Portland Fire Make Trades Ahead of WNBA Roster Deadline
Maya Caldwell and Chloe Bibby are headed elsewhere. Learn more in this piece.
Saturday’s Portland Fire season opener is a historic moment for professional women’s basketball in the Rose City.
However, Portland has a challenge to complete before the WNBA returns to town. The Fire must finalize their roster by Thursday May 7th at 2:00 PM PST.
To that end, the expansion franchise made two transactions today: forward Chloe Bibby was sent to Phoenix in exchange for the rights to Julia Ayrault, and guard Maya Caldwell was sent to Minnesota for the Lynx’s 2028 third round pick.
Before they were traded, the Fire selected Bibby and Caldwell in last month’s expansion draft.
Bibby, a 6’2” Australian forward who broke into the WNBA last summer with Golden State and Indiana - primarily as a “stretch four” perimeter shooter opening up space for others to penetrate inside - was considered a career reserve poised for an expanded role on Portland’s expansion team. She played 16 minutes in Sunday’s preseason loss versus Los Angeles, scoring 1 rebound.
Caldwell, a 5’11” veteran guard, started 22 games over the past two seasons with the Atlanta Dream. She also played in 5 playoff games over those two seasons. In 2025, Caldwell averaged over 18 minutes per game, shooting 42.6% from the field and 35.5% beyond the arc. Like Bibby, she also debuted in last Sunday’s loss to the Sparks, scoring 2 points, 2 assists, and 5 rebounds.
Ayrault, a standout at Michigan State from 2019-25, was not selected in the 2025 WNBA Draft. From there, she signed a short-term training camp contract with the Phoenix Mercury, but left the team last May due to a personal decision. Ayrault will not count against Portland’s roster limit unless they sign her to a regular season contract.
Currently, the Fire roster features 17 players. They will need to trim down to 12 players on their active roster (plus two additional developmental player slots) ahead of tomorrow’s deadline.
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Matt Bagley is a professional sportswriter and broadcaster with a passion for women’s sports. Outside of work, he cherishes quality time with his birth family, his chosen family, and one very pesky house panther.
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On Saturday May 9th, William Temple House is throwing a special one-day music event with five local artists, “William Temple House Jam!”, an inclusive community benefit concert where 100% of proceeds will fund William Temple House’s low-cost counseling and social services. To learn more about William Temple House, browse this link.