The WNBA free agent frenzy is underway

The GIST: Whether it’s Angel Reese’s jaw-dropping trade to the Atlanta Dream or the free agent frenzy that’s only just begun, the WNBA keeps making headlines ahead of its milestone 30th season. No time to waste — let’s hoop right to it.

📌 Free agency timeline: Teams handed out qualifying offers and assigned core designations (more on that below) over the last two days. Next comes the negotiation phase, which starts today and extends until Friday, before the official signing period begins on Saturday. Keep your head on a swivel as we address two key questions.

• ✅ Who is a free agent? An unprecedented 121 players, with 77 classified as unrestricted free agents (UFAs). That star-studded list includes three-time MVP A’ja Wilson along with perennial All-WNBA candidates Napheesa Collier, Breanna Stewart, and Alyssa Thomas.

• ❌ Who’s not a free agent? The league’s young superstars, most of whom are still on four-year rookie-scale contracts. While those hoopers could be traded (see: Reese), most, including the Dallas Wings’ Paige Bueckers and Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark, will stay put.

🔥 The core designation and supermax combo: You’ll likely hear the phrase “core a player” flying around the next few days. When teams extend a core qualifying offer, they are identifying that player as pivotal to their success. This year, that designation comes with a $1.4M pay day, the league’s new supermax.

• Each team can core one player, making them eligible for that franchise’s only supermax contract and giving the team exclusive negotiating rights.

• Some teams’ core players are clear, like freshly-cored Fever star Kelsey Mitchell. Both Clark and fellow superstar Aliyah Boston aren’t eligible for the supermax yet, so choosing UFA Mitchell is a no-brainer to keep the Fever’s elite three-pronged attack intact.

• But most situations aren’t as cut and dry, like in Las Vegas. Wilson is obviously supermax material, but so is her teammate Jackie Young. Both could ink team-friendly deals to stay in Vegas, but Young could also opt to sign with a team who’ll pay her the full $1.4M. Decisions, decisions.