8 moves Liberty must make after 2025 WNBA trade deadline

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The 2025 WNBA season has been a rollercoaster for the New York Liberty. For a team that entered the year as a clear title contender with sky-high expectations, alongside a star-studded Liberty lineup led by Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, and Jonquel Jones, anything short of a championship would be seen as a disappointment. But the Liberty find themselves in an unexpectedly precarious position, having just lost their third game of the season to the Minnesota Lynx, who now hold a crucial tiebreaker.

The Liberty’s grip on the Eastern Conference’s top seed has slipped as they now sit a half-game behind the Atlanta Dream. With the 2025 WNBA trade deadline passed and little room for roster restructuring, New York must now turn inward to rediscover its edge and course-correct before the team’s play results in an irreversible disadvantage to its playoff positioning. Let’s take a look at the most pressing strategic adjustments the Liberty must make to salvage their campaign and secure a dominant postseason run.

1. Manage Breanna Stewart’s return carefully

Despite her MVP-caliber play last season, Stewart has struggled with knee issues throughout 2025. Her availability down the stretch and resulting effectiveness will dictate how far this team can ultimately go. To maximize her postseason impact, head coach Sandy Brondello must seriously consider load management strategies, even if that means temporarily sacrificing a regular-season win or two that could’ve given the squad slightly better seed positioning.

Giving Stewart some off nights or limiting her to 20-25 minutes in certain games will allow her to recover, stay explosive, and be dominant when it matters most in the playoffs. It’s better to finish third or worse in the standings with a healthy Stewart than flame out early because she’s run into the ground.

2. Empower Sabrina Ionescu

At times in the 2025 WNBA season, Sabrina Ionescu has chosen to defer to Stewart or Jones despite being one of the league’s most dangerous three-level scorers. After the All-Star break, her efficiency and aggression have increased, but the team needs her to be a top-10 player every night to stay competitive.

Ionescu has already started to step up as the team’s de facto leader in Stewart’s absence, but Brondello should be encouraging her even more to hunt for her shot in transition and take more pick-and-roll reps, particularly in clutch moments. With the right spacing, thanks to shooters like Marine Johannès or Emma Meesseman, Ionescu can collapse defenses, hit step-back threes, or draw fouls consistently. She is New York’s most versatile perimeter weapon and must be empowered to embrace that role more fully. And with Ionescu as the squad’s leader, another teammate can become the foundation of her offensive support system.

3. Focus on Jonquel Jones as the offense’s anchor

In games where Stewart has either sat out or looked less than 100%, Jones has proven more than capable of taking the offensive reins. Jones’ footwork, strength, and outside shooting make her a mismatch nightmare when featured. The Liberty coaching staff should shift more offensive sets to start with “JJ” in the post, particularly when Stewart is off the floor. Jones has quietly been the team’s most consistent interior presence while also nailing shots from beyond the arc, and raising her usage could help balance the offense and take pressure off Ionescu. Speaking of, another decision that would take pressure off of Ionescu is up next.

4. Let Emma Meesseman’s versatility take over

After all the anticipation surrounding her return to the W, Meesseman finally debuted for New York in August. While she’s technically still transitioning into her new team and playing environment, Meesseman’s high basketball IQ, passing, and midrange shooting have been game-changers for the Liberty so far. To take full advantage of her playmaking skills, the Liberty coaching staff should prioritize getting Meesseman into five-player lineups that involve both the first and second units.

That move would utilize Meesseman’s facilitation skills as a high-post distributor alongside shooters like Ionescu and Johannès, who particularly knows how to provide a jolt of creativity and energy that New York sorely needs off the bench, especially when the offense becomes stagnant. Meesseman can pick up on this trait while also providing a defensive edge and can create relief for Stewart or Jones, allowing the frontcourt to stay fresh. Continuing to allow her chemistry with bench units to develop over the next few weeks should be a key focus.

5. Lean more into the roster’s depth

The Liberty’s bench has not been utilized as well as it could be, but if they hope to survive a grueling playoff push, they’ll need meaningful contributions from their reserves. Players like Izzy Harrison and Nyara Sabally have been ruled out for the sake of health management, while others like Kennedy Burke have returned to the lineup but have not been used as much as they could be.

Brondello should trust her bench to hold leads since they all have the tools to contribute in short stints, especially against lower-tier teams, instead of over-relying on her starters. Developing a rhythm and confidence in bench players now will pay off in crunch-time postseason matchups when foul trouble or fatigue inevitably arises. Embracing a “next woman up” mentality could be the competitive edge that returns the Liberty to the East’s top seed.

6. Reset the team’s defensive identity

New York entered 2025 aiming to be a defensive juggernaut, but lately the Liberty have looked vulnerable, especially against teams with strong play from wings and guards. Against Minnesota specifically, Napheesa Collier and Courtney Williams have exploited mismatches and poor rotations this campaign.

To shore up the defense, the Liberty must tighten their perimeter containment and improve their help defense. Coach Brondello could experiment with more zone coverage or traps to disrupt rhythm players. Prioritizing defense-first lineups with Meesseman and Jones could preserve leads and close out quarters. A renewed defensive focus is non-negotiable if they want to win against playoff-caliber opponents.

7. Have coach Brondello add situational drills in practice

The Liberty have lost several games this season in crunch time due to poor execution on both ends. This isn’t a talent issue, it’s more of a reps and preparation issue. In practice, Brondello and her staff must simulate late-game situations for the squad to run through: Two-for-one possessions, foul management, defending out-of-bounds plays, and buzzer-beater drills.

These moments determine playoff outcomes and have been the Liberty’s weakness in tough losses lately. A sharper situational preparedness, especially since the team’s been adjusting to playing without Stewart, could have altered the result of their recent defeats to the Lynx and Las Vegas Aces. The team has all the pieces, they just need to operate more like a championship-winning unit under pressure. Repetition and coaching are the keys.

8. Use the Lynx losses to intensely scout their game plan

The Lynx have had the Liberty’s number each time they’ve faced off in 2025. That’s not a coincidence — it’s a blueprint. Cheryl Reeve’s Lynx squad has exposed New York’s soft spots: Slow defensive rotations, predictable offensive sets, and late-game execution issues.

Instead of brushing off those losses, the Liberty must humbly analyze what Minnesota is doing right. How are they denying Ionescu clean touches? How are they neutralizing playmaking from threats like Natasha Clous? There is no shame in studying a rival’s strategy, so the Liberty must view Minnesota not just as a rival, but as a lesson, if they want to overcome the league’s best team in both regular and postseason play.

The Liberty’s road to reclaiming control over the 2025 WNBA Eastern Conference standings isn’t impossible, but it will require urgency, humility, and strategic adjustments. The third loss to Minnesota has to be a wake-up call, not just in terms of standings, but also as a tool revealing the team’s current late-season flaws.

Fortunately, the pieces are still in place for a deep playoff run. With smart changes to rotations, defensive schemes, and player roles, plus a renewed mental edge, the Liberty can still finish the season as the top team in the East and a legitimate title favorite. But the time for reactive measures has passed, so from here on out, every game, possession, and coaching decision must reflect a championship mindset. The window to reclaim their dominance and pose a serious challenge to the Lynx is still open, but it won’t stay that way for long.

Related: Liberty coach Sandy Brondello gets 100% real on the challenge of going back-to-back

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