Like every other WNBA team, the members of the New York Liberty are locked in ongoing CBA negotiations with the league's leadership. Once an agreement is signed, focus will shift to three huge parts of the offseason: the Expansion Draft that will allow the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire to draft their first players, free agency, and the 2026 WNBA Draft.
The Liberty will face a few challenges once the CBA is signed. Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones are both ineligible for the Expansion Draft, and the team is likely to protect key players, including Sabrina Ionescu, Natasha Cloud, Leonie Fiebich, Marine Johannes, and Emma Meesseman, which leaves quite a few players available for the Tempo and Fire to pick up.
(The list of projected unprotected players includes Kennedy Burke, Raquel Carrera, Ivana Dojkic, Marine Fauthoux, Rebekah Gardner, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, Isabelle Harrison, Adja Kane, Seehia Ridard, Nyara Sabally, Annika Soltau, Stephanie Talbot, and Han Xu.)
Liberty fans also don't have to worry about much happening that could disrupt the team's core during the WNBA Draft next year. The Liberty only have one pick in next year's draft, a third-round selection that will allow them to sign a new player as the 41st overall. That makes it unlikely that the player they select will see much court time in the US.
Fans can expect the return of a few familiar faces
And as the New York Daily News reported this week, the Liberty are expecting the team's big three — Stewart, Ionescu, and Jones — to remain with the team after free agency is finished. That echoes what GM Jonathan Kolb said in September, when he assured fans he had the "utmost confidence" the three will return.
Stewart has never made a secret of the fact that she wants to come back to the Liberty this season, and specifically reaffirmed that position following the team's elimination from the playoffs earlier this year. Ionescu has appeared equally focused on coming back to the team, and Jones has not offered any information that indicates she plans to leave.
Chris DeMarco will make more staff changes
The Daily News also noted the newly hired Chris DeMarco plans to bring more coaches onto the team's staff. The team needs to fill several key roles left vacated by Olaf Lange (Sandy Brondello's husband), who was part of the defensive strategy squad, as well as by Sonia Raman, who is now the Seattle Storm's head coach.