NY Liberty: New Season, New Changes
There are many changes the New York Liberty and head coach Bill Laimbeer have to deal with heading into the 2014 season, including new talented players and saying goodbye to proven veterans.
During a busy off season of additions the Liberty made a power move during this year’s WNBA Draft by acquiring all star center and Queens, NY native Tina Charles via trade with the Connecticut Sun. New York dealt dealt away Alyssa Thomas, Kelsey Bone and their first round pick in 2015’s draft for the former league MVP. Charles’ presence in the Liberty front court will be a welcome sight to go along with a back court led by another all-star Cappie Pondexter giving the team an exciting scoring duo.
Tina Charles visits Christ The King High School in Queens
In a separate trade the Liberty acquired second year guard Sugar Rodgers from the Minnesota Lynx adding depth and youth to their back court.
The team will be without veteran guard Katie Smith on the court as she has retired and made the transition from player to assistant coach under Laimbeer’s staff. The other big loss will be from guard Leilani Mitchell who recently announced her intentions to sit out the season and remain in Australia to training for the upcoming World Championships tournament.
As the players change so does the wardrobe as the team will be sporting new uniforms heading into the new season. The new uniforms will include a black trim that was used back during the leagues inaugural season in 1997 and was made famous by former Liberty greats Theresa Weatherspoon, Kym Hampton and Rebecca Lobo.
The team from 1997 made it all the way to the championship game before falling to the Houston Comets. They will forever be remembered in Liberty history for the excitement and great team chemistry they showed on the court every night. A formula this year’s squad will hope to develop and lead to hopefully the first title in franchise history.
