The Liberty did most of this offseason’s heavy lifting earlier than the WNBA Draft.
Final month’s commerce for veteran level guard Natasha Cloud value them a pair of first-round picks, together with the No. 7 general choice in Monday night time’s draft at The Shed in Midtown Manhattan.
The defending WNBA champions had already traded away this yr’s second-round choose, too, within the 2024 deal that introduced again guard Rebekah Gardner.
That left the Liberty with one choose — the thirty eighth and remaining choice — in Monday’s draft, which they used to take French heart Adja Kane.
Kane, a 20-year-old developmental prospect, performs for Landerneau Bretagne Basket in France’s LFB. The 6-3 heart is averaging 4.9 factors, 4.0 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per sport.
“As an organization, we pride ourselves on embracing the global nature of the game and are proactive in assembling a deep group of international talent,” Liberty common supervisor Jonathan Kolb mentioned in an announcement after taking Kane within the third spherical.
“We had a unique opportunity tonight to select Adja Kane, a talented young player from a strong program in France, who will continue to develop overseas for the next few years with our support from afar.”
Earlier than they traded it to the Connecticut Solar for Cloud, the Liberty held this yr’s No. 7 choice due to a choose swap with the Phoenix Mercury, which that they had agreed to in a four-team commerce in 2023. The Solar used that choose Monday to draft ahead Aneesah Morrow out of LSU.
Final month, the Liberty re-signed main scorer Breanna Stewart.
Cloud, in the meantime, stays the Liberty’s largest offseason addition. The 33-year-old guard averaged 11.5 factors and 6.9 assists per sport final season with the Solar and was named to the WNBA’s All-Defensive Second Staff.
She joins a Liberty lineup that features returning starters Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, Leonie Fiebich and Jonquel Jones. That core led the Liberty to the primary championship within the franchise’s 28-year historical past.
However the Liberty will look totally different in 2025-26.
They misplaced ahead Kayla Thornton, certainly one of two Liberty gamers to look in all 40 video games final season, to the Golden State Valkyries within the WNBA growth draft.
Level guard Courtney Vandersloot left for the Chicago Sky. Vandersloot, 36, began 70 video games in her two seasons with the Liberty earlier than coming off the bench throughout final yr’s playoff run.
And beginning ahead Betnijah Laney-Hamilton is ready to overlook 5 to 6 months after present process knee surgical procedure final month, placing her season in jeopardy.
These departures may imply an elevated position for ahead Kennedy Burke, who averaged 12.1 minutes per sport final yr, primarily off of the bench. Marine Johannes, who spent final season in France as a result of prioritization guidelines, is ready to return to the Liberty this yr as properly.
Gardner, in the meantime, didn’t play final season as she recovered from an Achilles tear, which she suffered just a few weeks earlier than the Liberty acquired her from the Chicago Sky. Gardner, 34, averaged 8.3 factors per sport in two seasons with Chicago.
Initially Revealed: April 14, 2025 at 10:05 PM EDT
