Billionaire Owner Sends 7-Word Message to Excited Sabrina Ionescu Over Major NY Liberty Announcement

The WNBA arms race just took another dramatic turn. With Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu leading the charge, the New York Liberty were already championship contenders. But in a league where depth and defense separate the great from the elite, the Liberty just made their power move – adding veteran guard Natasha Cloud. A proven winner, defensive menace, and vocal leader.

“Good morning from Hong Kong. Weather is a bit cloudy.” said Sabrina Ionescu’s tweet. The Liberty traded with the Connecticut Sun to acquire veteran guard Cloud in exchange for the No. 7 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft and New York’s 2026 future First-Round pick. It’s not only Sabrina Ionescu who is over the cloud with the trade.

“I see Cloud from Hong Kong too!” This reaction was from Joe Tsai, the Chairman of Alibaba Group. To clarify, billionaire Joe Tsai owns multiple sports franchises, including the New York Liberty, which he purchased in 2019. Being part of the front office, his sharing the excitement makes perfect sense.

“We could not be more excited to welcome Natasha Cloud to the New York Liberty family,” said Jonathan Kolb, General Manager, New York Liberty. “Tash is someone who we identified years ago as a prime fit for our team and embodies everything we look for in a player.” Even Cloud couldn’t handle her excitement as she made two different posts. “YERRRRR He don’t play bout me.” and “NEWWWWWYOOOOORRRRRKKKK.” So, what can the Liberty fanbase expect from the 33-year-old?

Looking forward to Sabrina Ionescu, Breanna Stewart, and Natasha Cloud’s partnership

The 5-10 veteran guard is first and foremost a 2019 WNBA Champion with the Mystics. She has represented the Washington franchise for eight seasons and played last year with the Phoenix Mercury. With the Mercury, she averaged 11.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 6.9 assists across 38 starts last season. Let’s not forget she also has the experience of playing in the postseason for 7 seasons.

Apart from that, the $400,000 worth Cloud fills the void left by Vandersloot, but with a different skill set. While Vandersloot excelled as a pure facilitator, Cloud brings a defensive edge. This is set to make her the perfect partner for Sabrina Ionescu and Stewart.

Apart from this, Cloud has earned several WNBA individual awards. The 2019 Dawn Staley Leadership Award, 2022 WNBA Assists Leader, 2022 All-Defensive First Team, and two All-Defensive Second Team selections (2019, 2024). Even though Ionescu’s pitch might have failed to recruit Sabally, at least it seemingly worked in favor of bringing the Cloud’s addition.