The 2025 WNBA free agency period began Jan. 11. Right now, teams are in the process of making qualifying offers to athletes and coring the players they hope to keep (or at least hope to trade for spectacular returns). The Golden State Valkyries have a few key needs ahead of the 2025 season, including a guard who can double as a leader.
How 2025 WNBA free agency can benefit the Golden State Valkyries
The Valkyries have three players under contract and a cap space of over $1 million. In WNBA terms, that's a lot of money. During the December 2024 Expansion Draft the team made the decision to prioritize choosing players with experience over brand new talent, but still needs a superstar.
There are at least three superstars on the table: Kelsey Plum, Satou Sabally, and Alyssa Thomas. The Valkyries have the financial ability to add all three to the roster with room left, but really only need one.
If there's one role the team desperately needs to fill, it's that of a guard who will also be the team's leader. It's not a given that Carla Leite will leave France in 2025, and the team has three strong guards on the roster (Kate Martin, Julie Vanloo, and Veronica Burton), but that's not enough to get through over 40 games.
Courtney Vandersloot’s longer answer on what she’s looking for as she approaches free agency came later in the presser, in this response to @madkenney https://t.co/KtpoeTTteb pic.twitter.com/NiIerN34pl
— Myles (@MylesEhrlich) January 8, 2025
Plum is an obvious choice here, but she isn't the only highly sought after guard who is available during free agency. Liberty guard Courtney Vandersloot recently signaled she's open to negotiations. As she told reporters during Unrivaled media interviews on Jan. 8, "Free agency is around the quarter, and I’ve been thinking about that for a few weeks now."
"It’s just about balancing – what a great opportunity for everyone to be right here," Vandersloot added. "I’m sure there will be a lot of people in town we can meet with. I see free agents in the hallways. I think it’s a great place to be if you’re a free agent."
Vandersloot noted that she very much feels like part of the Liberty family, but also said, "I’m going to go through free agency and see the best situation for me and my family ... But I’m going to go through free agency and see what’s best for me."
The 35-year-old guard is part of the team that won the championship in 2024 and is second on the WNBA’s all-time assists leaderboard. She added that winning is a priority, which is something she shares with Valkyries owner Joe Lacob. As Vandersloot also said, "I want to be valued, I want to be competitive – obviously, that’s why you come into this league, to compete for championships."
"A place that takes care of me, wants me to be there, sees what I can bring to the team. That’s most important. I want to have the ball in my hand, and to be able to create the way that I think that I can, and just be in a place that is comfortable for me and my family," she concluded.