There will be two major dominoes that fall in WNBA free agency this year, creating a ripple effect in the league. They are Breanna Stewart and Candace Parker.
During the next week, speculation about what all of the major players in free agency — Courtney Vandersloot included — will decide will be rampant. But what Vandersloot, a WNBA champion, a four-time All-Star and the No. 3 player in league history in career assists, chooses to do largely will be contingent on whether Stewart stays with the Storm and Parker returns to the Sky.
Stewart reportedly took a meeting with the Liberty’s front-office staff, along with coach Sandy Brondello and owners Joe and Clara Wu Tsai, as an unrestricted free agent in 2022. But that came on the heels of the Storm making Jewell Loyd a core player and Sue Bird saying she would return for one more season, so the likelihood of Stewart leaving to play in her home state of New York wasn’t high last year.
But 2023 is a whole different story. The Liberty have only $382,915 in salary-cap space, more than only the Aces ($138,804) and Wings ($363,396), according to HerHoopStats.com. So it would require some movement on the Liberty’s end to make room for Stewart and still be able to fill out the rest of their roster. On the other end, the Storm have the most cap space in the league ($1,025,564) and have only two players under contract in Loyd and Mercedes Russell.
Stewart helped bring two championships to the Storm (2018 and 2020), but what potentially awaits her with the Liberty is an opportunity to build a new dynasty. One of the lessons to be learned from Parker’s decision to leave the Sparks for the Sky in 2021 is that there’s a lot of glory attached to winning a championship at home. Although Stewart grew up in North Syracuse, four hours from the city, that cannot be overstated.
As far as Parker is concerned, there appear to be only two potential landing spots, and they are the two teams she has played for in her career. To many, Los Angeles is a closed chapter for Parker, regardless of the new regime the Sparks have hired to lead the franchise into the future. But with nearly $1 million to spend in free agency, the Sparks’ ability to build a winning team that might entice Parker shouldn’t be overlooked.
‘‘We are as keenly interested as any party as to what Candace may decide she wants to do,’’ Sparks general manager Karen Bryant said. ‘‘When the time is right, we look forward to paying attention and engaging in conversations if the opportunity presents itself.’’
If we’re engaging in hypotheticals and Stewart signs with the Liberty, that immediately puts them in title contention. Depending on the contract, that might be the case for years to come. Another team with title aspirations in 2023, based on its roster, is the defending champion Aces.
The point is, if Stewart leaves the Storm, Vandersloot is going to need to sign with a team that has a roster capable of beating those two franchises in a series. If Parker re-signs with the Sky, they would be a step closer to having a roster that could, making them more enticing to Vandersloot.
But Vandersloot will be a sought-after commodity in free agency beyond the Storm and Sky. Last year, she met with the Lynx in addition to the Storm and Sky.
What Sky ownership must think about is how it is investing in the franchise in a way that makes Chicago a premier free-agency destination.
Parker signed with the Sky in 2021, of course, but that had more to do with Vandersloot, Allie Quigley and the rest of the roster than it did with the franchise being among the best in terms of player experience.
The Sky are billed as Chicago’s team, but they practice nearly an hour away in Deerfield. And while principal owner Michael Alter has said the franchise is interested in investing in a practice facility someday, other teams are doing that now. Parker told the Sun-Times last summer the one thing that would elevate the Sky even further is if they were based exclusively in Chicago.
Coach and GM James Wade’s priority is to make sure the organization has the right coaches and staff to continue developing a culture that appeals to players. He told the Sun-Times the Sky will be bringing on a second player-development coach this season to work with Jeff Pagliocca, whom the team brought on last year. Wade’s coaching staff of Tonya Edwards, Emre Vatansever and Ann Wauters will remain the same.
There are a handful of WNBA greats who have won multiple championships in one jersey. Vandersloot has the potential to do that, too. But gone are the days that she is blindly loyal to the franchise that drafted her.
Wade has dominated free agency in the last two years, signing Parker and winning a championship in 2021, then following it up with a free-agency class that earned him executive of the year in 2022. So as far as track records go, his should offer fans some comfort.
But if the Sky aren’t careful, they will lose Vandersloot and be in a position where they’re playing catch-up with the rest of the league — on and off the court.
NOTE: The WNBA’s period for qualifying offers is Jan. 11-20. On Jan. 21, free agents can begin negotiations. The Sun-Times’ free-agency tracker webpage with all 12 WNBA teams’ free agents will go live Jan. 11.
