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00:02the Liberty off season is in full swing big news coming down on Saturday as the Liberty
00:08they have made a big free agency splash they have signed Satu Sabali she is coming to New York the
00:15Liberty have also made some other moves so we're going to get all into it on this edition of
00:19Liberty lately I'm Dexter Henry joined by my fantastic co-host and New York Post Liberty
00:23beat writer Madeline Kenny Maddie it is busy season for you how you doing I'm good you know
00:29I started the day at draft availability for some of the top prospects who are gonna probably hear
00:34their name called on Monday and here we are lots of news to dive into and we should have known
00:40it we
00:40should have known Liberty news was coming you and I were talking about this before we knew some news
00:43would come down and I don't think we expected this news but here we are Satu Sabali is now a
00:49member of
00:49the New York Liberty um let's start here Maddie how big of a swing is this for the Liberty to
00:55add a
00:56player of Satu stature and do you look at this as a final piece that this team has added or
01:03sort of a
01:03luxury ad that now adds more questions to this Liberty team is trying to win another title their
01:08second one since 2024 yeah I mean I think that's that's loaded questions but let's start with the
01:14fact that Satu is a huge signing for the Liberty um I don't know a lot of people necessarily saw
01:19this
01:19coming obviously the Liberty were in play to get Satu a year ago when she ended up ultimately choosing to
01:25go to Phoenix um but Satu is look this this is putting together a Liberty starting lineup that
01:32is going to be a bunch of skillful bigs I think every single player except for Sabrina is going to
01:39be over six foot four assuming that Leone starts or if it's Benajah then she's six foot um it there's
01:46this just puts them over the top you know like this it was a super team when they had their
01:50big three
01:51now they're like a super super team I think I I wrote that like it's a kind of reminiscent of
01:58when
01:58the Warriors got Katie and they added it to Steph Clay and Draymond and obviously Satu I'm not saying
02:06is Katie by right but this this whole idea of you already have an established core of of winners who
02:14have won together and you're just adding that extra layer that's just going to push you over the top
02:20and I think a lot of last year um there were multiple reasons for why the Liberty fell short
02:25and and lost in the first round injuries uh disrupted chemistry and cohesion within the lineups
02:32I think there were certain things with like there were errors on coaching there were layers to why
02:38the Liberty ended in the first round and I think that you know the Liberty have taken calculated measures
02:44this offseason to address some of those things obviously front court depth and just having a healthy
02:49front court was something that was an issue last season um and you just only fortify that with the
02:54signing of Satu Sabali no you absolutely do I think one of the questions that fans are going to have
03:00Maddie here is when you look at Sabali right she's a versatile you know ball handling forward she can do
03:05a lot with the ball we we know that this team already has elite usage players so how do you
03:10see Sabali
03:11fitting in being an elite usage player herself with Sab and Stewie how do you see that working
03:17with those players already I mean I think it's great that Niara and Sabrina already have that
03:21history together they obviously played together at Oregon they went on a final four run together um
03:27possibly could have won a championship in 2020 so I feel like they're almost kind of like this is
03:31their opportunity to win a championship after their 2021 got taken kind of away from them to a certain
03:37degree because of the pandemic so I think that's really exciting but I mean it's gonna be you're gonna
03:42have to find that balance right like egos are gonna have to be checked um you're gonna have to play
03:46within like a team environment and I don't think that that's been an issue for anyone in the Liberty
03:50in past years and I don't see it being an issue this time around I think that you know the
03:57biggest
03:57thing is that like they can't beat themselves the the pressure is on for them to it is championship or
04:03bust the signing really signaled that what the Liberty's expectations are and so I think it's it's
04:10extremely exciting I'm excited to see how it's all gonna look and work and feel um but I think it's
04:15it's it's a major signing and it's it's a huge boost to what the Liberty are trying to do
04:20no there's there's no doubt about that you mentioned size um and yet now this team defensively they got
04:28longer they got more switchable but then they were even before do you look at this that this move of
04:34getting solidly does it raise their ceiling more on the defensive end than even the offensive end and
04:39we know Satu can do some things on the offensive end but do you think this team's ceiling defensively
04:43has been raised even more I think so I think that like Satu's arrival it doesn't just add talent to
04:50the lineup it multiplies it in a lot of ways there's overlap with her game and other players game and
04:56and that can only be used to their to Liberty's benefit um I think that they're gonna have Chris
05:01DeMarco's gonna have fun with all the different lineups they can try to throw out there and see what
05:05kind of sticks um you can experiment a lot with this this group and so I think that they have
05:10a
05:10lot of good pieces like that lineup that we already mentioned is is probably one of the biggest lineups
05:16in the WNBA um it's gonna rival any lineup or or should rival any lineup in the WNBA and so
05:24I'm just I'm
05:24really excited to see how it all how it all plays out and kind of now figuring out like the
05:29bench depth
05:29like who else is going to be there next season yeah that's that's going to be a big question we'll
05:34get into some of the pieces um with the bench step now you also had reported today that the Liberty
05:39they prioritize and they you've been talking about it for a while they bring back John Cole Jones JJ
05:43is back she re-signs with Liberty on a multi-year deal Maddie for years we've been saying this
05:50John Cole's been the x-quad factor for this team right we know the stats when she gets a double
05:54double and all that good stuff uh there in terms of the big playoff matchups with her
05:58does the addition of Sabley change that at all and what John Cole still will mean to this Liberty
06:03team no I think that again I think it just like adds to the talent right or or it's a
06:10very
06:10complimentary addition to what is already established in the foundation within this team
06:14um you know I think John Cole Jones she means oh you mentioned the double double stat um I don't
06:20know the number off the top of my head but it's good it's like every time she gets a double
06:23double
06:23the Liberty are like destined to win yeah um but I I still see you know Stewie and JJ kind
06:30of being
06:30those defensive anchors and and I think that JJ is obviously going to have to be aggressive on the
06:35boards like you know there's there's just different I I don't think JJ's role changes is what I'm trying
06:42to say I think that she still is going to be expected to be that x-factor and bring that
06:46the
06:46energy and intensity and it's kind of about for JJ like honing that and having it every single night
06:52and not having you know everyone has off nights but just making sure that like mentally you're you're
06:57locked in and and that's um I think that's the challenge for JJ is finding that balance yeah
07:04finding that balance is going to be interesting for me too when you look at this front court now
07:09because the front court you know we talk about the size overall but in the front court we're talking
07:12about Stewie we're talking about Satsu Saboli we're talking about JJ right there's an argument you can say
07:19this is the most skilled diverse group front court in the league if you if you want to say that
07:26do you think there's any risk at all because you talked about everybody sort of you know figuring it
07:31out and finding their role is there any risk at all an overlap in skill or you think this is
07:35one that'll
07:36while it will take some time for everybody to figure things out is you think this one that will
07:39eventually fit together in terms of the skill set of all these three ladies yeah I don't I don't if
07:44there's any concern that I have about this lineup it's more so just staying healthy I mean obviously
07:50like JJ and Brianna missed time last season because of injuries even you know Sabrina missed a few games
07:56she tweaked had like a tweaked neck and then she also had uh an issue with her big toe um
08:02obviously
08:03Sabrina didn't play in unrivaled because she had an unspecified injury um so I think and then like
08:10saw too obviously also has like a history of having injuries so this team can stay healthy I mean I
08:15don't I don't really see many issues obviously it's gonna take time to see what this is actually
08:20gonna look like together but I think that these are all really good pieces to a puzzle and now it's
08:25just a matter of putting it together and seeing what it actually you know develops into I can't wait
08:30to see we're gonna see soon I can't wait to see here now you've also reported that the Liberty they
08:35want to bring back Marine Johannes aka the wizard uh they want to bring her back how important is
08:41bringing her back to this team and what she can give with her play style off the bench yeah I'm
08:46excited to see Marine in uh a Chris DiMarco offense just assuming that he's going to be pulling from like
08:54the warrior style um because he's obviously been around that team for more than a decade um and I
08:59think that Marine like she can really compliment that um we've seen her playmaking abilities I don't
09:05necessarily want to see her running at the one necessarily but I think that she's a really strong
09:09too and you know I think the Liberty are still in need of finding that backup point guard um just
09:15to
09:16be the floor general of the second unit so to speak um but I think that Marine's offensive abilities I
09:23mean she's she's electric like she can get hot and I know she can be a little bit of a
09:27streaky as a
09:28shooter but she can she can get hot in an instant and when she gets hot like it's it's hard
09:32to stop
09:33watching because she's so fun to watch you know and so I think defensively also like you know she
09:39she has her moments but I think that that's something that you know just ensuring that she's
09:44she keeps that intensity and that focus on that side of the ball too is going to be really important
09:49but I I think bringing back Marina is really smart and I think that again like she she can kind
09:54of be
09:54that difference maker off the bench for this team yeah no doubt about that we know she could fill it
09:58up
09:58get buckets real quick and be very electric fan favorite that is Marine Johannes but okay when
10:04you talk about adding a Satu Sabali right and I feel I feel bad I feel like this is the
10:08second show
10:09in a row making Maddie sort of put on the GM's hat here a little bit we're not going to
10:13get into the
10:14money or anything like that but how does the signing of Sabali impact bringing back two players in
10:20particular Benagelini Hamilton and then Natasha Cloud how does that impact that is it likely that either of
10:27those players will be wearing the Liberty uniform this season see one of those players playing
10:32wearing a Liberty uniform not sure about the other but um look I mean I think I said this before
10:37and
10:37I've definitely written it and reported it is that there there are versions of the 2026 Liberty that
10:44include Natasha Cloud there her role is going to look different and she's going to have to take less
10:50money and it's more money than she made last year obviously because of the increased salaries and
10:55everything but her cap hit is can't be as big as what it was she cannot be the third highest
11:00play
11:00paid player based on base salary um and and for the Liberty she's probably gonna have to come off the
11:06bench especially now that we're kind of seeing what this lineup is going to look like with the
11:10signing and everything and so I think that um Cloud's future is definitely uncertain and almost
11:17in in a lot of ways I think it's becoming increasingly more clear that the Liberty are moving
11:24in a different direction um when it comes to Benajah obviously the Liberty really valued Benajah she was
11:30that glue player um that helped them win the 2024 WNBA finals she played a really important part in that
11:37one and I think that obviously that they missed her last season a lot of their issues it felt like
11:43you know while injuries and everything could be different reasons felt like not having Benajah
11:50was something that avoid that they never were able to to fix or fill and so I think that
11:57they're the she's she's been in the Liberty's plans for 2026 I think money wise is something that
12:05they're gonna have to figure out how it's gonna work um she is technically because her contract is
12:09expired and she was suspended last season um she's technically like a reserved free agent without the
12:15qualifying offer and so the Liberty own her rights and so they can technically offer her a
12:21vet minimum salary which will obviously give them a lot of financial flexibility which they need
12:27because they signed Sato obviously we don't have the terms yet but I can imagine that she's probably a
12:31million dollar player same with JJ Brianna Sabrina and so Benajah's value like her range is probably closer
12:40to like a 500 to 750 thousand dollar uh player but if she does take that minimum that's kind of
12:48a sign
12:48like we were talking about this off camera Dexter and I feel like it's kind of like this this prove
12:52it year right for Benajah I mean we we know that what she's capable of but anytime a player is
12:57coming
12:58off an injury there's always like a little bit of question on what that player is going to look like
13:02are they going to look like the player the version they were before the injury or how it might impact
13:06them or how much time is going to get them to be back to like what they were who they
13:11were and I
13:12feel like that's that's kind of Benajah's situation so like it's kind of that prove it year like maybe
13:19you sign her to a lesser deal or a one-year deal on a very team-friendly rate um and
13:25then she if she
13:26earns it like you know she can make more money elsewhere or if they can figure out a way to
13:31do some
13:31cap gymnastics to be able to pay her her value and keep her in Brooklyn that would be all the
13:35all the better
13:37will be very interesting because she's as you said very integral part to that championship team
13:41you saw how much the team missed her last year look if there's a world in which they could still
13:45somehow keep t cloud and Benajah those are that's a deep team and those are two ladies who could be
13:52starting uh on a lot of rosters in the w so it'd be very interesting but uh thank you for
13:58that breakdown
13:58sorry I had to make you gm kennedy kennedy again that that's kenny again sorry that's that's not what I
14:05wanted to do to too much gm work in the offseason for us uh you also reported a liberty signing
14:10they
14:10signed spanish forward center raquel carrera to a training camp contract what can you tell me about
14:16her game and do you expect her to see significant backup five or four minutes uh for the liberty here
14:23in 2026 yeah I mean I'm really excited to finally be able to see her in person um she plays
14:30a lot more
14:30like a I think a four more than five but can do both of them obviously um you know she
14:36has a great
14:37two-way presence the thing about her that I'm curious about is how she's just gonna be able to
14:41adapt to the physicality and the speed of the wnba game um but but I do think that she's gonna
14:47be a
14:48complimentary piece and I'm excited to see her in the system I'm excited to see her she's obviously
14:52played with like leone feebish and stuff like that so there's familiarity there um but she's been
14:57a draft and stash prospect for a while and so for her to finally get her opportunity in the wnba
15:02is
15:02really exciting yeah gonna be exciting to see what she can do and obviously liberty needed that big
15:08depth there with niara saboli again taking an expansion draft and going to toronto so a couple
15:14more things here I guess this is going to kind of get us back into the gm gm situation but
15:18I think a
15:19big picture that fans are going to think about maddie is okay the liberty now have a new big four
15:27and we have a new cba it is a new world in the w is it possible for jonathan cope
15:34to keep these
15:35ladies together long term or should we view this more as a this is a go all in right now
15:41window for
15:42the liberty and this is what it is and you worry about the other stuff later yeah I mean jj
15:47signed
15:48a multi-year deal um saw two if I remember correct signed a multi-year deal I anticipate brianne and
15:54Sabrina to be on multi-year deal so I feel like this isn't a necessarily a one and done type
16:01team
16:01I think that they're building to win now and and win later um that is the goal they want to
16:07have
16:07sustained level of success and I think that yeah this is a team that again we keep talking about
16:15expectations like they're pretty obvious on what they are and I don't think the liberty have ever
16:19shied away that they don't want to they want to win championships they won one that's great but
16:24people have short-term memory this is a winning business and so I think that the this team has
16:30the potential more than the potential um to to bring another championship to new york all right I think
16:37that leads me to how we should probably end here and I think this question is perfect for you because
16:42you made the addition the comparison not directly as a player but the addition of Satu Saboli here
16:48to the liberty similar to KD going to the warriors and Maddie knows well because Maddie used to cover
16:52the warriors so when you step back and look at this roster and you said exactly what you just thought
16:57the goal was right this is about winning championships with s at the end is this a dynasty in the
17:04making
17:04around the liberty you already got their one title in 2024 you know or do you look at this as
17:10a team
17:11that still has to answer questions before we can even go there and use the d word in dynasty
17:16is this a dynasty in the making this is clearly what we they want they want the championships but
17:20do you think this team is currently constructed as a dynasty in the making they want to be a dynasty
17:26I'm not giving them that title yet I don't think that too soon they haven't earned that right um
17:31I think like also it depends on what your definition of a dynasty is I think a lot of people
17:35say that
17:36some people question whether the warriors is even a dynasty because they're a dynasty to me
17:40they never won three in a row I mean I mean that's that's a conversation for an hour
17:46the liberty have gone to two final two final fours oh my gosh my head is still stuck you just
17:51came off
17:51of covering the final four I know I know but they went to two WNBA finals in in three years
17:57that is
17:57quite the accomplishment they won one obviously um but I'm not ready to throw that word to describe
18:03them I think that that's what they want to be that's their goal um this is a step toward that
18:08uh but now you got to prove it you got to prove it on the court you know we can
18:11talk about different
18:12lineups we can talk about how great this team looks like on paper but until we actually see it and
18:17see
18:17the results and see whether or not it's it's a success and look I mean like this is Chris's first
18:23job coaching women this is his first head coaching job I mean aside from the bohemian
18:28men's national team um he's been a long time NBA assistant and so he's calling the shots I mean
18:35I think that that challenge excites him but there's that's it's going to be interesting to see like how
18:42does he handle adversity and in a long season obviously when you play international basketball
18:47is very different schedule than a WNBA schedule um and so it's going to be really interesting to see
18:53you know this this is kind of like an experiment right you have you you have a new head coach
18:59you got a new now I guess if we want to call it a big four uh got to think
19:04of like a better nickname
19:05I feel like yeah big four big four big five we don't we can't just say big all the time
19:10it's yeah
19:10yeah we got it well I'll workshop it we'll work we'll workshop that um but I I think that
19:17if we you know they this is it the potential is there is what I'm trying to say is that
19:22the potential is there for it to be that but way too early I think we don't throw that word
19:27around
19:27for another few years I agree I've seen people start started already throwing it around that's
19:32why I tossed in the question and I'm like it's look I'll say this I'm going to give my thoughts
19:37on the dynasty I think you at least have to have back-to-back titles within a period of time
19:42in
19:42the run right and so you and I think you also have to go to a bunch of finals like
19:47the Liberty
19:47have been a two out of the last three um that's part of it if the Liberty going back-to
19:52-back at
19:52any time after this I would say it's dynastic I would say so but if you go back with this
19:57core
19:57with this core yes just to be clear with this core thank you for for making me clarify that yes
20:02with this core they would have to do that so let's say they win the next two yeah absolutely a
20:06dynasty um in my eyes however where you're right Maddie they still have a lot of work to do
20:12and there was a lot of newness around this team um it's particularly you know with the head coach
20:18and now a new player coming in it's one thing to have talent we've also seen as we've covered sports
20:22for a long time we've seen a lot of talent come together and sometimes not work yeah um that's
20:27that has happened before so obviously they've got to do it I think there will be pressure on the team
20:32I don't know how you feel about that I think there will be pressure on this oh there's definitely
20:35going to be pressure on this team again it's very clear what the expectations are for this team
20:40and anything short of a championship is going to be a disappointment championship or bust for the
20:46liberty this year that's that's what's going to be about which means it's going to be really fun
20:50at the barclays center covering this team this year but liberty they have satu sabli johnquil jones is
20:56back you know stewie and sab expected those re-signings to come soon and we'll see how the roster
21:02takes shape otherwise wma draft going out on monday maddie will be all over that as well
21:08maddie it's good to see you um it's about to get really busy and it's going to be a really
21:13fun
21:13spring summer going into the fall of women's basketball should be fun glad glad to see you
21:19and well and busy we're all busy uh you're busy and tired and all over the place more hopefully too
21:25much more news doesn't break for you too soon i hope so everybody that is madeline kenny doing a
21:31great job for us covering the new york post i'm dr henry we'll catch you next time on liberty
21:36lately let us know what you think of the satu sabli signing do you like it there's pressure
21:41on liberty do you think they're going to win it all this year let us know everything we'll catch
21:44you next time on liberty lately
21:45you
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