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On a busy women’s basketball Sunday night, with our attention already split between the Unrivaled semifinals and March Madness selection show, the WNBA shouldered in. The New York Liberty, fresh off its first ever championship, acquired Natasha Cloud from the Connecticut Sun in exchange for the No. 7 pick in next month’s 2025 WNBA Draft and a 2026 first-rounder. For two franchises projected to be at opposite ends of the standings this summer, this is a logical deal for both sides.
The NY Liberty welcomes veteran guard, Natasha Cloud!🗽
Welcome to NY, @T_Cloud4! 💪☁️ pic.twitter.com/c2qhbWj1Y6
— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) March 17, 2025
Cloud’s Fit in New York
On paper, this is a no-brainer for New York, making a splash move late in the offseason that immediately improves the roster. Cloud, a second-round selection by the Washington Mystics in 2015, spent her first eight seasons with that organization—winning a title in 2019—before going to the Phoenix Mercury last year. She was dealt to Connecticut as the centerpiece of the Alyssa Thomas trade earlier this offseason but is much happier about this transaction, joining a contender in Brooklyn.
“Liberty fans, I’m so excited to be a part of this organization,” Cloud said in a video posted by the team. “Y’all have always shown me love since day one—I’ve always appreciated that. Now, more than ever, I can’t wait to be a part of it.”
Cloud, 33, is coming off one of the strongest years of her career, averaging 11.5 points per game (PPG), 6.9 assists per game (APG), and a career-best 1.4 steals per game (SPG), while climbing into the top 10 in career assists. All three counting stats are an improvement on her pro averages of 8.6 PPG, 5.3 APG, and 1.0 SPG. She notched her third career WNBA All-Defense recognition (All-Defensive First Team in 2022; All-Defensive Second Team selections in 2019 and 2024).
Impressive as they are, those stats and accolades do not fully capture the energy and passion with which Cloud approaches her craft. She prides herself on her defensive intensity, and her enthusiasm for leadership resonates with a lead-by-example demeanor that uplifts as it encourages.
“We could not be more excited to welcome Natasha Cloud to the New York Liberty family,” said Jonathan Kolb, Liberty General Manager. “Tash is someone who we identified years ago as a prime fit for our team and embodies everything we look for in a player. She has always left a lasting impression on the Barclays Center crowd, and we look forward to seeing the best fans in the WNBA embrace her on a nightly basis. Tash will undoubtedly strengthen our roster on both sides of the ball as we pursue another title in 2025.”
There has been significant rotation turnover for New York this offseason, losing Kayla Thornton to the Golden State Valkyries in the expansion draft and seeing Courtney Vandersloot return to the Chicago Sky in free agency, creating voids in both perimeter defense and playmaking. From a skillset perspective, Cloud is the exact player to help mitigate those subtractions, while also taking some pressure off backcourt partner Sabrina Ionescu, her Phantom teammate down at Unrivaled. Ionescu proved last season that she’s capable of playing at the one, but she is a self-described combo guard that excels running off ball screens and squaring up clean looks from range. This transaction really improves the versatility of a roster who, at times, had difficulty at the point of attack, despite its share of returning wing depth, with Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, Leonie Fiebich, and Kennedy Burke all expected to be back in seafoam (though we’re still awaiting further clarification on the lower body injury Laney-Hamilton suffered in Unrivaled).
Let’s briefly talk about the compensation, because lots of people will bristle at the exchange of two first-round picks. From a Liberty perspective, this is pretty simple: the championship window is still open. They were slotted to make the seventh selection this year—acquired from Phoenix as a pick swap in the deal that also brought Fiebich to Brooklyn—in a draft class that projects to have talent. While that potential is always tantalizing, the likelihood for a player to be ready for rotation minutes immediately on a vet-heavy contender like New York would be extremely slim, and a ton would have to go wrong, injury-wise, to see a rookie earn Sandy Brondello’s trust that quickly. The 2026 pick, assuming the Liberty finish top-three in the standings, would be in the 13-15 range, far beyond any guarantee of impact. The margins are so slim among the contenders, and the move to bring in Natasha Cloud could very possibly end up being what separates the Liberty from the rest of the teams coming for their crown.
Why Does Connecticut Make This Deal?
If you’re not positioned like New York, as one of the handful of teams truly capable of winning a title in 2025, you should have your eye towards the upcoming talent over the next several years. And, to be frank, it’s quite likely that the Sun will need to find their way back to contention through the draft more than any other team in the WNBA.
Connecticut has made eight-straight playoff appearances, a pair of second-round exits, four losses in the semifinals, and two defeats in the Finals. Despite going 499-377—a .570 win percentage and 17 postseason berths across 27 seasons—the Sun have never been the last team standing. And now, they’re in a rebuild era, trudging through an offseason that saw the departures of the entirety of 2024’s opening night starting lineup: Alyssa Thomas (PHX), Brionna Jones (ATL), DeWanna Bonner (IND), DiJonai Carrington (DAL), and Tyasha Harris (also DAL).
Further complicating the long-term outlook for Connecticut is its limited resources, especially in this new era of investment and expansion. State-of-the-art facilities are—thankfully!—quickly becoming the norm, and the teams able and willing to provide those necessities are best positioned to compete. This will become even more true in a year’s time, when nearly every veteran player in the league simultaneously hits free agency ahead of the new collective bargaining agreement, which, if/when it is agreed upon, will see significant pay raises across the board and every front office trying to entice top talent.
While not getting too deep into the details here, Connecticut does have its own unique challenges that might limit outside investment. The Sun’s best path through this reset is to acquire talent via the draft, starting that journey with picks No. 7, No. 8, and No. 25 next month. Additionally, with this transaction, the Sun now hold two first-round picks in the 2026 WNBA Draft.
A fun note: the last time the Sun held multiple first-round draft picks was 2016, when they drafted Morgan Tuck (No. 3), Rachel Banham (No. 4) and Jonquel Jones (No. 6). Tuck, now Connecticut’s General Manager, is once again in the middle of the action.
“We are excited to hold our highest pick and multiple first-round draft picks for the first time since 2016,” said Tuck. “The 2025 draft class is filled with talented athletes who will bring significant value to our team and organization. We’re committed to identifying players who fit our vision and culture, while helping us now and in the future. We look forward to seeing the evolution of the 2025 Sun draft class and are excited about the opportunities to come.”
Two firsts in return for a win-now vet, for a team that isn’t ready to win now makes sense for the Sun, as they enter a year of talent evaluation up in Uncasville. New York solidifies its position as a contender for 2025, keeping pace as the rest of the top-tier teams have made improvements. For two teams with very different aspirations at present, this very much feels like a deal both sides can sign off on and be satisfied.
