WNBA free agency 2023: Nneka Ogwumike re-signs with Sparks, reportedly takes pay cut to help roster
Tracking all the deals and players on the move as free agents can now sign contracts
Even before WNBA free agency officially began, there were a few landscape-shifting trades — rare January trades for the league. Now, with even more reported activity, deals can now become official and be signed. The salary cap for 2023 is $1,420,500, according to Her Hoop Stats. Teams must have at least 11 players with a maximum of 12. The supermax is $234,936, per Her Hoop Stats. The maximum is $202,154 and the minimum for players with zero to two years of service is $62,285 and for three or more years is $74,305.
Sixth Player of the Year Brionna Jones returns to Sun
The Connecticut Sun announced Monday that Brionna Jones has signed a one-year deal with the team after they cored her following the trade of Jonquel Jones to the New York Liberty last month. Brionna Jones is a two-time All-Star and won the Sixth Player of the Year award last season.
The core designation allowed the Sun to offer her a supermax salary, although the terms of the deal were not disclosed. It is notable that Jones chose the one-year offer instead of a longer-term deal with the Sun. The WNBA prioritization clause, which came into effect this season, will be more impactful in 2024 when players are suspended if they missing the opening of training camp.
Jones is entering her seventh season in the league, all with the Sun, and had a career season in 2022, averaging 13.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game off the bench as the Sun advanced to the WNBA Finals.
Mercury trade Diamond DeShields to Wings in 4-team deal with Sky, Liberty
The Dallas Wings are making a splash, as they acquired WNBA champion Diamond DeShields from the Phoenix Mercury in a four-team deal with the Chicago Sky and New York Liberty, the teams announced Saturday.
The Sky receive guard Marina Mabrey via sign-and-trade, while the Mercury receive forward Michaela Onyenwere. Also in the deal: The Wings receive draft picks from the Sky (the No. 5 overall selection in 2023, a first-rounder in 2024 and a 2025 first-round pick swap); the Sky receive a 2024 second-round pick; the Mercury receive the Sky's 2024 third-round pick and 2025 second-round pick; and the Liberty receive the rights to Leonie Fiebich, the Sky's 2024 second-round pick and a 2025 first-round pick swap with the Mercury. Full details of the trade.
Courtney Vandersloot, Breanna Stewart join New York Liberty
After Breanna Stewart announced she chose the Liberty, joining Sabrina Ionescu and recently acquired Jonquel Jones, Courtney Vandersloot said she would join the super-team in the league's largest market. Cassandra Negley breaks down Stewart's decision and what it means for the league.
— Breanna Stewart (@breannastewart) February 1, 2023
#BREAKING Courtney Vandersloot is signing with the New York Liberty🗽✍🏼
— Courtney Vandersloot (@Sloot22) February 2, 2023
Tracking WNBA trades
The Los Angeles Sparks acquired Dearica Hamby from the Las Vegas Aces along with a 2024 first-round draft pick in exchange for exclusive negotiating rights to Amanda Zahui B. and 2024 second-round pick, the teams announced in January. Hamby later addressed the trade in an Instagram post, saying the Aces "discriminated" against her pregnancy and that she was lied to. The WNBPA said it will investigate the claims.
The Los Angeles Sparks acquired Jasmine Thomas and the 2023 WNBA Draft's No. 10 overall pick from the Connecticut Sun in exchange for Olivia Nelson-Ododa, Jasmine Walker and the reserved rights to Kianna Smith, the teams announced.
The Sun also traded Jonquel Jones, a four-time All-Star and 2021 MVP, to the New York Liberty as part of a three-team deal that included the Dallas Wings. The Liberty also received Kayla Thornton from the Wings. The Sun received Rebecca Allen and the No. 6 overall draft pick from the Liberty and Tyasha Harris from the Wings. The Wings received Natasha Howard and Crystal Dangerfield from the Liberty.
The Atlanta Dream acquired Allisha Gray from the Dallas Wings in a deal that includes draft picks, the teams announced. The Dream also acquired Danielle Robinson from the Indiana Fever in exchange for Kristy Wallace, the teams announced.
Tracking WNBA free agency deals
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The Sparks re-signed 2016 MVP Nneka Ogwumike, their No. 1 pick in the 2012 draft who has spent her entire career in Los Angeles, the team announced on Friday. It came a day after Chiney Ogwumike, Nneka's younger sister, spoke with reporters after her own re-signing.
Nneka Ogwumike, 32, reportedly signed for $165,000, according to ESPN. It's a $30K drop from her previous two seasons and approximately $70K lower than the supermax she could have signed. ESPN reported Ogwumike was willing to take the pay cut for the Sparks to juggle salary-cap issues. She joins a slew of superstars, namely Candace Parker and Breanna Stewart, who have done so this offseason.
Los Angeles has been active in free agency under new leadership with first-year general manager Karen Bryant and head coach Curt Miller, who led the Sun to the Finals last season. But the roster they built for 2023 has already been impacted.
Dearica Hamby, who came in a trade with the Aces, is pregnant and due in March. She has said she intends to play this season. Katie Lou Samuelson, also a forward, announced this month that she is pregnant. Samuelson is due in August and will not be available to play. Stephanie Talbot, another free agency signing, sustained a knee injury playing overseas and has been ruled out for the season.
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Chiney Ogwumike is returning the the Los Angeles Sparks, as announced on NBA Today on Wednesday.
Ogwumike, 30, has career averages of 11.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.0 steals per game over 160 games played between the Connecticut Sun, which drafted her No. 1 overall in 2014, and the Sparks. Los Angeles acquired Ogwumike in a preseason trade with the Sun in 2019 that allowed her to continue her offseason ESPN career at their west coast studios.
The signing officially reunites her with head coach Curt Miller, her helmed the Sun during her career. In a statement on Wednesday, Ogwumike credited Miller for helping her be an All-Star in 2018 and someone "who knows my fight and journey on the court." It also unites her with sister Nneka Ogwumike.
The forward has dealt with injuries in recent seasons and played only seven games in 2021 and 26 last year. She called the last two seasons "the hardest of my basketball career, but I am motivated and inspired for this season to mark a new chapter for the Sparks and me."
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The Chicago Sky announced on Monday they had re-signed Rebekah Gardner, who made the all-Rookie team in her first WNBA season after a decade overseas. Gardner averaged 8.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.4 assists in a bench role for the Sky. She accepted a qualifying offer, the Sky said. It's her second contract with the team after going undrafted out of UCLA in 2012 and playing solely overseas, most recently in Spain.
Gardner might take on a slightly larger role with so much of the roster elsewhere in 2023. The only remaining starter is Kahleah Copper and head coach/general manager has brought in guards Courtney Williams and Marina Mabrey at the guard position.
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The Connecticut Sun announced Monday that Brionna Jones has signed a one-year deal with the team after they cored her following the trade of Jonquel Jones to the New York Liberty last month. Brionna Jones is a two-time All-Star and won the Sixth Player of the Year award last season.
The core designation allowed the Sun to offer her a supermax salary, although the terms of the deal were not disclosed. It is notable that Jones chose the one-year offer instead of a longer-term deal with the Sun. The WNBA prioritization clause, which came into effect this season, will be more impactful in 2024 when players are suspended if they missing the opening of training camp.
Jones is entering her seventh season in the league, all with the Sun, and had a career season in 2022, averaging 13.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game off the bench as the Sun advanced to the WNBA Finals.