The league's midseason transaction deadline came and went on Tuesday, leaving a flurry of relatively unusual WNBA trades in its wake.

This year marks the first to feature at least three in-season trades league-wide since 2017, as salary cap and roster space complicate midseason moves.

Seattle Storm signs Olympic silver medalist Gabby Williams

The biggest piece of news was arguably a signing rather than one of the WNBA's many trades, as Paris Olympics Best Defensive Player and French gold medal game hero Gabby Williams returned to the Seattle Storm. Williams missed the first half of the WNBA season, opting to prioritize playing with her European club and the France national team in the run-up to the Olympics.

Similar to her 2023 partial contract, Williams inked a rest-of-season deal with the Storm. The forward played every game for Seattle after being traded by the LA Sparks in 2022.

"I feel more than ready to finally return to Seattle," Williams said in a team release. "I’ve missed the organization, my teammates, and the fans so much. I absolutely can’t wait to come back and finish the season strong."

She joins an already stacked starting roster featuring Nneka Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Jewell Loyd, and Ezi Magbegor.

WNBA trades, hardship signings rock midseason rosters

The Washington Mystics sent Myisha Hines-Allen to the Minnesota Lynx in return for Sika Koné and Olivia Époupa, before waiving Époupa and Didi Richards, while the Phoenix Mercury sent Sug Sutton to the Mystics in exchange for the rights to Swedish star Klara Lundquist.

These Tuesday WNBA trades come after the Chicago Sky traded Marina Mabrey to the Connecticut Sun in a high-profile exchange for Moriah Jefferson and Rachel Banham over the Olympic break.

In addition, hardship signings headlined the week's WNBA trades news, as Monique Billings agreed to a seven-day contract with the Mercury and Odyssey Sims landed with the LA Sparks.

While the trade window has officially closed, deals can continue as long as teams have the requisite salary cap and roster space.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver was in the hot seat this week, addressing the growing rift between WNBA players and commissioner Cathy Engelbert while urging the league to come together on a new CBA agreement.

"Cathy Engelbert has presided over historic growth in the league, but there's no question that there's issues that we need to address with our players, not just economic," Silver said on Monday while acknowledging the significant power the NBA holds over WNBA operations. "I'm confident we can fix those over time and this league can continue to be on the rocket trajectory that it's on right now."

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The viral exit interview from Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier blasting WNBA leadership has placed serious pressure on Engelbert, but the NBA's outsized stake in the league also plays into increasingly heated collective bargaining negotiations.

NBA team owners collectively control 42% of the women's league, though WNBA players receive a much smaller revenue share than NBA players.

Under the current CBA, the WNBA must hit certain financial benchmarks before that revenue even becomes available — with players also reporting they're not given access to the data tracking those benchmarks.

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Lisa Leslie, Kelley O'Hara break down WNBA leadership issues

Big names are continuing to speak out on the issues, from Engelbert's future to the WNBA's precarious relationship with the NBA.

"Cathy, yes, has done a really good job of helping raise capital, of helping administer the television deal… but you're only able to do that because of those players that are on the floor," retired WNBA icon Lisa Leslie said on Between the Lines late last week. "Listen, the wolf is only as strong as the pack and the pack is only as strong as the wolf. But just know, when the wolf doesn't lead the pack properly, the pack will eat the wolf."

"The bigger issue is the structure of the league, NBA being the ones who essentially make the decisions, and that's really who the Players Association is negotiating with," said USWNT legend Kelley O'Hara on this week's episode of Sports Are Fun! "Cathy's in the negotiation, but Cathy has to go back and get a sign-off from the NBA…. That's the bigger issue that Phee's trying to get to the heart of."

Angel City FC is on the brink of elimination from making the 2025 NWSL Playoffs, with the No. 11 LA club sitting seven points below the postseason cutoff line after falling to 2025 Shield-winners Kansas City 1-0 on Monday.

"There's no more losses at this point," Angel City center back and captain Sarah Gorden said postgame. "It's win or go home. We're going to have to put that into training this week, and come out and find something in us next weekend."

With only three games left in the regular season, Angel City will face the No. 10 Houston Dash, No. 4 Portland Thorns, and No. 14 Chicago Stars to close out their 2025 campaign.

"I know that if we can perform like this going forward, we will win a lot of football games," LA head coach Alexander Straus said after Monday's hard-fought loss.

In a season headlined by high-profile departures, Angel City now faces their second straight season missing the NWSL Playoffs, having reached the postseason just once since their 2022 debut.

However, that lone run to the playoffs could give this year's squad some hope — the LA club clinched their first and only postseason berth on the final day of the 2023 regular season.

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As for the Current, the spoils keep coming for No. 1 Kansas City, who set a new NWSL single-season record with their 19th win on Monday — all while continuing the club's second-longest unbeaten run of 16 games.

"We believe so much in the process that we know if we execute everything at some point, we are going to be successful," said Kansas City head coach Vlatko Andonovski.

Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka keeps pushing, as the world No. 16 tennis star followed up her blockbuster comeback run at the 2025 US Open with a first-round win at the Wuhan Open this week.

The Japanese fan favorite battled back from a first-set loss to defeat 2021 US Open finalist and current world No. 27 Leylah Fernandez 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 late Monday night, just weeks after suffering an unexpected exit in the first-round of the 2025 China Open.

Monday's Round of 64 win marked Osaka's seventh come-from-behind victory this year, tying her own single-season comeback record.

Osaka still has hills to climb against other top players in Wuhan, including the likes of No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who will return to action early Wednesday morning in her first competitive match since her successful US Open title defense last month.

Also in the mix at the 2025 Wuhan Open are No. 2 Iga Świątek, No. 3 Coco Gauff, and No. 6 Jessica Pegula, with Świątek already cruising through her Round of 32 hurdle in straight sets early Tuesday morning.

Notably, after powering through a lingering calf injury to win the 2025 China Open on Sunday, US star No. 4 Amanda Anisimova withdrew from the Wuhan tournament to recover and gear up for her first-ever WTA Finals next month.

How to watch the 2025 Wuhan Open

The 2025 Wuhan Open resumes at 11 PM ET on Tuesday, with Pegula, Gauff, Sabalenka, and Osaka all facing their Round of 32 opponents before dawn on Wednesday.

Live coverage of the WTA 1000 tournament airs on the Tennis Channel.

Chicago Sky star Angel Reese is upping her partnership game once again, with US fashion brand Juicy Couture tapping the two-time WNBA All-Star as its global ambassador and creative collaborator earlier this week.

The deal sees the 23-year-old become the new face of the company's fragrance, Viva La Juicy, while also co-designing a limited-edition "Angel Couture" apparel line that includes the brand's signature velour track suits as well as T-shirts and other pieces.

"I grew up loving the brand, so representing Viva La Juicy and co-designing my own collection has been incredible," Reese said in Monday's statement. "Juicy Couture has always been about confidence and having fun with fashion. Now with Angel Couture, I wanted to bring that same energy forward with pieces that are fearless, fun, and make you feel unstoppable."

With her second WNBA season in the books, Reese has continued to be active off the court, launching her own signature sneaker with Reebok last month while also recently making her feature film debut, playing herself in a cameo in Netflix's upcoming political thriller A House of Dynamite.

How to buy the Angel Reese x Juicy Couture collection

The limited edition Angel Couture collection is currently available for purchase at juicycouture.com.