{"id":334641,"date":"2025-12-07T07:40:24","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T07:40:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/334641\/"},"modified":"2025-12-07T07:40:24","modified_gmt":"2025-12-07T07:40:24","slug":"liberty-trade-for-natasha-cloud-to-strengthen-depth-and-title-chances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/334641\/","title":{"rendered":"Liberty trade for Natasha Cloud to Strengthen Depth and Title Chances"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following six weeks of chaos with Cloud being traded to the Connecticut Sun so that the Phoenix Mercury could acquire Alyssa Thomas<\/a> and Satou Sabally<\/a>, Cloud will join a team that has very clear sights on repeating as back-to-back champions and establishing themselves as a WNBA dynasty.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTash will undoubtedly strengthen our roster on both sides of the ball as we pursue another title in 2025,\u201d Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb said in the team\u2019s press release.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The move signals that the Liberty are willing to give up multiple team controlled assets to go all in on the 2025 season even with a new collective bargaining agreement on the horizon that will see most of the league testing free agency. Similar to the recent trade between the Chicago Sky and the Washington Mystics that sent Ariel Atkins<\/a> to Sky for the No. 3 pick in the 2025 draft, and swap rights to its first-round pick in the 2027 draft, this wasn\u2019t a simple one-for-one trade.<\/p>\n

New York will obviously be expecting to make that 2026 first something like the #14 or #15 overall pick, but two firsts for a season of 33-year-old Cloud still seems like a lot to me. Opportunity cost of what else those picks might’ve been used for, as much as anything. #WNBA<\/p>\n

\u2014 Richard Cohen (@richardcohen.bsky.social)<\/a> 2025-03-17T01:18:53.850Z<\/a><\/p>\n

The Liberty have been known to value first round draft picks, but they\u2019ve traded them when they\u2019ve not liked the players available at their drafting position. New York didn\u2019t love the top of the 2021 Draft, one of the weakest drafts <\/a>in recent memory, and so they parlayed that<\/a> into Natasha Howard<\/a> and Sami Whitcomb<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2025, New York trading their 7th overall pick is a function of the Liberty not having a chance at a player in the 2025 class that they were very interested in. A league source told The Next that the Liberty were very interested in trying to draft Sonia Citron, a two-way combo wing who has the potential to contribute to a championship contender right now. Imagine the skill set of Betnijah Laney-Hamilton<\/a> but less muscular and a little longer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But after the Mystics proved they could bargain to their advantage in the trade with Chicago, there wasn\u2019t a path for New York to be able to draft Citron without giving up a lot of value to get her. Cloud is a two-way facilitator who can contribute right now, while other prospects that New York could draft at 7th overall most likely could not.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Liberty still have signings to make. A league source told The Next that part of the delay in signing both Breanna Stewart<\/a> and Marine Johann\u00e9s officially to contracts was because of the desire to determine if the Liberty were going to add Cloud\u2019s 2025 $200,000 salary to their books. And now that the Liberty have, expect New York to sign both Stewart and Johann\u00e9s officially this week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trading for Cloud also signals a change of approach following the departure of Courtney Vandersloot<\/a>. After falling to the Las Vegas Aces in the 2023 WNBA Finals, Kolb expressed that improvements to the perimeter defense wouldn\u2019t come<\/a> in the starting unit. He believed making adjustments to the Liberty\u2019s bench would be sufficient.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But following a 2024 championship season when the Liberty\u2019s coaching staff and front office realized how much having Ionescu surrounded by plus defenders improved the team\u2019s versatility and their performance, having a two-way backcourt partner for Ionescu became a necessity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last season head coach Sandy Brondello<\/a> transitioned Laney-Hamilton\u2019s role from a creator with 3-and-D tendencies into more of a secondary creator with the ball in her hands. But injuries throughout the season and into the playoffs\u00a0prevented this from coming to complete fruition. And now with Laney-Hamilton having to leave 3\u00d73 league Unrivaled where she was a relief player with yet another injury,<\/a> adding Cloud patches up the hole that Laney-Hamilton leaves defensively if she misses extended time. Johann\u00e9s fills the offensive void and has done so in the past.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A Full Circle Moment for Cloud, Ionescu and the Liberty<\/p>\n

Over two months ago, Cloud and Ionescu spoke to a scrum of media members about how their individual teams at the current time were in a race to land Sabally, one of the top free agents in the 2025 free agency class and their teammate on Phantom Basketball Club as part of\u00a0Unrivaled.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe both are,\u201d Cloud quipped<\/a> about recruiting Sabally. \u201cDon\u2019t just say Sabrina. You\u2019ve got your nice little ring okay.\u201d It was a moment of levity between the two players who didn\u2019t really know each other that well, but were beginning to.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cloud and Ionescu had previously gone up against each other in a highly contested first round playoff series in 2023 against the Mystics. Cloud, who has been known as of late<\/a> to perform at higher levels during the postseason, took her matchup against Ionescu quite personally<\/a>. While the Liberty advanced to the second round after defeating Washington in two straight games, Liberty fans were compelled by how hard Cloud played. She appreciated their energy in return, although most of them were cheering against her.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"SabrinaNew York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) drives to the basket as Washington Mystics guard Natasha Cloud (9) defends at Entertainment & Sports Arena on May 19, 2023 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n

\u201cMe outside out there was just feeling all the love from your fans, so I really appreciate that Liberty fans,\u201d Cloud said following Game 2 of that 2023 first-round series. \u201cIt was a great environment to play in. This is the things that we\u2019ve dreamed of since the time that we were kids. To feel that love coming off the court, it just was like a reiteration to me that I really did leave everything I could on the floor\u2026New York is very similar to Philly. We love hard workers. We love gritty ass players so I really did appreciate it so thank y\u2019all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flashing forward to 2025, Unrivaled created an environment where players could get to know each other on a much more personal level, and the bond between Ionescu and Cloud clearly strengthened in the locker room and in the training room while playing for Phantom BC.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fans caught onto <\/a>how much they enjoyed spending time together and had a genuine appreciation for one another. The on-court chemistry at Unrivaled came alive on Cloud\u2019s birthday when she hit a wide open game winning three off a no-look pass from Ionescu who grabbed the rebound of her own miss.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Ionescu has played a critical role in some of New York\u2019s player personnel related decisions. Her blessing matters. And based on Ioenscu\u2019s punny <\/a>reaction to the Liberty announcing the trade on social media, she definitely gave Kolb and Brondello her blessing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Questions this trade raises<\/p>\n

Cloud has been very open about how she has felt betrayed by two WNBA franchises. She implied<\/a> that the Washington Mystics didn\u2019t want her to return after 2023, and she was unceremoniously traded from Phoenix to the Connecticut Sun, a franchise that lacks professional player amenities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And while the Liberty boast having an ownership group that takes care of its players and values the player experience in ways other WNBA franchises do not, the New York Liberty way has been about collective sacrifice<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Vandersloot explained that not returning to the Liberty was about her making \u201ca personal\u201d choice and that there was a decision between both parties that it was time to move on. \u201cI was looking for something that they couldn\u2019t give me,\u201d she said<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

So what can the Liberty give Cloud? For starters her girlfriend Isabelle Harrison<\/a> signed with the team on a veteran minimum contract, she\u2019ll have access to the largest media market in the world, and have a chance to play in front of close to sold out crowds every night for a franchise trying to win back-to-back championships.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The IX Basketball, a 24\/7\/365 women\u2019s basketball newsroom powered by The Next
The IX Basketball<\/a>: A basketball newsroom brought to you by The IX Sports<\/a>. 24\/7\/365 women\u2019s basketball coverage, written, edited and photographed by our young, diverse staff and dedicated to breaking news, analysis, historical deep dives and projections about the game we love.<\/p>\n

But all of those perks come with a cost, and for New York it\u2019s buying in and making decisions that benefit the team rather than one individual player. Cloud has also spoken very openly about how she believes to be one of the league\u2019s top point guards and that she deserves more respect than she gets.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBut for me personally it\u2019s always to be the best version of myself,\u201d Cloud said <\/a>on the podcast The OGs. \u201cI want to be a top point guard in the league every single year. I want to continue to get better offensively, I want to continue to become a more offensive threat within the organization that I\u2019m a part of.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Liberty don\u2019t really need her to become a more potent offensive threat, although they will welcome offensive efficiency. How will Cloud buy in playing a role where she won\u2019t get over 10 shots a game like she averaged in Phoenix<\/a>? But if there is a coach who has mastered how to get players to buy into the collective rather than more self-oriented aspirations, that person is Liberty head coach Brondello.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Following six weeks of chaos with Cloud being traded to the Connecticut Sun so that the Phoenix Mercury…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":334642,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[22084,37248,435,4384,155444,72778,7788,436,3675,21845,99,434],"class_list":["post-334641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-2025-wnba-draft","tag-2026-wnba-draft","tag-breanna-stewart","tag-connecticut-sun","tag-jonathan-kolb","tag-marine-johannes","tag-natasha-cloud","tag-new-york-liberty","tag-sabrina-ionescu","tag-sandy-brondello","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=334641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334641\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/334642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=334641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=334641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=334641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}