Given the nature of the WNBA's marathon offseason, the league mostly goes into hibernation during the winter, especially with a majority of the players heading overseas to play in Europe, Asia and Australia. But as we move closer to the spring, things start heating up again.
That has definitely been true this season, as in the last few weeks alone the league and players' association came to terms on a new eight-year collective bargaining agreement, Minnesota Lynx star Maya Moore announced she'll sit out a second straight season and Wings guard Skylar Diggins-Smith said she wants out of Dallas.
Now, it's time to head to one of the biggest portions of the offseason: free agency. So far, we've seen Angel McCoughtry leave the Dream to sign with the Aces, Kristi Tolver return to the Sparks and DeWanna Bonner traded to the Sun. And that was just in the first two days. In the days since, the Wings traded Skylar Diggins-Smith to the Mercury, the Sun traded Courtney Williams to the Dream and Seimone Augustus stunned everyone by signing with the Sparks.
As the action continues, here is everything you need to know about 2020 WNBA free agency:
When does it start?
Teams can start negotiating with players on Tuesday, Jan. 28, but like the NBA, the WNBA has a moratorium period. This means that no contracts can be officially signed until Feb. 10.
How does WNBA free agency work?
For the most part it works in the same way as the NBA. Once free agency opens, teams can negotiate contracts with players, and there are certain classifications that players fall into. There are unrestricted free agents, who are able to talk with and sign with any team, and restricted free agents, whose prior team has the ability to match any contract offer.
In the WNBA there are also reserved players. These are players who have played three or fewer seasons, and their prior team has exclusive negotiating rights. Often these are veterans who came into the WNBA later in their career, but they can also be younger players who either went undrafted, or for whatever reason were no longer on their rookie-scale contract.
Furthermore, the WNBA has a special designation called "core players." It operates similar to a franchise tag in the NFL, and gives teams exclusive negotiating rights with the player. Teams often use this on star players, but they must be strategic in doing so, as a player can only be "cored" three times in their career.
Core players
These are players who have been designated as core players by their teams, who now have exclusive negotiating rights. One key note here is that while the Wings made Diggins-Smith a core player, she had publicly stated that she would not play in Dallas this season. At that point they had little choice but to trade her, and on Wednesday executed a sign-and-trade with the Mercury. The Liberty ended up in a similar situation with Charles, and eventually traded her to the Mystics ahead of the draft.
Player | Prior team | New team | Position | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tina Charles | New York Liberty | Washington Mystics | F/C | Traded |
Skylar Diggins-Smith | Dallas Wings | Phoenix Mercury | G | Traded |
Brittney Griner | Phoenix Mercury | Phoenix Mercury | C | Re-signed |
Unrestricted free agents
As already noted, unrestricted free agents are able to talk to and sign with any team during the offseason. Some of these players may end up being "cored" by their teams, but until then they'll remain in this grouping. And now, without further ado, here's a look at every unrestricted free agent hitting the market this summer, grouped into tiers according to their talent level.
Elite group
Player | Prior team | New team | Position | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|
Elena Delle Donne | Washington Mystics | Washington Mystics | F | Re-signed |
Emma Meesseman | Washington Mystics | Washington Mystics | F | Re-signed |
Angel McCoughtry | Atlanta Dream | Las Vegas Aces | F | Signed |
Breanna Stewart | Seattle Storm | Seattle Storm | F | Re-signed |
There's no need to explain this one too much. These are the very best players hitting unrestricted free agency. Stewart is the 2018 MVP, though she is coming off a torn Achilles and didn't play in 2019, Delle Donne is the reigning MVP, while Meesseman is the reigning Finals MVP, and together latter duo is coming off an incredible season in which they brought the Washington Mystics the first title in franchise history. As expected, all three of these stars returned to their squads.
As for McCoughtry, she was in a unique situation. She played her entire career in Atlanta, but missed all of last season rehabbing from a knee injury, and seemed to sour on the organization. And instead of making her a core player, the Dream decided to let her test free agency. Now, the Aces have taken advantage of that opportunity and added another star to their roster.
All-Star-caliber group
Player | Prior team | New team | Position | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|
DeWanna Bonner | Phoenix Mercury | Connecticut Sun | F | Traded |
Allie Quigley | Chicago Sky | Chicago Sky | G | Re-signed |
Kristi Toliver | Washington Mystics | Los Angeles Sparks | G | Signed |
Courtney Vandersloot | Chicago Sky | Chicago Sky | G | Re-signed |
The next group are not quite elite, MVP-level talent, but they're more than role players. So far, we've had two big surprises, as Toliver left the defending champion Mystics to return to the Sparks, while the Mercury executed a sign-and-trade to send Bonner to the Sun. Both Quigley and Vandersloot, meanwhile, returned to Chicago, which was expected.
Veteran leaders
Player | Prior team | New team | Position | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|
Seimone Augustus | Minnesota Lynx | Los Angeles Sparks | G/F | Signed |
Sue Bird | Seattle Storm | Seattle Storm | G | Re-signed |
These two players probably belong with the role players based on their actual production at this point of their career, but given their resumes, it felt only right to give them special attention. Augustus and Bird are two of the greatest of their generation, and have each won multiple WNBA titles and multiple Olympic gold medals together for Team USA. They're aging out of big roles, but are still important figures in the locker room. In one of the most shocking moves in a while, Augustus left the Lynx to sign with the Sparks.
Key role players
Player | Prior team | New team | Position | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|
Essence Carson | Phoenix Mercury | G/F | Unsigned | |
Stefanie Dolson | Chicago Sky | Chicago Sky | F/C | Re-signed |
Glory Johnson | Dallas Wings | Atlanta Dream | F/C | Signed |
Sancho Lyttle | Phoenix Mercury | None | F/C | Retired |
Leilani Mitchell | Phoenix Mercury | Washington Mystics | G | Signed |
Shekinna Stricklen | Connecticut Sun | Atlanta Dream | G/F | Signed |
Now this is where things start to get interesting. It's the nature of the WNBA that any truly great player will return to their team more times than not. But whether it's for financial reasons, or simply team needs, we start to see much more movement once we get into this tier of player.
So far, we've seen Stefanie Dolson return to the Sky, but otherwise there's been movement all over the place. Glory Johnson and Shekinna Stricklen both signed with the Dream, helping them re-tool after the departure of Angel McCoughtry, Sancho Lyttle retired and Leilani Mitchell signed with the Mystics to help them fill the void left by Kristi Toliver's departure
Bench depth
Player | Prior team | New team | Position | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kayla Alexander | Chicago Sky | Minnesota Lynx | F/C | Signed |
Alex Bentley | Atlanta Dream | G | Unsigned | |
Layshia Clarendon | Connecticut Sun | New York Liberty | G | Signed |
Sydney Colson | Las Vegas Aces | Chicago Sky | G | Signed |
Bria Hartley | New York Liberty | Phoenix Mercury | G | Signed |
Epiphanny Prince | Las Vegas Aces | Seattle Storm | G | Signed |
Danielle Robinson | Minnesota Lynx | Las Vegas Aces | G | Signed |
Sugar Rodgers | Las Vegas Aces | Las Vegas Aces | G | Re-signed |
Tierra Ruffin-Pratt | Los Angeles Sparks | Los Angeles Sparks | G/F | Re-signed |
Carolyn Swords | Las Vegas Aces | None | C | Retired |
Tamera Young | Las Vegas Aces | G/F | Unsigned | |
Shavonte Zellous | Seattle Storm | G | Unsigned |
As we move down the tiers and get to players who fill out the end of the rotation, things get even more murky. These are all very solid players, and many of them will remain in the league, but they aren't difference-makers. And when teams have to start making difficult decisions regarding their cap sheets, these are the type of players that can often get squeezed out.
Fighting for a roster spot
Player | Prior team | New team | Position | Satus |
---|---|---|---|---|
Blake Dietrick | Seattle Storm | Atlanta Dream | G | Signed |
Megan Gustafson | Dallas Wings | Dallas Wings | F/C | Re-signed |
Brooke McCarty-Williams | Dallas Wings | G | Unsigned | |
Kim Mestdagh | Washington Mystics | G | Unsigned | |
Courtney Paris | Seattle Storm | C | Unsigned | |
Karlie Samuelson | Dallas Wings | Dallas Wings | G/F | Re-signed |
Tanisha Wright | New York Liberty | None | G | Retired |
This last group is in a potentially difficult position. All of them had roster spots last season, but are certainly not guaranteed one this time around. The roster churn at the end of the bench is a brutal process in the WNBA because of the limited amount of spots. There are only 12 teams, and dozens of new players enter the league every season, meaning it's tough to stick around if you aren't at least a solid contributor. And even then you might be out of luck depending on team need.
Restricted free agents
There are a number of star restricted free agents, including Chelsea Gray, Liz Cambage, Jonquel Jones and Courtney Williams, but it's very rare for those players to move teams in free agency. In fact, in the past three offseasons, Damiris Dantas is the only restricted free agent to sign with another team. (Some have re-signed with their prior team and then been traded, but you can't predict those moves.)
It's possible that changes this season just because of the sheer number of players that are hitting the market, and the changes to the salary cap with the new collective bargaining agreement. While the cap jumped, so did salaries, and that may result in some teams being unable to retain their restricted free agents. Still, most of the big names in this group should return to their prior teams.
Player | Prior team | New team | Position | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|
Jamierra Faulkner | Chicago Sky | G | Unsigned | |
Chelsea Gray | Los Angeles Sparks | Los Angeles Sparks | G | Re-signed |
Rachel Banham | Connecticut Sun | Minnesota Lynx | G | Signed |
Liz Cambage | Las Vegas Aces | Las Vegas Aces | C | Re-signed |
Kahleah Copper | Chicago Sky | Chicago Sky | G/F | Re-signed |
Bria Holmes | Connecticut Sun | Connecticut Sun | F | Re-signed |
Jonquel Jones | Connecticut Sun | Connecticut Sun | F/C | Re-signed |
Betnijah Laney | Indiana Fever | Indiana Fever | G | Re-signed |
Imani McGee-Stafford | Dallas Wings | Dallas Wings | C | Re-signed |
Tiffany Mitchell | Indiana Fever | Indiana Fever | G | Re-signed |
Astou Ndour | Chicago Sky | Dallas Wings | F/C | Traded |
Morgan Tuck | Connecticut Sun | Seattle Storm | F | Traded |
Courtney Williams | Connecticut Sun | Atlanta Dream | G | Traded |
Reserved players
This group features an eclectic mix of players who all have played three years or less, and their prior team has exclusive negotiating rights to re-sign them. Whether they were born there or simply started their career there, many of these players have roots overseas, which is why they weren't on normal rookie-scale contracts and sent to the restricted free agency route. Those who don't likely had trouble sticking on a roster early in their career and were waived at some point or another.
In any case, most of these players will re-sign with no fuss. Some, however, may not get a deal at all. That is especially likely for veterans such as Anna Cruz, Sonja Petrovic and Marta Xargay, all of whom weren't in the WNBA last season.
Player | Prior team | New team | Position | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|
Lindsay Allen | Las Vegas Aces | G | Unsigned | |
Bridget Carleton | Minnesota Lynx | G/F | Unsigned | |
Alaina Coates | Atlanta Dream | Atlanta Dream | C | Re-signed |
Anna Cruz | Minnesota Lynx | G | Unsigned | |
Temi Fagbenle | Minnesota Lynx | F | Unsigned | |
Reshanda Gray | New York Liberty | New York Liberty | F/C | Re-signed |
Isabelle Harrison | Dallas Wings | Dallas Wings | F | Re-signed |
Natisha Hiedeman | Connecticut Sun | Connecticut Sun | G | Re-signed |
Marine Johannes | New York Liberty | New York Liberty | G | Re-signed |
Sonja Petrovic | Phoenix Mercury | G | Unsigned | |
Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe | New York Liberty | F | Unsigned | |
Angel Robinson | Phoenix Mercury | F | Unsigned | |
Marianna Tolo | Los Angeles Sparks | C | Unsigned | |
Yvonne Turner | Phoenix Mercury | Phoenix Mercury | G | Re-signed |
Marta Xargay | Phoenix Mercury | G | Unsigned | |
Cecilia Zandalasini | Minnesota Lynx | Minnesota Lynx | G/F | Re-signed |
With that, the action is officially underway.
CBS Sports will continue updating this page with every new move that happens.