The Connecticut Sun believe that the time to win their first WNBA championship is now, especially after coming oh-so-close last season.

Tuesday, the Sun added a big star to help make that happen.

Connecticut acquired forward DeWanna Bonner from the Phoenix Mercury as part of a sign-and-trade in return for their two first-round picks this year (seventh and 10th overall) and next year’s first round pick.

No details of the multi-year contract were released as per team policy.

“We are ecstatic to add and welcome DeWanna Bonner and her family to the Sun,” Connecticut head coach and general manager Curt Miller said. “She is an established all-star in our league and one of the most versatile players in our game. DB's talent is undeniable, but most impressive to me was the praise she had for our roster and her desire to join our nucleus as we chase our first championship.”

Connecticut played in its third WNBA Finals last season and first since 2005. It lost in five games to the Washington Mystics.

“I’m excited to play with this talented group and do whatever I can to help this organization hang its first championship banner,” Bonner said in a release. “Nothing is more important to me than winning.”

Bonner, 6-foot-4, was the league’s fifth-leading scorer last season (17.2 ppg) and ninth in rebounding (7.6). She’s averaged 17.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists over 10 seasons. She’s a three-time WNBA All-Star, a three-time WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year and won two WNBA championships with Phoenix.

Bonner brings added flexibility to an already versatile frontcourt because she can play multiple positions.

“The way the game is heading, it's exciting to think about the possibilities with the amount of flexibility that JJ (center Jonquel Jones) has, that a facilitating forward like AT (Alyssa Thomas) has, and DeWanna has,” Miller said, “but that's not just going to happen overnight. ... We may have some bumpy roads as we're trying to figure out how to play all these talented players together.”

The Sun have been open about the difficulty they’ve had attracting top free agents and have tried to change that. Southeastern Connecticut is the WNBA’s smallest market and doesn’t haven’t the bright lights and attractions like Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles or Seattle.

Bonner is the biggest free agent the Sun have signed since Kara Lawson in 2010, and easily their biggest since relocating from Orlando to Mohegan in 2003.

“It came about fast,” Miller said of the deal. “We started to hear through our own players overseas that DeWanna was open to leaving, and that’s what allowed us to start the conversation.”

One edge that Connecticut had in attracting Bonner was Sun vice president Amber Cox. Cox spent nine seasons with the Mercury and was their president and chief marketing officer in her final two seasons.

“To be honest, a big piece of this was the prior relationship that Amber Cox had with DB,” Miller said.

Connecticut did a sign-and-trade with Phoenix so that Bonner could earn an extra $30,000. The maximum salary in the new collective bargaining agreement agreed to this offseason is $215,000. The maximum she would’ve earned signing with the Sun is $185,000.

“The new CBA allowed for a higher amount if you stay with the incumbent team,” Miller said. “That played part of it as far as sign and trade versus just signing.”

The Sun have just seven players signed and teams can carry up to 12. They still have four free agents — starters Shekinna Stricklen (forward) and Courtney Williams (guard), and guards Rachel Banham and Bria Holmes, the latter who emerged as Connecticut’s best reserve in her first season with the team last season.

The addition of Bonner raises the question if there’s still a place for Stricklen.

“Absolutely,” Miller said. “You see it in the NBA all the time. Sometimes players have to take on different roles in order to win a championship. Certainly, there’s a real place for a lot of players on our team that are still unsigned, but everybody has got to do the best for themselves.”

n.griffen@theday.com