February 2, 2025
Where do the New York Liberty stand after free agency signing day?
New York struck out on Satou Sabally, re-signed Kennedy Burke
The New York Liberty find themselves on similar ground as they were a year ago. After they met with the free agency season’s most sought-after player, that player decided that she wanted to play a different role elsewhere.
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A year ago this happened when the Liberty met with Nneka Ogwumike who they understood was looking to win and have better player amenities after missing out on the playoffs and a positive player experience while playing in Los Angeles. New York pitched Ogwumike on playing a vital role coming off the bench providing athleticism and two-way play in New York’s front court. Ogwumike wanted to start and as a result went to the Seattle Storm.
And now a year later, the Liberty met with Satou Sabally, sister of their homegrown player Nyara Sabally, and she too decided she wanted a different role somewhere else. While New York could offer Satou a starting spot now that Courtney Vandersloot has signed with the Chicago Sky, according to a league source, Satou wanted to play the four. Since Natasha Howard arrived in Dallas in 2022, Satou had to primarily play the three. New York has two-time MVP Breanna Stewart as their starting four, and Satou knew that the Phoenix Mercury could allow her to play the power forward alongside Alyssa Thomas who can shift to the center spot.
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“I mean, obviously very happy for her decision,” Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu said on Satou’s decision to go to Phoenix on Friday night after playing in an Unrivaled game. “I think everyone who knows Satou and is close to her wants what’s best for her, and that’s definitely me and wanting her to find her home and where she’s comfortable and confident playing. So I’m super excited for her, and excited to see her journey… And obviously sad for her not to join [and] to be reunited with my college teammate.”
According to multiple sources, New York had some preliminary trade discussions with Dallas, but the real inflection point came down to Satou’s decision between the Liberty and Mercury. Now that the sun has set on bringing Satou to New York, Marine Johannès is expected as of now to return to New York.
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Kennedy Burke returns to New York
The Liberty announced on Saturday that Kennedy Burke re-signed with the team. A source familiar with the situation confirmed to The Next that Burke signed a one-year unprotected deal for the veteran minimum of $78,831.
I can report via a source close to the situation for @thenext.bsky.social that Kennedy Burke is re-signing with New York for (no shock here) one year on an un-protected (that's new this time) veteran minimum ($78,831).
— Jackie Powell (@classicjpow.bsky.social) February 1, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Burke received interest from three other teams including the Los Angeles Sparks, Connecticut Sun and the Seattle Storm. While Connecticut was the closest to luring Burke away from New York because of her connection with new Sun head coach Rachid Meziane, ultimately Burke chose to return to the team that bet on her a year ago, which according to a league source meant a lot to Burke.
What also meant a lot to Burke was how quickly she felt the Liberty’s trust, a league source told The Next. It typically takes Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello a bit of time to trust new players, and the New York front office was impressed by Burke’s ability to provide impact minutes in spurts. She is in position for a much larger role in 2025.
“We are incredibly excited to welcome back Kennedy Burke,” Liberty General Manager Jonathan Kolb said in the team’s press release. “[Burke] is a vital piece to our roster and culture alike — and building off her success in 2024 — she’s poised to take on a larger role this year and further showcase her versatility.”
While Burke might have been able to garner more money elsewhere including in Connecticut, what meant most to her were the relationships she made in New York and the player experience the Liberty provide.
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Why New York signed Raquel Carrera and Esmery Martinez
According to the WNBA’s transaction page, on the same day that the Liberty signed Burke, they also signed Raquel Carrera and former third round draft pick Esmery Martinez. Before Jan. 1, the Liberty had to renounce the rights of 23 year-old mobile big Raquel Carrera who they acquired from the Atlanta Dream in 2022 when they traded AD Durr.
After a new calendar year, WNBA teams can only hold the rights to four players and at the time New York had the rights to Johannés, Han Xu, Carrera, Marine Fauthoux, Rebekah Gardner and 2024 third round draft pick Kaitlyn Davis. New York renounced both Davis and Carrera’s rights.
So why bring the Spanish big to camp especially if she’s still rehabbing from a torn ACL she sustained last March? According to a source close to the situation, signing Carrera to a training camp deal allows New York to acquire her rights once again. If Carrera isn’t able to come to training camp in a few months, the Liberty can just suspend her contract and be back in the same position they were before Jan. 1. The Liberty see both potential and upside in Carrera, who will turn 24 in October.
Esmery Martinez, who the Liberty picked 17th overall in the 2024 draft, will also return to New York on a training camp contract. The Liberty have kept an eye on the 6’2 wing who has played for French league team Charleville-Mezieres during the WNBA off-season. She has averaged 27.6 minutes, 8.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and has shot 51.1 % from two and 44.4% from three in 11 games played for the French team.
Training camp for the Liberty will be about finding players who can join the roster on hardship contracts in the month of June when at least three of New York’s key contributors in Leonie Fiebich, Johannés and Nyara will all be competing in EuroBasket. Martinez could be one of those players who steps in.
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Does New York trade for Gabby Williams?
After striking out on Sabally, the Liberty currently have $554,425 left in cap space after counting eight players on their roster — the six under contract, per HerHoopStats, plus the expected spot for Burke and one of the players at the lower minimum (which is assumed to be going to Gardner). This excludes both Stewart and Johannès’ contracts for 2025 and the expected contract of the No. 7 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA draft.
That amount of cap space leaves plenty of wiggle room for the Liberty to fit in another big contract on their roster, which begs the question: does New York try to trade for Gabby Williams, a player they’ve been actively pursuing since at least 2023? It would be shocking if they don’t try, but success could be quite hard to come by.
Following the three-team trade that sent former Storm franchise star Jewell Loyd to Las Vegas, and the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 draft back to Seattle, the Storm have been relatively quiet. They officially signed Li Yueru who they also got in the three-team trade from the Los Angeles Sparks, and Nneka Ogwumike announced her commitment to Seattle via her sister Chiney Ogwumike on live television.
Williams, however, was cored on Jan. 14 — a surprising move after Winsidr’s Rachel Galligan reported she specifically asked not to be cored prior to re-signing with Seattle this past August following the Paris Olympics. While her representatives said at the time that they “were not surprised by Seattle’s decision” to core her, ESPN reported that the two parties are working “closely” to determine the wing player’s “next steps.” It hasn’t been made clear yet if this means Williams returns to Seattle or is traded.
While acquiring a lottery pick sometimes indicates a willingness to reset, Seattle still clearly wants to compete and contend even after losing Loyd. If the Liberty were to successfully trade for Williams, they would have to put together a package that can allow the Storm to do so. Remember, the Liberty signed Breanna Stewart in 2023 and Seattle got absolutely nothing in return. Stewart was never cored. And while Williams didn’t want to be cored, the Storm also don’t want to make the same mistakes.
New York landing Williams for just a year before the majority of the league becomes free agents in 2026 could be too much of a gamble. The Liberty aren’t just thinking about repeating as champions in 2025 but are looking at the long game to become both a WNBA and a New York sports dynasty.
“We have enough, and I think we all know that,” Ionescu said. “I’m so excited for the people that we have, every single one of my teammates. We’re excited to go back and go get another one this year.”
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Editor’s note (Feb. 2, 2:30 p.m. ET): This story has been updated with further reporting about Satou Sabally’s free agency.
Written by Jackie Powell
Jackie Powell covers the New York Liberty for The Next and hosts episodes of Locked on Women's basketball where she explores national women's basketball stories. She also has covered women's basketball and the culture of the sport for Bleacher Report, Sports Illustrated, MSNBC, Yahoo Sports, Harper's Bazaar and SLAM. She also self identifies as a Lady Gaga stan, is a connoisseur of pop music and is a mental health advocate.
