Big 3 expected back in Brooklyn

Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb knew what he was talking about at the end of last season, when he intimated that he expected Sabrina Ionescu, Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones back for a run at Title II.

With free agency opening up ahead of Monday night’s WNBA Draft in New York, several reports indicated that New York’s Big Three would be back in the fold for the much-anticipated 2026 campaign.

And that’s certainly not the only good news for Brooklyn basketball fanatics.

After Jones agreed to a multi-year deal on Saturday, Kolb went out and snared three-time WNBA All-Star Satou Sabally, the sister of former Liberty center Nyara Sabally, who was selected by Toronto in last week’s expansion draft.

Satou Sabally, one of the most coveted free agents on the market last offseason, helped drive Phoenix past New York in the opening round of the playoffs before the Mercury finally flamed out in a four-game sweep at the hands of dynastic Las Vegas in last year’s WNBA Finals.

Ionescu and Stewart, who teamed with Jones to grab the franchise’s first-ever championship in 2024, will now have the 6-foot-4 forward in their starting five.

German forward Leonie Fiebich, the only remaining player the Liberty already have under contract from last year, will likely fill out the most formidable lineup New York has ever put on the hardwood.

Sabally was selected by Dallas with the second overall pick in 2020, just behind Oregon teammate Ionescu. The duo helped the Ducks reach their first Final Four in 2019.

And there’s more.

Kolb went out and padded the reserve corps by inking free agents Rebecca Allen and undrafted rookie Pauline Astier to one-year pacts.

Allen spent seven years with the Liberty before playing for Phoenix, Connecticut and Chicago. 

The slashing guard-forward will likely provide punch off the bench alongside Astier, a speedy 5-foot-11 guard French point guard currently playing in the EuroLeague.

As if that weren’t enough, the Liberty used the 41st overall pick in Monday’s draft to select Manuela Puoch, a native Australian averaging 4.4 points and 1.3 rebounds per game for the Southside Flyers of the WNBL.

As soon as Ionescu and Stewart make their signings official, the Liberty can return to Downtown’s Barclays Center for training camp next week before hosting Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever in their preseason opener on April 25.

The return and influx of new talent will raise expectations, as if they haven’t already been lifted to the rafters at Barclays, for first-year coach Chris DeMarco.

The 13-year player-development guru/assistant during Golden State’s run to four NBA titles is a little less than a month away from his Brooklyn debut.

New York is slated to open its 30th anniversary season on the corner of Atlantic and Flatbush on May 8 vs. Connecticut.

GIVE ME LIBERTY: Expansion Toronto’s visit to New York on June 3 won’t just be a homecoming for former coach Sandy Brondello. It will also be the first meeting between the Sabally sisters, both of whom played for the German national team at the 2024 Paris Olympics, on their new teams. … Allen last played for New York in 2022 during fellow Aussie Brondello’s first season at the helm. … The Liberty will also visit the Sun for their second and final exhibition game at Mohegan Sun Arena on May 3.