With the WNBA season coming to a close, it’s already time to look forward to free agency. Though the signing period won’t officially open until the new year, teams will be doing their work early, hoping to bolster their rosters for the 2027 season. Shockingly, last year’s free agent bonanza led to fewer stars switching teams than anticipated (as well as fewer max contracts), so virtually the entire league (except the Atlanta Dream) will have at least $1.4 million in available space, enough to sign a player
to a max deal, per Spotrac. There will be tons of competition for the best players on the market.
The Tempo were relatively talented for an expansion team and jumped out to a solid 9-9 start before injuries derailed their season, and they’re coached by Sandy Brondello, who has two championships to her name, so there’s reason to believe they’ll try to take a big swing to vault the team toward contention. They’ll also have ample cap space and they’ll be able to pitch players on living in one of the biggest and most diverse cities in North America.
But, before we look at who will be available, it’s important to take stock of who they already have?
What do the Tempo need?
There will be some big-name guards hitting free agency, most notably multi-time All-Stars like Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young, and Kelsey Mitchell, but it’s hard to imagine the Tempo pursuing any of them. All three will be north of 30 next season and the backcourt rotation is already pretty crowded. Marina Mabrey and Brittney Sykes were both around 20 points a game last season (though Sykes missed a ton of time) and should pretty much have the shooting guard and small forward spots locked down next year. Neither is big enough to slide up to power forward either. At the point guard spot, the front office likely feels pretty good about Kiki Rice being their long-term starter and Julie Allemand is about as good a veteran backup as you could ask for.
Their biggest needs are at the four and the five, where they need balance to their offence and, most importantly, improve a porous defence that ranked last in the WNBA last season in defensive efficiency. They could also use a bit more shooting. They took the fourth-most threes in the league last year, but only a few players are especially good from that range.
Who could they chase?
The list of available free agents is very long, but here I’ll just highlight five players who could be good additions to the team.
Napheesa Collier
Every team in the league will be interested in signing her, of course, but it’s hard to ignore how much she’d fill a need in Toronto. Though she’s undersized for a power forward, she’s excelled at that position to the tune of two MVP runner-ups, and in Toronto, she’d have the chance to be the focal point of an offense again. It can hardly be overstated how much the Tempo could use frontcourt scoring.
Isabelle Harrison led the team’s frontcourt scorers last year with 12.8 points per game, on 42.5/27.8 shooting splits. Phee would be way more effective and would take the Tempo’s offence to another gear. She can also slide down to power forward if the Tempo want to experiment with some extra big lineups.
DiJonai Carrington
I know I said the Tempo need shooting, but Carrington is a former All-Defensive First Team player with some time left in her prime who would likely welcome the opportunity to get out of the basketball purgatory that is the Chicago Sky. She could be a terror next to Sykes or she could help mitigate some of Mabrey’s defensive shortcomings, while Mabrey compensates for her lack of shooting.
Awak Kuier
The former EuroLeague Defensive Player of the Year is only 25, despite seemingly being in pro basketball for an eternity, and she’s a great rim protector, blocking 1.8 shots per game last year in just under 19 minutes per game for the Dallas Wings. Still, the fact that she signed just a one-year deal with Dallas last offseason suggests she’s open to leaving, and the Wings have one of the league’s most expensive payrolls, with a lot of money committed to Alanna Smith and Jessica Shepard, with another big in Li Yueru behind them.
Smith had a subpar season this year, but the Wings have made a big financial commitment to the former WNBA DPoY, and it’d be surprising if she gets traded while her value is at her lowest. The Tempo should take a swing at Kuier, who is an unrestricted free agent.
Laeticia Amihere
This one could be a bit tricky. Amihere is a restricted free agent and is currently on the Golden State Valkyries, perhaps the best-coached team in the league, but the 25-year-old from Mississauga played under 12 minutes per game in the regular season and is averaging less than 10 per night in the Finals. 6’3” and super athletic, she could add some real defensive versatility to the Tempo frontcourt and she’s even been an efficient scorer this year (49.1% from the field and 41.2% from deep), albeit at very low volume. They may have to overpay to outbid the Valks, but she could complement what the Tempo have nicely.
Karlie Samuelson
Samuelson will be a UFA in 2027 and she’ll have the chance to play for both of the 2026 expansion franchises. She likely wouldn’t move the needle a ton for the Tempo, but she’s an experienced player with a 37.1% career three-point average who can knock down some shots off the bench and provide a little bit of secondary/tertiary playmaking.
