Report: Stewart’s free-agency decision down to 2 teams
Uconn legend and former MVP Breanna Stewart is the biggest prize in WNBA free agency this offseason, and the race to win the right to her services has reportedly come down to two teams.
According to M.A. Voepel of ESPN.COM, Stewart has narrowed her decision down to the Seattle Storm and the New York Liberty. It had previously been reported that she met with the Washington Mystics and Minnesota Lynx, something Stewart hinted at in an emoji-only tweet on Jan. 20. (That seems to be her preferred method of communication these days).
The 28-year-old has spent the first six seasons of her career in Seattle, winning two championships alongside fellow former Husky Sue Bird. She also took home league MVP honors in 2018 and has made four All-star appearances.
The Liberty have been rumored to be a potential destination because Stewart grew up in Syracuse and has family in New York, and her wife, Spanish basketball star Marta Xargay, has family in Spain, which is a much closer flight from the East Coast.
New York also recently acquired former Connecticut Sun star Jonquel Jones in a trade and could entice Stewart with a potential “Big 3” of herself, Jones and star point guard Sabrina Ionescu.
It would be a major coup for the Liberty, along the lines of some of the jaw-dropping NBA freeagency moves we’ve seen in recent years with superstars teaming up to try and chase a championship. It would also be a major blow to the Storm, who lost Bird to retirement after last season and count Stewart as their franchise player.
WNBA players can begin officially signing with teams on Feb. 1, so it may not be long until we get an answer to Stewie’s free-agency saga.