With the expansion draft now in the rearview mirror, the next major step in the WNBA off-season is getting closer.
The WNBA has set some key dates for free agency, with players and teams opening their negotiation periods next week, the league announced Sunday.
Qualifying offers and core designated players can be extended on Monday, free agent negotiation periods will begin on Wednesday, and players will officially be allowed to sign contracts and offers sheets on Saturday.
Teams will have two days to send qualifying offers to players for whom they have reserved rights. Teams will also have a chance to offer a franchise tag to one player who is eligible to be cored.
Due to drawn-out negotiations between the WNBA and its players' union, with the two sides only officially ratifying a new CBA on March 24, off-season processes such as the expansion draft and free agency were delayed.
Last off-season, when the Golden State Valkyries joined the league, their expansion draft was held on Dec. 6 — a stark contrast to the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire's expansion draft, which occurred on Friday.
The expedited off-season processes have only added an extra layer of drama to what was projected to be a historic off-season, with more than 80 per cent of players in the league available in free agency.
That list of free agents includes some of the biggest stars in the game, such as two-time MVP Breanna Stewart, four-time MVP A'ja Wilson, four-time All-WNBA selection Sabrina Ionescu, and many more.
There are only two veteran players who aren’t under rookie contracts that are signed for this season — Seattle's Lexie Brown and Phoenix's Kalani Brown.
Usually teams have a few weeks to court free agents to join their franchise. There’s a chance that many players may just re-sign with their current teams for a year and revisit free agency after the season.
Players could also go after the money and accept a bigger contract from a team they might not know as much about.
Following free agency, the WNBA Draft is set to take place on April 13. Pre-season will begin on April 25, and the regular season will tip off on May 8.
-- With fiels from the Associated Press