Breanna Stewart is back with the Liberty, and she left money on the table.
The question now, as the Liberty prepare to make another run at dethroning the two-time defending champion Aces and claiming the first WNBA title in franchise history, is: What is the leftover money for?
Do the Liberty have one more move in store?
The Liberty re-signed Stewart, the league’s reigning MVP, on Monday to a one-year contract.
“It’s a monumental day in New York as we are thrilled to welcome back the MVP, Breanna Stewart,” Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb said in a statement. “Stewie’s return marks our unwavering commitment to excellence and our collective drive to bring a championship to New York. Welcome back, Stewie!”
The terms of Stewart’s deal reportedly has two important provisos.
One: Stewart took less than maximum money. The Next reported the deal is for less than the WNBA’s “regular” max salary of $208,219.
After re-signing fellow free agent and starting center Jonquel Jones earlier this offseason, the Liberty had $513,803 remaining for five roster spots, according to Her Hoop Stats.
They made a failed run at free agent Nneka Ogwumike, who signed with Seattle.
When you pencil in new bench piece Kennedy Burke, minimum deals for projected reserves Leonie Fiebich and Ivana Dojkić and the first-year salary for the Liberty’s No. 11 overall pick in April’s WNBA draft, that left $235,521 — give or take a few shekels — for Stewart.
She reportedly signed for much less.
The second notable detail: Stewart’s deal is “non-guaranteed,” preserving the final of the Liberty’s six guaranteed salary slots.
That would allow the Liberty to take on a player on a guaranteed contract — read: an established player — in a trade.
The Athletic, which first reported Stewart’s agreement, said the one-year deal gives Stewart and the Liberty “tremendous flexibility in future negotiations.”
Earlier this offseason, the Liberty put the core designation on Stewart as she reached unrestricted free agency to preserve exclusive negotiating rights with the 29-year-old forward, who averaged 23.0 points and 9.3 rebounds in her first season with the team.
As a cored player, Stewart was entitled to sign a one-year deal for the WNBA supermax salary of $241,984.
“It’s my first time being cored. Not surprising,” Stewart said in the days after the Liberty’s four-game Finals loss to the Aces. “I’m excited for what we’re doing here in New York and with the Liberty. … I’m looking forward to it for many years to come.
“It’s a little bit different because I know my team. I know I’m going to be here. Just making sure my teammates feel the same way that I do. That I love and appreciate being around them. That I love and appreciate sharing the court with them. We felt like we were doing something special and yeah, we didn’t complete our ultimate goal but we can taste it. We can feel it and now it’s getting back to that point and actually making it happen.”