Is free agency approaching in the WNBA?
Won’t. But even though the WNBA and WNBPA have yet to agree on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), free agency Can Begins Sunday, January 11th.
The absence of a CBA means that the league and union have entered a “status quo” period, in which both parties abide by the provisions of the previous CBA and continue negotiations. Under the old CBA rules, it’s time for the WNBA’s free agency period to begin.
advertise
However, there will be no disruption to signings, trades or player movement as the WNBA and WNBPA agreed to suspend league operations. Late Friday, just before the extended CBA negotiation deadline was set to expire, the league first proposed suspending play. The union reviewed the proposal and announced its acceptance Monday afternoon.
The moratorium allows teams to go through the free-agent process — issuing qualifying offers and core designations — for basically no reason because players are unlikely to sign contracts before a new collective bargaining agreement is finalized.
So the focus of last season’s free-agent frenzy – and unparalleled – is not once again ground zero for recruiting pitches. As Kahleah Copper of Rose BC and Phoenix Mercury recently told Annie Costabile front desk sports:
It’s really not hiring anymore. We were just sitting in the locker room after practice yesterday talking about free agency in general, where we think people are going to go, which teams we think are going to break up, what people are chasing, what you’re looking for. … We’re all playing the role of general manager for each other.
superior Great match with Sarah Spain In the podcast, WNBPA vice president Breanna Stewart, who plays for Mist BC and the New York Liberty, similarly said players are trying to imagine what will happen in “Temper Bay.” Stewie also said February 1 is the date she hopes the new collective bargaining agreement will be finalized. Speaking to Unrivaled, she said continued delays, while not ideal, would not pose an insurmountable challenge, saying:
Things are going to be late because we’re stuck. But is it too late and many people have stopped taking action? Maybe people sign one-year deals and then they become free agents the second year because it’s not as fresh.
In an interview with Costabile , Cooper further conveyed players’ awareness that free agency may look different this year, whenever it happens. “You’re not going to be able to visit some places. You have to make decisions like that. To me, I feel like it’s going to be rushed. I don’t want to make a rush decision,” Cooper said.
advertise
Dearica Hamby of Vinyl BC and the Los Angeles Sparks expressed more excitement about the potentially compressed free agency schedule, telling Costabile, “Obviously as the time gets closer, I think it’s just going to speed things up and it might actually be more interesting. Free agency is going to go faster and the expansion draft is going to happen first.”
For now, free agency is on hold and negotiations will (hopefully) progress.
With the CBA expiring, either party can now initiate a work stoppage — a league lockout or a player strike — without advance notice. No such action is expected as both sides have said they are committed to continuing negotiations in good faith.
