![\"New](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Ionescu-DeMarco-600x400.jpg\")
New Liberty coach Chris DeMarco and Sabrina Ionescu can get back to work as soon as the All-Star guard officially re-signs. Photo: Jeff Chiu\/AP<\/p>\nIt won\u2019t be official until it is, but Brooklyn basketball fanatics can at least take a deep breath in knowing that Liberty stars Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart are saying there\u2019s no place like home.<\/p>\n
As in Downtown Brooklyn.<\/p>\n
The All-Star duo revealed Wednesday \u2013 and don\u2019t take it as an April Fool\u2019s gag \u2013 that they will re-sign with New York for the 2026 season.<\/p>\n
Stewart, a two-time WNBA and Finals Most Valuable Player, came right out with it on her podcast, \u201cGame Recognize Game with Stewie and Myles.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to just set the record straight here: I will be staying in New York,\u201d said the three-time WNBA and Olympic champion.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not planning on taking any free agency meetings, even though I am an unrestricted free agent. My family is set up here, we\u2019re solid here.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to be back in New York and that\u2019s all there is to it,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Ionescu, who helped capture the Liberty\u2019s first-ever WNBA title as well as Olympic gold the same summer alongside Stewart in 2024, is also raring to chase Title II on the corner of Atlantic and Flatbush.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously I\u2019m where I\u2019m supposed to be,\u201d said the first overall pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNever thought anything different, and so excited to be able to sign and get started. It\u2019s coming up really quickly, so excited to get all this behind us and just be able to start our season and get going in New York.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Liberty have only two players under contract, center Emma Meesseman and forward Leonie Fiebich. That leaves 10 spots to fill before the May 8 season opener vs. Connecticut.<\/p>\n
Jonquel Jones, a member of Brooklyn\u2019s Big Three since 2023 and Finals MVP in 2024, still hasn\u2019t revealed her intentions going forward, but the Liberty would be hard-pressed to replace what many deem as the backbone of New York\u2019s starting five.<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
Before Liberty coach Chris DeMarco could address the upcoming WNBA expansion and first-year players drafts, the race to training camp, preseason and Opening Night at Downtown\u2019s Barclays Center, he had to figure out who was going to sit next to him.<\/p>\n
The four-time NBA champion as a player-development guru and assistant coach during his 13-year stint in Golden State finally got to do so on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m incredibly excited about the group we\u2019ve assembled and how aligned we are around shared, winning values as a staff,\u201d DeMarco said in a team-issued release.<\/p>\n
After waiting out the marathon labor negotiations that finally resulted in a transformational collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players late last month, DeMarco got to settle into his new job in an official way.<\/p>\n
New Liberty coach Chris DeMarco and Sabrina Ionescu can get back to work as soon as the All-Star guard officially re-signs. Photo: Jeff Chiu\/AP<\/p>\n
The replacement for Sandy Brondello, the most successful coach in franchise history, named Courtney Paris, Addi Walters, Will Sheehey and Andrew Wade as his assistants on the bench.<\/p>\n
Also, Kristen Mann was tabbed player-development coach and will share some of these duties with Wade.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach coach brings a high level of compete, a team\u2011first mentality, a passion for teaching the game, and unique experiences that will help us adapt our gameplan night to night, while also reflecting our commitment to building and strengthening the coaching pipeline,\u201d DeMarco added.<\/p>\n
While he still doesn\u2019t have anything resembling a 12-woman roster, DeMarco had to put at least these key pieces in place.<\/p>\n
Paris, who won the 2018 WNBA championship alongside Stewart in Seattle during her 10-year playing career, comes off an assistant stint in Chicago after working on the bench at Dallas and the University of Oklahoma.<\/p>\n
Walters has already worked closely with DeMarco when he coached the Bahamian Men\u2019s National Team in international competition. She is coming off an assistant stint with the G-League\u2019s Iowa Wolves, and spent five years learning her craft with the Minnesota Timberwolves.<\/p>\n
Sheehey has worked on analytics in the NBA, G-League and on the international level and was the assistant director of player development and innovation with the Warriors as he followed DeMarco to Brooklyn.<\/p>\n
Wade was already in the organization as director of player development last year, but will be elevated to assistant as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He also helped Washington to the 2019 WNBA title as an assistant with a team that featured New York\u2019s Natasha Cloud and Meesseman.<\/p>\n
Mann spent 20 years playing overseas and in the WNBA before serving as manager of basketball development for the Connecticut Sun, who will open this much-anticipated season at Barclays Center on May 8.<\/p>\n
The team also promoted Micaela Reese to Director of Basketball Operations and Parker Lovett to Director of Basketball Strategy.<\/p>\n
New York native and former Liberty guard Epiphanny Prince returns to Brooklyn, where she starred at Murry Bergtraum High School, as the team\u2019s full-time Director within the Basketball Operations department.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to the release, she will support collegiate, international and professional scouting while also contributing to broader Basketball Operations initiatives.
With nearly 80% of the WNBA\u2019s free agents unsigned, a roster that will have to contend with two new franchises in Toronto and Portland and a condensed run-up to training camp in Brooklyn, DeMarco can finally begin chasing Title II with his staff in place.<\/p>\n
One he feels comfortable calling his own as New York approaches its and the league\u2019s historic 30th season.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost importantly, we care deeply about our players and sustaining a championship\u2011level environment here in New York,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n
![\"Former](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Prince-AP-Photo-by-Lindsey-Wasson-600x400.jpg\")
Liberty legend Epiphanny Prince will be in Brooklyn this year as New York\u2019s Director within the Basketball Operations Department. Photo: Lindsey Wasson\/AP<\/p>\n
GIVE ME LIBERTY: Before they host the Sun here on May 8, the Liberty will host Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever at Barclays Center in their preseason opener on April 25. \u2026 The Liberty also announced a new multi-year partnership with Alipay+ as an official sponsor on Wednesday. A leading cross-border fintech services platform based in Singapore, Alipay+ will serve as an official sponsor and innovation partner for sustainability of the New York Liberty. Through the partnership, Alipay+ and the Liberty will jointly support community programs designed to advance community empowerment, environmental sustainability and youth development across New York City. \u201cOur partnership with Alipay+ goes beyond the game,\u201d said Liberty Chief Executive Officer Keia Clarke. \u201cTogether, we are investing in the future of New York\u2014its people, its environment, and its youth. Ant International\u2019s commitment to community empowerment, sustainability and digital innovation makes them an ideal partner for our mission.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It won\u2019t be official until it is, but Brooklyn basketball fanatics can at least take a deep breath…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":561973,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[402,435,230064,13970,3675,99,434,206696],"class_list":{"0":"post-561972","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-breanna-stewart","10":"tag-jt-torenli","11":"tag-liberty","12":"tag-sabrina-ionescu","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-wnba","15":"tag-wnba-womens-national-basketball-association"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561972","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=561972"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561972\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/561973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=561972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=561972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=561972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}