Sue Bird: No, she has not announced retirement as a player, so we are taking a flier here. Four-time WNBA champion Sue Bird has said she will make up her mind this WNBA offseason on whether she plans to return for a 19th WNBA season. Maybe a similar thing will happen with Brondello and the Liberty. Remember when Connecticut parted with coach Mike Thibault after the 2012 season, and the Washington Mystics snapped him up? That paid off big with the 2019 championship. Brondello is also the Australian national team coach, which provides a Liberty connection: Opals player Rebecca Allen is on New York's roster, as is naturalized Aussie Sami Whitcomb. If New York is looking for someone with lots of playoff experience and a history of developing talent, she fits the bill for both. Sandy Brondello: Brondello might not be out of a job long.
If Weatherspoon was interested in returning to the WNBA, this would seem like the most perfect fit for her, and Liberty fans would be very enthusiastic about it. As a player, Weatherspoon led Louisiana Tech to the 1988 national championship. The Hall of Famer has head-coaching experience, having led her alma mater, Louisiana Tech, in women's hoops from 2009 to 2014, going 99-71. Brondello out as Mercury coach after Finals loss.She also worked for the Liberty in a coaching and front office capacity, and is now an assistant coach with the NBA's New Orleans Pelicans. Teresa Weatherspoon: The former Liberty guard is probably the most popular player in franchise history, competing in New York from 1997 to 2003. What will the Liberty and Mercury be looking for in their hires? We take a look at some possible candidates. One coaching position already has been filled in the offseason, as former WNBA player Tanisha Wright took over the Atlanta Dream after being an assistant with the Las Vegas Aces. The Mercury fell 3-1 to the Chicago Sky in the WNBA Finals in October. She led Phoenix to the playoffs in all eight of her seasons, but with Diana Taurasi at age 39, and Brittney Griner and Skylar Diggins-Smith both 31, a window is closing. Phoenix has won three WNBA titles, the most recent in 2014, which was Brondello's first season as Mercury coach. The Liberty came into the league affiliated with the Knicks organization, but now are with the Brooklyn Nets under owner Joseph Tsai, who hired Hopkins in January 2020. The Liberty and the Mercury are both original WNBA franchises, dating to the league's beginning in 1997. There are good building blocks to work with in New York, including forwards Natasha Howard and 2021 Rookie of the Year Michaela Onyenwere, wing Betnijah Laney and guard Sabrina Ionescu. The Liberty are coming off a 12-20 season in which they nabbed the last spot in the playoffs. A few hours later, the Phoenix Mercury announced Sandy Brondello was out after eight seasons, despite having just led her team to the WNBA Finals. First came the news that Walt Hopkins was out as the New York Liberty's head coach after two seasons. A very busy Monday in the WNBA offseason ended with two head coaching vacancies.
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