{"id":586849,"date":"2026-04-06T23:34:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T23:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/586849\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T23:34:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T23:34:10","slug":"wnba-free-agency-news-live-updates-angel-reese-traded-to-dream-aja-wilson-breanna-stewart-napheesa-collier-in-line-for-big-contracts-after-cba-negotiations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/586849\/","title":{"rendered":"WNBA free agency news, live updates: Angel Reese traded to Dream; A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier in line for big contracts after CBA negotiations"},"content":{"rendered":"

After months of uncertainty that we\u2019d even have a WNBA season, free agency has finally arrived<\/a>. This will be an unprecedented free agency period, both in terms of the available free agents and the paychecks they\u2019ll be cashing.<\/p>\n

After months of negotiations between the WNBA and WNBPA, the league and players\u2019 union reached an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement<\/a>, set to run over the next seven years. Through the new CBA, the WNBA salary cap will increase from $1.5 million to $7 million \u2014 meaning the league\u2019s spending in free agency will hit a new all-time high.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

The first big breaking news item of WNBA free agency hit Monday, as the Chicago Sky traded All-Star Angel Reese to the Atlanta Dream<\/a>. The Sky will reportedly receive the Dream\u2019s 2027 and 2028 first-round picks, while the Dream will acquire Reese and the right to swap second-round picks with the Sky in the 2028 WNBA Draft.<\/p>\n

As far as the players available, there\u2019s no shortage of elite star power in free agency, including the likes of Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier, A\u2019ja Wilson and Jackie Young, among others.<\/p>\n

However, not all of them expect to explore the free-agent market despite being \u201cavailable\u201d to negotiate; Stewart and Liberty teammate Sabrina Ionescu<\/a> already announced their intent to re-sign with New York, and Wilson intends to re-sign with the Las Vegas Aces<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Most of the league\u2019s vets strategically aligned their contracts to become free agents in 2026, which means the pool of talent is deep, and most team rosters could look dramatically different this year, particularly on the heels of an expansion draft<\/a> for the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire.<\/p>\n

Check out our team-by-team look at the top free agents from each team here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Follow along with Yahoo Sports as WNBA free agency opens up following the league’s historic CBA negotiations:<\/p>\n

Live5 updates\"MaggieMon, April 6, 2026 at 3:11 PM PDT<\/p>\n

Maggie Hendricks<\/p>\n

UCLA had an outstanding Final Four, first beating Texas<\/a> and then dominating South Carolina<\/a> on the way to the school\u2019s first NCAA women\u2019s basketball title. That championship was won thanks to the skills of an outstanding senior and grad student class. Gabriela Jaquez led the way in the title game. Charlisse Leger-Walker has led the team in assists and steals all season long. Throughout the tournament, Gianna Kneepkens showed an uncanny ability to hit a big shot at the exact right time. And Lauren Betts and Kiki Rice showed why WNBA fans are already hoping they will get drafted to their teams.<\/p>\n

More than anything, this tournament run showed that UCLA, a dormant program for decades, can both win and develop talent. Now, several Bruins are poised to earn spots in the WNBA, and, thanks to the new CBA, make much more money than any previous rookie class. Now, with the WNBA draft less than a week away, take a final look at how the draft-eligible stars of the NCAA tournament did and how their recent performances might have affected their draft stock.<\/p>\n

Read the full breakdown here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"CassandraMon, April 6, 2026 at 11:20 AM PDT<\/p>\n

Cassandra Negley<\/p>\n

Chicago Sky brass and Angel Reese herself could say whatever they wanted to bounce around the subject this offseason. A trade appeared imminent for months, and anyone shocked at that aspect of the news on Monday morning<\/a> is obtuse, at best.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean the shockwaves are any less impactful for the Sky, a franchise consistently mired in controversy and drama, speeding into the spotlight of All-Star hosting duties this summer. And now they\u2019re without their larger-than-life superstar while facing down yet another sticky rebuild situation.<\/p>\n

Hours into the 2026 WNBA free agency designation period<\/a>, and about 12 hours after the official date was announced by the league amid the ongoing work on the collective bargaining agreement<\/a>, the Sky dropped the first bombshell of what is shaping up to be a crazed three weeks.<\/p>\n

Read the full story here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"BenMon, April 6, 2026 at 8:56 AM PDT<\/p>\n

Ben Fawkes<\/p>\n

There has been no movement in Atlanta\u2019s title odds at BetMGM following the acquisition of Angel Reese.<\/p>\n

The Dream remain +1200 to win the WNBA title this year.<\/p>\n

Mon, April 6, 2026 at 8:53 AM PDT<\/p>\n

Yahoo Sports<\/p>\n

Read more on the major trade here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"ChrisMon, April 6, 2026 at 8:48 AM PDT<\/p>\n

Chris Cwik<\/p>\n

In her first two seasons in the WNBA, Angel Reese made the All-Star team twice, and earned down-ballot MVP votes as a rookie. But that didn\u2019t stop the Chicago Sky from reportedly parting ways with the former LSU star.<\/p>\n

Reese, 23, was traded to the Atlanta Dream on Monday, the team confirmed.<\/p>\n

The Sky reportedly traded Reese and swapped second-round picks<\/a> with Atlanta in 2028, per Annie Costabile of FOS. In exchange for Reese, the Sky reportedly received the Dream\u2019s first-round picks in both 2027 and 2028.<\/p>\n

Since joining the WNBA, Reese has performed like an elite player. As a rookie, she averaged 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds per game, earning a trip to the All-Star Game, finishing second in the Rookie of the Year voting and earning MVP votes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After months of uncertainty that we\u2019d even have a WNBA season, free agency has finally arrived. This will…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":586850,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[4662,724,732,223979,4657,49,48,726,14108,4661,3460,729,12249,104252,4644,82,45963,630,35520],"class_list":{"0":"post-586849","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-aja-wilson","9":"tag-angel-reese","10":"tag-atlanta-dream","11":"tag-available-free-agents","12":"tag-breanna-stewart","13":"tag-ca","14":"tag-canada","15":"tag-chicago-sky","16":"tag-free-agency","17":"tag-jackie-young","18":"tag-las-vegas-aces","19":"tag-napheesa-collier","20":"tag-players-union","21":"tag-portland-fire","22":"tag-sabrina-ionescu","23":"tag-sports","24":"tag-toronto-tempo","25":"tag-wnba","26":"tag-wnba-salary"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586849","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=586849"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586849\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/586850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=586849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=586849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=586849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}