Is WNBA free agency about to happen?
No. But even if the WNBA and WNBPA have not agreed on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), free agency could began on Sunday January 11.
The lack of a collective agreement means that the league and the union have entered a period of “status quo”where both parties respect the stipulations of the previous collective agreement while continuing their negotiations. According to the former CBA, it was time for the WNBA to begin its free agency period.
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However, no signing, trade or player movement chaos is about to ensue as the WNBA and WNBPA have agreed to a moratorium that suspends league activities. The league first proposed the moratorium Friday evening, just before the CBA’s extended negotiation deadline expired. The union reviewed the proposal and announced Monday afternoon that it had accepted it.
The moratorium allows teams to NOT go through free agency formalities (issuing qualifying offers and basic designations) for no reason, as players are unlikely to be inclined to sign contracts before a new CBA is finalized.
So the location of last season’s free agency frenzy – Unrivaled – hasn’t become ground zero for recruiting again. As Rose BC and Phoenix Mercury’s Kahleah Copper recently told Annie Costabile Sports at reception:
It’s really not recruiting. Yesterday after practice we sat in the locker room and talked about general free agency, where we thought people would go, which teams we thought they would part ways, what people are looking for, what are you looking for. … We all kind of play GM with each other.
On the Good game with Sarah Spain podcast, Breanna Stewart, a WNBPA vice president who plays for Mist BC and the New York Liberty, also said players were trying to imagine what might happen during their stay. “Tamper Bay. » Stewie also cited February 1 as the hoped-for date for a new, finalized collective agreement. Speaking from Unrivaled, she suggested that the continued delay, while not ideal, would not pose insurmountable challenges, adage:
Things are going to be late because we’re just stuck. But is it going to be so late that many people don’t move? Maybe people sign one-year deals and then hit free agency the next year because it’s not as new.
Speaking to Costabile, Copper further shared players’ recognition that free agency will likely look different this year, whenever it happens. Copper said“You won’t be able to travel and visit. You’ll have to make a decision like that. To me, I feel like it will be rushed. I wouldn’t want to make a rushed decision.”
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Vinyl BC and Los Angeles Sparks’ Dearica Hamby expressed more excitement over a likely compacted free agency schedule, telling Costabile, “Obviously, as it gets closer, I think it speeds up everything, which might actually be more fun. Free agency will move a lot faster, the expansion draft will happen first.”
For now, free agency is on hold and negotiations will (hopefully) move forward.
With the expiration of the CBA, either party could now initiate a work stoppage – a league lockout or players’ strike – without notice. No such action is planned, as both parties have indicated their commitment to continuing negotiations in good faith.
