GM Jonathan Kolb Addresses Media Following Liberty’s First-Round Exit » Winsidr

It’s been an eventful week for the New York Liberty organization. On Sunday evening, their championship defense ended prematurely with a first-round exit to the Phoenix Mercury in a contested win-or-go-home game three, a disappointing result even with the ever-present injury context many New York fans have been suffering through for a majority of this seemingly cursed season. Tuesday morning, the Liberty opted not to retain head coach Sandy Brondello, who had a 2026 option on her contract. Today, before a select group of media, general manager Jonathan Kolb fielded questions for nearly 40 minutes, offering his own context to the decision—which has proven divisive among the fan base—and hinted at the qualities needed for the franchise’s next head coach.

Kolb opened with a statement on the decision to move on from Brondello, the winningest coach in Liberty history who led the franchise to its first ever title last year. “It’s really important that I stress and emphasize that this decision was in no way punitive, nor was it reactive, but it’s instead rooted in being proactive, nor was this decision based solely on the results of this past season,” said Kolb. “I actually think Sandy did a good job navigating this group through unchartered waters, through injuries and a lack of availability, and we’ve got a great level of appreciation for Sandy Brondello: the head coach, as well as Sandy Brondello: the person.” 

A throughline in today’s availability was the need for innovation as the game further evolves. Reading between the lines, that sounds like more of the NBA’s spacing principles working their way into the W, but I’ll admit freely that I’m out of my depth when it comes to names in those hiring circles. (When asked flatly about whether a potential candidate needs to have WNBA experience, Kolb said pointedly, “I don’t think we want to limit our scope on a candidate.”) Look at the stats pulled in this tweet below by Lucas Kaplan, showcasing just how quickly the league’s caught up to what was once an efficiency separator for New York.

Per PBP Stats:

– 2023, just over 70% of NYL shots came from three or at the rim, first in the league by a MILE.

– In 2024, 65%. 2nd in the W.

– In 2025, 65%. Ranked 5th.

gotta keep leveling up. simply taking a ton of threes isn’t exposing a market inefficiency anymore https://t.co/a6vrhrsg5Z

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) September 25, 2025

“Ultimately, we determined that evolution and innovation is what is needed at this time,” Kolb said. “These decisions, they’re never easy, nor should they be, but often, these decisions mark the fork-in-the-road moments for organizations, and you can stand still or you can embrace change and move forward. In my commitment to keep pushing the New York Liberty to new heights, we believe that embracing this change will bring a freshness and an energy to our group.”

Philosophically, that’s what has created a rift in pockets of discourse. The goal for any team is to win, but it’s also to optimize that title window. It’s clear from everything that’s been said that the latter is the priority for Kolb, that process and result are not always one and the same. None of his answers today seemed a reaction to dropping a contested 4/5 first-round matchup, but rather echoed a sentiment that has persisted: that this star-heavy Liberty team had not optimized its abilities on the court.

“The scouting report on us is probably to be incredibly physical with us,” Kolb said. “It’s probably to push us out on the perimeter, and it’s probably to be really, really physical. And I feel like our spacing has been a point of it’s been an issue for us. I think that we tend to stagnate as the clock winds down on the pressure mounts and we go east–west a tremendous amount. Some of that could be personnel-based. We have to really look at that. But in terms of being innovative, I think that our spacing principles are things that we want to really lean into. We took huge steps back defensively this year as a collective, especially on the glass, we plummeted. We have to find out why: is that personnel-based or not? So I think we want to get back to being who we have been, but also solving the problems that we still found success through.”

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With the WNBA’s looming CBA expiration (and halfhearted negotiations, if you take the players’ words for it) a cliff we’re all stumbling towards, we’re all but assured a chaotic offseason. Nearly every veteran will hit free agency, in anticipation of a significant rise to player salaries, and two expansion franchises (along with the accompanying expansion drafts) will further shake up continuity across the league.

As for the Liberty’s core of Sabrina Ionescu, Jonquel Jones, and Breanna Stewart, Kolb says he has the “utmost confidence that they want to be back.” The three players have all expressed similar sentiments, though the road to opening tip 2026 is wholly unpaved, and a lot of things could change between now and the next time we see a Liberty team take the floor.

Even if all three are set to run it back, Kolb doesn’t expect to lean too heavily on player insight for this coaching search. “It would be foolish to not best understand what they feel they need moving forward,” Kolb said, “but also understanding that is one of that’s one factor of many that will go into the ultimate decision.”

While everything I’ve written here has been heavily pulled from today’s quotes, it’s an effort at impartiality, because Brondello is universally respected in this space: by Kolb and the Liberty’s front office, by the players, by us media that interacted with her in-market at every availability for the last four seasons. To this end, I’ll be brief: it’s hard to quantify how difficult it is to manage superstar personalities, and Brondello’s track record across both Phoenix and New York showcased her ability to do that, to earn buy-in as touches are managed and egos are massaged. If the Liberty’s big three does opt to return, that chemistry will already exist for whomever carries the clipboard next, and that’s a credit to Brondello and her coaching staff. She leaves having led the organization to its first parade, having lifted its first banner, earned its first ring. 

And for Kolb, this change is a challenge. In his time as Liberty general manager, he’s built this team from the basement, made acquisitions both splashy and shrewd in creating a perennial contender. He stated that there’s no timeline for the head coaching search, that they’ll wait “as long as it takes to find the right person.” Kolb has concrete principles in mind for this next head coach, though, a firm idea of how the Liberty can maximize the talent they’re hoping to build around. 

“We have a very clear vision of what we are looking for,” Kolb said, “and we are very confident that we will find that.”