-Aid off

"Any goodbye, when you've given so much of yourself as a person and as an athlete, is really hard."

Seeing Natasha Cloud in a Phoenix Mercury uniform will feel different for Washington Mystics fans. Still, the star guard believes it was all part of God’s plan to rip the Band-Aid off and move her to where she can be appreciated.

Free agency can be challenging for players who have spent their entire careers with one organization. Natasha Cloud spent eight seasons in Washington, D.C. with the Washington Mystics before joining the Phoenix Mercury on a two-year deal. While promoting her off-season league, Athletes Unlimited, which helps keep her skills sharp, Cloud shared with For the Win that the decision to leave the Mystics hurt her soul.

Natasha Cloud is leaving the Washington Mystics and will be signing with the Phoenix Mercury, per @Khristina

Cloud helped lead DC to a championship in 2019, now she's teaming up with Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi pic.twitter.com/yQKL8TltQ1

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 1, 2024

Here’s what Natasha shared with us about her decision to move on:

“That community is what kept me there for all the years. Any goodbye, when you’ve given so much of yourself as a person and as an athlete, is really hard. But I trusted in God again for this next chapter and journey of my career. I felt like He was moving me, and He did it by ripping the Band-Aid off.

From the beginning, Phoenix sought after me. It was intentional and to feel that, after not feeling appreciated or valued for so many years within an organization, was relieving and nice. Where Phoenix is going as an organization — bringing Kahleah Copper and me in to add to what they already had in Brittney Griner, Diana Taurasi, Sophie Cunningham and Rebecca Allen, plus investing in a new facility and hosting NBA All-Star — showcases what they are about. It was just a situation that I could not pass up.”