New York Liberty Have Properly Retooled as They Seek Vengeance

Fast forward to last Friday, and the Liberty’s big three received their big paydays simultaneously. Stewart went on her podcast, Game Recognize Game, and revealed the exact details of her new deal:

“I think the biggest thing is that we needed to make sure that we kept all the best players on the team. That’s why you’ll see a few of us probably in the millions, and then everyone else get as much as they can while also having a great team”, Stewart exclaimed as she announced her new deal.

Ionescu received and signed the exact same deal as Stewart. Meanwhile, while exact details aren’t available at the moment, it’s been reported that Jones’ multi-year deal contains less money than both Ionescu’s and Stewart’s.

Smaller Salaries, Big Details

Now, the attention turns to the rest of the roster.

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton missed all of last year due to injury, but was a key part of the 2024 championship run. Her presence on the team continues to be vital, so the Liberty were always going to pay her. She received and accepted a one-year, $400,000 contract to return to New York.

Alongside her, the Liberty welcomed a few players back to New York. Rebecca Allen‘s started her career in seafoam, but left as a part of a trade with Connecticut in 2023. Now, three years later, the Aussie has returned to where her journey began on a one-year deal. Alongside her will be Rebekah Gardner and Han Xu. Gardner returns on an official contract, while Xu is on a training camp contract.

With these signings, the Liberty locked down their star power, as well as plenty of depth to support that star power. However, there’s never been a limit to what a team can possess…

New Faces in New Places

New York’s team as it was in 2025 could’ve contended for a championship. It certainly had the talent to do so, but the pieces never really came together. However, rather than remain stagnant, the Liberty went and loaded up.

The start of this wasn’t even a player move. Shortly after their elimination to the Mercury in the first round last year, Kolb announced that former head coach Sandy Brondello and the organization would part ways. Two months later, Chris Demarco, a longtime assistant for the Golden State Warriors, was hired into the role. Several new faces join him in a revamped Liberty coaching staff.

As for players, most of their moves have been in the depth department. Rachel Carrera has been on New York’s roster since 2022, but has yet to play a game for the team. New York gave her a training camp contract, and now she’ll get the chance to do just that. Pauline Astier and Marine Fauthoux will also fight for a WNBA roster spot for the very first time, both sporting excellent careers in EuroBasket. These young players offer a mix of scoring prowess, alongside brilliant court vision.

Delayed, Not Denied

Then, there’s the big one.

A year ago, the Liberty were in the hunt for Satou Sabally whose serious ability was enticing to bring her in. Eventually, they lost out to the Phoenix Mercury. One wouldn’t fault the Liberty faithful for feeling as an opportunity for another superstar talent went by the wayside.

Good things happen to those who wait, however. Sabally simply couldn’t run from the championship aroma of New York, and even took a pay cut when she signed for the team. The three-time All-Star is more than deserving of a supermax similar to Stewart’s or Ionescu’s, but instead took a two-year, $800,000 deal. As GM Johnathan Kolb put it, “Satou chose New York because wants to be part of a winning franchise and recognizes the championship culture that already exists here.”

Sabally’s versality and elite-level scoring make the Liberty so unbelievably loaded on the offensive end. Defensively, some raise concerns, but the presence of those such as Stewart and Laney-Hamilton will only help Sabally on that end. The move is getting comparisons to when Kevin Durant joined the Warriors, which probably says enough about it by itself.

Whether the Liberty meet the same heights is yet to be seen, but one thing is certain — the pieces they’ve acquired, both big and small, create a image that screams “championship favorites”.

It’s only a matter of putting the pieces together to realize that image.

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