As of now, only Nyara Sabally and Leonie Fiebich are signed through 2026 with New York. Four of the Liberty’s core starters—Natasha Cloud, Sabrina Ionescu, Jonquel Jones, and Breanna Stewart—are all set to hit unrestricted free agency. On top of that, Emma Meesseman is also about to become a free agent. If that wasn’t enough, New York wasn’t quite ready to be hit with the realization that Breanna Stewart’s prime is only finite.

During Hoops 360’s latest episode, Ice Young dropped a massive warning to the New York Liberty about Breanna Stewart.

“I don’t know how many more great years we have of Stewie. Stewie has logged a ton of basketball miles. It’s the same conversation with Kayla McBride and because of how Stewie plays both sides of the basketball, all defensive teams year after year. Her body is constantly on the line.” Young stated.

This year, in particular, had been far from easy for Stewie. She entered this season recovering from a minor knee surgery. She had also played in the Unrivaled league in the offseason, and with the WNBA schedule getting extended to 44 games, nothing really gave her much relief. And hence, she ended up missing 13 games because of a bone bruise. But whenever she did play, Breanna Stewart showed exactly why she’s still one of the top players in the world.

“She takes more hits than a guard like Kayla McBride. And so we also saw this year some of the injuries and in and out. And obviously games that she sat for a significant time trying to get her body right? I think there are multiple things to think about if you’re in New York other than the plethora of guards that are going to be gone off the roster through expansion drafts, but this team will not look the same next year.” Young added.

Beyond Stewart, it’s well known that the team is losing several guards due to the expansion draft and free agency. The Liberty could certainly look quite different next year. In fact, it’s uncertain how competitive they will be. The team also officially decided to fire Sandy Brondello.

Now, while we’re unsure how many more seasons Stewie can dominate like this, she herself sounded pretty confident last month when asked about her future. “I’m coming back,” she said. Still and all, this season proved how much the Liberty downgraded without Stewie on the floor. As Madeline Kenney reported in Aug, when Stewart was still out, “The Liberty’s defensive rating before Breanna Stewart’s injury was 97.2. Since she went down with the bone bruise, New York’s defensive rating has ballooned to 106.8 — fourth-worst mark in the league since July 26“.

So, now, the Liberty needs to build for the long term, and their best bet is free agency. Expect Jonathan Kolb to plan some big moves, as he always has. However,..

Beyond Breanna Stewart, the Liberty star’s injury update can turn the league upside down

The New York Liberty’s star trio—Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, and Jonquel Jones—powered New York to a 9–0 start entering this season. The Liberty looked every bit like a team ready to defend their first-ever WNBA championship in 2024. Unfortunately, all three individually missed a significant amount of time out of the lineup following that scorching start. The team wrapped up this season, 27–17, leaving them as the fifth seed in the playoffs.

Jonquel Jones, set to become a free agent, shared on Instagram a few days ago that she had surgery on her right ankle. Apparently, it was a minor procedure to fix the ankle issues that kept the Liberty star out for 13 games. That certainly made it hard for her to find her rhythm when she came back.

Just like most veterans in the league, Jones is also headed for free agency next year during what could be a major turning point for the WNBA. She’s said she wants to “run it back” with the Liberty. Let’s say the 2021 MVP does re-sign; one of the top bigs on the market could be off the board quickly. It’ll leave other big-market teams scrambling for a Plan B. Most importantly, how much her surgery can affect her free agency bid is still a question.