It wasn’t the most consequential move they made in this uber-truncated offseason, but at Monday night’s WNBA Draft, the New York Liberty drafted Manuela Puoch with their only selection, the 11th pick of the third round, or #41 overall.
Puoch, an Australian with South Sudanese heritage, is a 19-year-old forward who recently wrapped up her second season playing for the Southside Melbourne Flyers of the WNBL, Australia’s top league. She was a low-minute player for the Flyers, averaging under ten minutes
and five points per game, but that’s hardly uncommon for a teenager in a very competitive league that full of long-time WNBA players.
Last summer, Puoch competed in the u19 Women’s Basketball World Cup, where Australia lost to the United States in the championship match. Puoch, then just 18 years old, averaged about 10/7/3 over six games, likely capturing New York’s attention after ten-point performance in the final where she hit two 3-pointers.
We’ll have more coming on Puoch, who will be stashed overseas, but for now, some highlight-scouting tells us that she’s a big wing with some flashes of offensive feel and touch…
If that last name (pronounced ‘potch’) sounds familiar, it’s because Manuela’s sister Nyadiew was selected by the Atlanta Dream at #12 overall in 2024 and recently selected by the Portland Fire in the expansion draft. Nyadiew will look to make her WNBA debut this season.
As for the Liberty, their roster is nearly finalized less than a week from the start of training camp. Of course, their big, unexpected move was exchanging one Sabally sister for another — Nyara was taken by the Toronto Tempo in the expansion draft, but then the Liberty splurged on Satou Sabally, which we covered here. Satou broke out in 2023, when she finished fifth in WNBA MVP voting, but after battling injuries, is coming off a run to the WNBA Finals with the Phoenix Mercury.
The Liberty have also retained Satou’s classmate Sabrina Ionescu by tagging her with a core designation, essentially a franchise tag. The two sides can now negotiate a long-term deal, but no matter what, Ionescu will be back in the fold for New York. Breanna Stewart has also committed to staying in NY, though she has not formally signed a contract.
Those two are likely waiting for GM Jonathan Kolb’s front office to finish building out the rest of the roster. They have already signed Satou Sabally and retained Jonquel Jones on a multi-year contract. The Liberty also will retain reserves Marine Johannes and Rebekah Gardner on qualifying offers, as well as Leonie Fiebich on her original rookie-scale contract. Many expect Betnijah Laney-Hamilton to return as well, laid out by Jackie Powell of The Next here…
Speaking of returns, Rebecca Allen spent her first seven seasons with the Liberty before playing for three different teams over the past three seasons, and now “Spider” is back…
Unsurprisingly, the Liberty looked overseas to fill out the rest of the roster. They signed 24-year-old Frenchwoman Pauline Astier to a one-year rookie minimum, though the 5’10” point guard was highly coveted by WNBA teams in light of her successful season with USK Praha, a Czech team that competes in the Euroleague.
The team also signed stash prospect Raquel Carerra to a minimum deal as well as another Aussie, Anneli Maley, who was teammates with Satou Sabally and Sabrina Ionescu at Oregon in 2018. In sum, this is how it’s shaping up:
RETAINED:
- Sabrina Ionescu
- Breanna Stewart
- Jonquel Jones
- Leonie Fiebich
- Betnijah Laney-Hamilton
- Rebekah Gardner
- Marine Johannès
IN:
- Satou Sabally
- Raquel Carrera (already had rights)
- Pauline Astier
- Anneli Maley
- Rebecca Allen
Questionable (NYL holds exclusive rights to each player, they could come over):
- Marine Farthoux
- Han Xu
OUT:
- Kennedy Burke
- Stephanie Talbot
- Emma Messeman (likely)
- Natasha Cloud (perhaps)
Now, Emma Meesseman and Natasha Cloud are not officially gone, though Meesseman may not play in the WNBA at all this season. Either way, the more likely player to return is Natasha Cloud, who just hired a new agent that represents a few Liberty players…
However, aside from a reduced role, Cloud would also have to take a well-below-market rate, given all the signings New York has made so far. That doesn’t seem likely, but impossible? Certainly not.
There are still moves to be made, but the New York Liberty are absolutely stacked. The sportsbooks rightfully have them as title favorites. There will be a ton of pressure on them this season, which will also be a ton of fun. Training camp starts within the week, and we’ll have extensive coverage for you on NetsDaily. Hooray!
