Betnijah Laney-Hamilton has a championship ring and a resume that includes an All-Star nod, a Most Improved Player award, and two All-Defensive selections. Right now, none of that is getting her consistent minutes. She played roughly fifteen minutes in New York’s win over the Wings, her first appearance since June 28. When asked about her trade situation afterward, her answer said more through restraint than detail.

“We’re working on things,” she said, per The New York Post’s Madeline Kenney.

“I don’t know what everything looks like right now. I’m just trying to take everything one step at a time and just stay in the moment. It’s been difficult. But today, right now, I feel pretty good. I just want to be able to focus on the game.”

That measured tone fits where she is statistically too. Laney-Hamilton is averaging 5.3 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.6 assists while shooting 37.3% from the field, numbers well below the standard she set in her prime Liberty years. She’s played in 14 games this season, starting five, with the rest of her absences split between a knee injection recovery, a personal absence, and coach’s decisions under first-year head coach Chris DeMarco.

That drop-off is jarring given what she’s meant to this franchise. Laney-Hamilton signed with the Liberty as a free agent in 2021, during a true rebuilding year, before Jonquel Jones or Breanna Stewart later arrived in 2021 and 2023 respectively. Since then, she became one of the foundational pieces of the roster that eventually broke through. In Game 2 of the 2024 Finals, Laney-Hamilton scored 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting to even the series against Minnesota, one of the signature performances of that championship run.

That history is exactly why her current role is such a strange fit. She missed the entire 2025 season recovering from knee surgery after tearing her meniscus during Unrivaled, and this year was supposed to be a return to form. Instead, she’s fighting for minutes on a one-year, $400,000 deal in what’s shaping up to be a prove-it season for her next contract.

“Physically, I feel better than I felt in a long time,” she said, per Kenney’s report. “And so just taking it a day at a time, working through everything.”

That physical progress just hasn’t translated into playing time yet. This might be part of why trade speculation around her hasn’t gone away.

The Liberty Can Use Hamilton’s Experience

New York has already won this year’s Commissioner’s Cup, beating the Aces along the way, and sits 13-9 (sixth) in the league standings. But the roster isn’t without cracks. Sabrina Ionescu has missed real time to injury, and the Liberty have leaned heavily on Stewart and Jones to carry the offensive load. That’s exactly the kind of workload distribution that a veteran two-way piece like Laney-Hamilton was brought in to help balance.

Head coach Chris DeMarco has kept the door open publicly, even through the DNPs.

“I still have confidence in her,” he said on July 5. “She’s going to get her opportunity again. We believe in her.”

With the trade deadline approaching on August 2, it’s still unclear whether that opportunity comes in New York or somewhere else. Speculation about a move elsewhere has picked up, though nothing is confirmed. Laney-Hamilton has been a starter for nearly every team she’s played for since 2019, and wherever she ends up, consistent minutes are what she’s chasing, regardless of the jersey.