Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu stay loyal to Liberty amid record-breaking WNBA free agency
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Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu plan on being with the New York Liberty for a long time.
Stewart announced Wednesday on her podcast, “Game Recognize Game with Stewie and Myles,” that she’s steadfast on staying with New York instead of exploring free agency.
“I’m going to just set the record straight here,” she said. “I will be staying in New York. I’m not planning on taking any free agency meetings, even though I am an unrestricted free agent. My family is set up here. We’re solid here… I’m going to be back in New York, and that’s all there is to it.”
Ionescu later said at USA Basketball camp that she, too, is not going anywhere.
“I’m where I’m supposed to be. I never thought anything different,” Ionescu said Wednesday. “Excited to get all this (CBA negotiations), you know, behind us and to be able to start our season and get going in New York.”
Stewart and Ionescu could potentially be million-dollar players for the Liberty as the new CBA has major salary bumps and a supermax salary of nearly $1.4 million.
Both players helped lead the franchise to its first championship in 2024. The team lost to Phoenix in the quarterfinals of the playoffs this past season.
While Stewart and Ionescu are staying put, the Liberty face uncertainty about the rest of their team. More than 80% of the league are free agents this year, as many players have expiring contracts or opted out of the previous collective bargaining agreement.
“I think it’s going to be difficult because you’re kind of, you know, forcing players and teams to make decisions really quickly,” Ionescu said. “They kind of had to prepare for a quick flip and a short amount of time with decisions being made in free agency being such a short window, but I do think we’re going to see a lot of change.”
The league has not yet announced when free agency will start. The regular season begins on May 8.
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AP Sports Writer Maura Carey contributed to this report.
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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball