The women's basketball league Unrivaled, co-founded by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, is set to tip-off on Friday night.

The Liberty have a chance to trade for the Wings' Satou Sabally. With her sister Nyara already in New York, they should make it happen.

With Alysha Clark becoming an unrestricted free agent this year, the Las Vegas Aces would need somebody to replace her. Alyssa Thomas is a solid option for the 2022 and 2023 WNBA champions. The five-time WNBA All-Star is an upgrade over Clark, but she was cored, which would make negotiations more difficult for the Aces.

With the core designation, New York will officially take the biggest free agent off the market as the Liberty now have exclusive negotiating rights with Stewart.

With the WNBA exploding in popularity and a new TV deal bringing more revenue, the expectation is that salaries will jump in 2026 and most free agents will sign one-year contracts to get back onto the market next offseason.

Satou Sabally is the latest WNBA star to join the adidas lineup. Announced Thursday, Sabally has a big year ahead of her after she completes her inaugural season with Unrivaled, the new 3-on-3 basketball league co-founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart.

Satou Sabally is not re-signing with the Dallas Wings, making her one of the most intriguing free agents on the market. Which teams make the most sense for her?

FLE - New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (30) celebrates a basket during the second half of a WNBA basketball semifinal game against the Las Vegas Aces, Sept. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin, File) Dallas Wings forward Satou Sabally ...

Other players receiving the franchise player designation include Kelsey Plum (Las Vegas), Satou Sabally (Dallas ... with another team as a free agent. Stewart helped bring the Liberty their ...

Unrivaled is a unique opportunity for both free agents and contracted WNBA players hoping to contend in 2025. Relationships are being built on and off the court. Some players are having brutally honest conversations about their experiences with their teams, while others are actively recruiting people to join theirs.

They give us what we deserve,’ Alisha Gray of the Lunar Owls said. ‘We’re professional athletes so they treat us as such.’

Dearica Hamby still smiles at the memory of Kobe Bryant sitting courtside at WNBA games. She had met him years ago. He came to see her old team, the Las Vegas Aces, play all the time. “I think one of the first things he told me was that I could play defence,