The Aces were able to retain A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray, Jewell Loyd, and Kierstan Bell—four of their five starters and their four leaders in minutes per game. While only Bell has officially put pen to paper, the other three have all committed to returning to the Aces.
With that core still intact and Becky Hammon on the sidelines, the Aces will be difficult to dethrone as the league’s champions. But free agency is quickly revealing a worthy challenger: the New York Liberty.
Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, and Jonquel Jones will all be back, while Leonie Fiebich is still on her rookie contract and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton’s contract was suspended last season, meaning she can only negotiate with the Liberty. On top of all that, ESPN reported that Satou Sabally will sign a multi-year deal with the team.
A lineup of Ionescu, Fiebich, Sabally, Stewart, and Jones could easily end up being one of the best starting fives in the league. The Liberty’s front office still needs to fill out the bench, but this team is quickly shaping up to be a legitimate championship contender.
The Liberty’s core is more proven than those of many other teams
New York isn’t the only team making big moves. The Fever will re-sign Kelsey Mitchell to keep their core of Mitchell, Caitlin Clark, and Aliyah Boston together, and also managed to hold on to Lexie Hull and add Monique Billings to the mix. The Dream traded for Angel Reese, while keeping their core from last season together, and the Sparks reunited with Nneka Ogwumike.
But the difference between the Liberty and those other teams is experience. Stewart, Ionescu, Jones, and Fiebich won a title together. Meanwhile, the Fever only went on one playoff run with their current core that Clark missed, the Dream didn’t make it past the first round last year, and the Sparks will have to build chemistry after adding Ogwumike and Ariel Atkins, who will reportedly come over in a trade with the Sky.
The only team whose core can rival the experience the Liberty’s stars have is Las Vegas—and Minnesota to an extent, but they already lost Maria Kliundikova, Bridget Carleton, Jessica Shepard, and Natisha Hiedeman. Alanna Smith is also reportedly taking meetings with other teams, and Napheesa Collier will miss a good part of the season due to injury. So, things aren’t looking great for the Lynx right now.
Signing Sabally is a power move from the Liberty
The addition of Satou Sabally is interesting in many ways. For one, the Liberty just left her sister, Nyara Sabally, unprotected in the expansion draft and allowed the Tempo to reunite her with Sandy Brondello.
Secondly, the Liberty snagged her from the team that eliminated them in the first round last year. What better way is there to get revenge than to steal a member of the Mercury’s big three and use her to build a super team?