New York Liberty offseason outlook: What’s next in Brooklyn after first-round exit, Sandy Brondello firing

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On June 11, the New York Liberty were all alone in first place with a perfect 9-0 record. All signs pointed to another trip to the Finals and perhaps back-to-back titles. Less than four months later, on Sept. 25, general manager Jonathan Kolb sat in front of the media and attempted to explain why the team had been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs and moved on from coach Sandy Brondello. 

“Ultimately, we determined that evolution and innovation is what is needed at this time,” Kolb said. “These decisions, they’re never easy, nor should they be, but often, these decisions mark the fork-in-the-road moments for organizations, and you can stand still or you can embrace change and move forward. In my commitment to keep pushing the New York Liberty to new heights, we believe that embracing this change will bring a freshness and an energy to our group.”

Injuries were the primary cause of the Liberty’s downfall. Jonquel Jones reaggravated an ankle sprain during a loss to the Phoenix Mercury on June 19 and didn’t play for a month. Just days after she made her return, Breanna Stewart suffered a right knee bone bruise on July 26 that sidelined her for just under a month. Add in minor injuries for Sabrina Ionescu, Natasha Cloud and Kennedy Burke, as well as Leonie Fiebich’s weeks-long absence during EuroBasket, and the Liberty rarely had their best players together. 

Their primary starting lineup only played together 12 times, and Stewart, Ionescu and Jones only started and ended 13 games together — the Liberty won all 13. 

While they were healthy entering the playoffs, and buoyed by the arrival of former Finals MVP Emma Meesseman, injuries struck again immediately. Stewart sprained the MCL in her left knee in overtime of Game 1 of their first-round series against the Mercury. While they hung on to win that game, they were blown out at home in Game 2, and early in the winner-take-all Game 3, Fiebich fractured a rib. They would go on to lose Game 3 by six after managing just 14 points in the fourth quarter, all of which were scored by Stewart. 

The Liberty’s frustrating season was not only about poor health, however. Too often they lacked focus and a cutting edge, their offense fell apart against physical defenses and rebounding, which had been a key strength in recent seasons, turned into a major weakness. 

No team had as much individual talent as the Liberty this season, but the their quest for a repeat, which started out with so much promise, ended in disaster. Now, instead of planning another parade, Kolb and company will enter one of the most consequential offseasons in franchise history hoping to fix what went wrong. 

Season at a glance

• Record: 27-17 (No. 5 seed)
• Offensive rating: 105.8 (5th)
• Defensive rating: 100.6 (6th)
• Net rating: plus-5.2 (3rd)

Biggest strength

Offensive skill

The Liberty’s offense was not as dominant as it has been in recent years, in large part due to injuries, and it got bogged down in the playoffs against a Mercury team with overwhelming athleticism and physicality. None of that takes away from the fact that the Liberty were an incredibly skilled offensive team. They led the league in true shooting percentage (57.4%) and assist rate (73.7%), and were second in 3-point percentage (35.5%). 

Biggest weakness

Rebounding

The Liberty were an elite rebounding team during the first two years of this run. They were second in rebounding rate in 2023 (52.9%) and first in rebounding rate in 2024 (52.5%). This season, though, they got crushed on the glass. Their rebounding rate dropped to 48.5%, which ranked 10th out of 13 teams. In their season-ending Game 3 loss to the Mercury, they held Phoenix to 36.6% shooting, but lost in part because they gave up 11 second chance points. 

Key free agents

• Kennedy Burke (unrestricted)
• Natasha Cloud (unrestricted)
• Sabrina Ionescu (unrestricted)
• Isabelle Harrison (unrestricted)
• Marine Johannès (reserved)
• Jonquel Jones (unrestricted)
• Betnijah Laney-Hamilton (suspended — contract expired)
• Emma Meesseman (unrestricted)
• Breanna Stewart (unrestricted)

It remains unclear when free agency will happen this winter due to the contentious labor battle between the WNBPA and the league, which shows no signs of being resolved. But whenever it does begin, there will be more free agents than ever. Kalani Brown and Lexie Brown are the only players not on rookie scale contracts who are under contract for 2026. Every other veteran set up their deals to hit free agency this winter with an eye on a major pay raise whenever the new collective bargaining agreement is ratified. 

The Liberty have relied heavily on veterans in recent years, so even by this offseason’s standards, they have a lot of work to do. Nyara Sabally and Fiebich are the only players under contract for 2026, while four of the five members of the team’s primary starting lineup this season — Cloud, Ionescu, Jones and Stewart — are unrestricted free agents. So, too, is key midseason acquisition Emma Meesseman. 

Ionescu, Jones and Stewart have all expressed a desire to return, and Kolb said he has the “utmost confidence that they want to be back.” Re-signing the Big Three will be the primary order of business for the Liberty. Even if this season didn’t go to plan, they are all comfortably top-10 players in the league and have won a title together. As long as they are in town, the Liberty will be one of the best teams. 

The bigger questions for the Liberty will be about how they want to build out the roster around that trio. 

“The scouting report on us is probably to be incredibly physical with us,” Kolb said during his exit interview. “It’s probably to push us out on the perimeter, and it’s probably to be really, really physical. And I feel like our spacing has been a point of it’s been an issue for us. I think that we tend to stagnate as the clock winds down on the pressure mounts and we go east–west a tremendous amount. Some of that could be personnel-based. We have to really look at that. 

“But in terms of being innovative, I think that our spacing principles are things that we want to really lean into. We took huge steps back defensively this year as a collective, especially on the glass, we plummeted. We have to find out why: is that personnel-based or not? So I think we want to get back to being who we have been, but also solving the problems that we still found success through.”

It will be particularly interesting to see what the Liberty do with Cloud and Meesseman. They gave up two first-round picks to acquire Cloud, but Kolb didn’t sound sold on the long-term fit with her and Ionescu in the backcourt. Meesseman was projected to be the piece that put them over the top this season, but she had a tough series against the Mercury and went scoreless in Game 3. 

Until the new CBA is in place and we know the rules for free agency, as well as key numbers such as the 2026 salary cap and the new maximum, minimum and rookie salaries, it’s impossible to make any specific predictions about the Liberty’s plans. Plus, they have another important matter to settle before free agency. 

Who should be the Liberty’s new coach?

Days after the Liberty’s season came to an end, the team decided to part ways with Brondello, who led the team to its first title less than a year earlier. During Brondello’s four seasons in charge, the Liberty went 107-53, won a franchise-record 32 games in both 2023 and 2024, never missed the playoffs and made two Finals appearances. In addition to their 2024 WNBA championship, Brondello also captured the Commissioner’s Cup title in 2023. 

Despite all of Brondello’s success, Kolb and the Liberty’s brain trust felt it was necessary to go in a different direction to get the most out of their championship window. 

“I don’t feel this is a place we need to sell. I think this is a place that is a privilege to work at, and it’s a privilege to have a fan base such as ours that is so impassioned that they’re the soul of what we do. And if that resonates with a candidate, we’ll be excited to learn more about them,” Kolb said. “I don’t think we want to limit our scope on a candidate. I think that we want to have a really diverse pool of candidates to speak with. I also think these are opportunities for organizations to learn about ourselves from candidates, so we’re excited about the opportunity.”

Kolb said the Liberty would not rush through the hiring process, and added that the organization needed to “nail” their decision on a new coach. The Liberty will have no shortage of candidates, but in some ways that may make finding the right one even more challenging. 

Current assistant coach Sonia Raman will likely get a look, as should top assistants from around the league such as Kristi Toliver, Rebekkah Brunson and Briann January. But expect the Liberty to also look outside of the WNBA. Indiana Pacers assistant Jenny Boucek, Charlotte Hornets advisor Will Weaver and college coaches such as Notre Dame’s Niele Ivey and Duke’s Kara Lawson could also be in the mix. 

Draft outlook

• No. 41 overall

The Liberty traded their 2026 first-round pick to the Connecticut Sun (who later shipped it to the Washington Mystics) in the Cloud deal and sent their 2026 second-round pick to the Chicago Sky in exchange for Rebekah Gardner. As a result, their only selection in the 2026 draft is their third-round pick, which comes in at No. 41 overall. 

Third-round picks rarely even make rosters, let alone make impact in the league, so this year’s draft will largely be irrelevant for the Liberty. 

Here, it is worth noting that the Liberty do have some young talent in the pipeline, however. They own the draft rights to 20-year-old German forward Annika Soltau and 23-year-old Spanish forward Raquel Carrera. It’s unclear if either will ever play in the WNBA, but they do offer the Liberty some options in terms of prospects. 

This news was originally published on this post .

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