The Connecticut Sun are sending 2021 WNBA MVP Jonquel Jones to the New York Liberty in a three-team trade also involving the Dallas Wings, the teams announced on Monday. The news had previously been reported by multiple outlets.

Jones requested the trade to the Liberty after meeting with multiple teams during the offseason, according to Rachel Galligan of Winsidr and Just Women’s Sports. In exchange for Jones, New York will send Rebecca Allen and the No. 6 pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft to Connecticut and Natasha Howard to Dallas. The Wings will also receive the contract rights to Liberty guard Crystal Dangerfield and will send Kayla Thornton to New York and Tyasha Harris to Connecticut.

The three-team trade sending Jonquel Jones to the Liberty has gone through, per @Winsidr

New York receives:
- Jonquel Jones
- Kayla Thornton

Connecticut receives:
- No. 6 draft pick
- Rebecca Allen
- Ty Harris

Dallas receives:
- Natasha Howard
- Crystal Dangerfield rights pic.twitter.com/idJ533Xmi1

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) January 16, 2023

Jones, 29, was in the final year of her contract with the Sun. Connecticut recently hired Stephanie White as head coach after Curt Miller left the Sun in October to become the head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks.

The Bahamian forward will join a Liberty team with a promising young core led by guard Sabrina Ionescu, who made her first All-Star team last year after New York selected her with the first overall pick in 2020. The Liberty are coming off playoff appearances in 2021 and 2022 after missing the postseason for three straight years. The original WNBA franchise hired champion coach Sandy Brondello away from the Phoenix Mercury before last season.

In 2022, Jones led the Sun to their second WNBA Finals appearance in four years after averaging a team-leading 14.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. The four-time WNBA All-Star was named the league’s Most Improved Player in 2017 and the Sixth Player of the Year in 2018 before winning the MVP award in 2021. The 6-foot-6 forward had spent her entire career with the Sun since they acquired her draft rights from L.A. in 2016.

With Jonquel Jones off the books, the Sun plan to use the extra cap space to core forward Brionna Jones by the league deadline on Friday, according to ESPN. An unrestricted free agent, Brionna Jones will not be able to sign a contract directly with another team under the core designation. The 27-year-old was the WNBA’s Most Improved Player in 2021 and Sixth Player of the Year in 2022.

Based on the WNBA’s free agency timeline, teams can issue qualifying offers and designate core players until Friday. Free agents can begin negotiating with teams on Jan. 21 and signing contracts on Feb. 1.

The Liberty are likely to court Seattle Storm superstar Breanna Stewart again in free agency. The trade for Jones actually freed up cap space for New York, so Stewart remains a tantalizing possibility.

Stewart met with New York brass as a free agent last year before ultimately signing a one-year, supermax deal with the Storm for Sue Bird’s final season. The two-time WNBA champion and 2018 MVP is a native of Syracuse, N.Y.

The Wings will add the veteran Howard to a young team built around Arike Ogunbowale and Satou Sabally. After making the 2022 postseason and winning their first playoff game since 2009, Dallas replaced Vickie Johnson with first-year head coach Latricia Trammell in the offseason.

The Sun return 2022 All-Star Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner and DiJonai Carrington to the 2023 roster, along with Brionna Jones. The team is still searching for its first championship after falling to the Las Vegas Aces in four games in last year’s Finals.

In this week's episode of The Late Sub, host Claire Watkins breaks down the 2025 resurgence of the San Diego Wave, a team currently sitting in third on the NWSL table following a disastrous 2024 season.

First, Watkins chats through the Wave's 2024 on- and off-pitch losses, from the abrupt firing of head coach Casey Stoney to the midseason retirement of superstar Alex Morgan to the transfers of franchise players Abby Dahlkemper and Naomi Girma — moves that left the 2023 Shield-winners below the 2024 postseason cutoff line.

Given the 2024 upheaval, "San Diego was set up to surprise," says Watkins. "They not only look better this year than they did last year, but right now they look better than a lot of the other teams in the league despite that talent loss."

There are two reasons for the Wave's 2025 rise, argues Watkins, starting with roster construction. San Diego has a bevy of young talent, including 17-year-olds Kimmi Ascanio, Trinity Armstrong, and Melanie Barcenas, as well as notable NCAA signings in Quincy McMahon and Trinity Byars — proving the Wave is flourishing in the NWSL's post-draft era.

"This is the new era of NWSL where teams, if they can sell young players on the future, they don't have to give up assets to sign those players," explains Watkins. "The best pitch wins. And San Diego, for all of their troubles last year, seems to still have a pretty compelling pitch to get these players to sign for them."

Along with the ability to identify and sign top young talent, explains Watkins, the Wave is also putting together a fast, creative style of play that is allowing San Diego to dominate possession and snag wins.

Could San Diego be in its "dynasty build" era?

Looking forward, while San Diego is clearly on the upswing, Watkins outlines the possible final components the club still needs to push them to the top of the league.

Noting that a young core is likely to struggle with consistency, Watkins says that some midseason pickups to either "let that offense go supernova or [to secure] a veteran stabilizing midfield force would be really useful for them."

Ultimately, Watkins questions San Diego's future in the context of the club's 2024 exodus and 2025 success, asking "Is this a setup for a five-year dynasty build, or is this a team that is always going to be stuck in this cycle of strong talent ID, good development —but then those players move on?"

About 'The Late Sub' with Claire Watkins

The Late Sub with Claire Watkins brings you the latest news and freshest takes on the USWNT, NWSL, and all things women's soccer. Special guest appearances featuring the biggest names in women’s sports make TLS a must-listen for every soccer fan.

Follow Claire on X/Twitter @ScoutRipley and subscribe to the Just Women's Sports newsletter for more.

Subscribe to The Late Sub to never miss an episode.

Duke women's basketball head coach Kara Lawson will lead a different team this NCAA offseason, taking on sideline duties for Team USA at this summer's 2025 FIBA Women's AmeriCup in Chile, USA Basketball announced on Tuesday.

Likely one of the last coaching decisions handled by committee, Lawson — alongside assistants DeLisha Milton-Jones and Jennie Baranczyk, the head coaches of Old Dominion and Oklahoma, respectively — will aim to return the four-time champions to the top of the biannual tournament's podium, after falling short to Brazil in the 2023 gold medal game.

The 2005 WNBA champion boasts a long history of success with USA Basketball, earning 2008 Olympic gold amid multiple medals as a player before beginning her coaching career.

Since then, the 44-year-old helped lead various USA Basketball teams to an astounding 75-5 competition record, picking up nine gold medals along the way.

Most recently, Lawson added 2024 Olympic gold as an assistant coach to her inaugural 3x3 Olympic championship as a head coach at the 2021 Tokyo Games.

"I'm incredibly honored," said Lawson in a USA Basketball statement. "It's such a gift. It's a gift that has given me so much over the years as a player, as a committee member, and as a coach. I've always tried to compete and give my best.... That won't change this summer."

Taking place in the middle of the 2025 WNBA season, the Team USA roster could feature NCAA talent.

"The goal is to put together a competitive team, one that represents all the standards that we hold dear to us," added Lawson.

The 2025 FIBA AmeriCup team that Lawson will lead will be announced after next month's trials, shortly before the tournament tips off on June 28th.

FIFA announced the eight cities that will host matches at the 2027 World Cup in Brazil on Wednesday, primarily selecting sites on the South American country's East Coast over tropical regions that require more extensive travel.

In addition to Rio de Janeiro's iconic Maracanã Stadium, the tournament's 64 games will take place across Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Fortaleza, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, and São Paulo.

"The selection of the host cities represents the moment where the dream begins to take shape," said Brazil’s minister of sport André Fufuca. "Each of the selected host cities represents Brazil — a diverse and vibrant Brazil, with people who are passionate about football, and places that already live and breathe the sport and that will now have the opportunity to leave a transformative legacy for their communities and for generations to come."

The 32 teams battling for the 2027 World Cup will begin their hunt on June 24th of that year, with the final taking place on July 25th.

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Marta, Formiga help announce 2027 World Cup cities

To bolster the news, FIFA tapped famous Brazilians for its announcement video, including star futsal player Amandinha and two-time NWSL champion Debinha.

Also helping drop the eight cities were the country’s most iconic women's soccer legends, Marta — the World Cup's all-time leading scorer — and Formiga, the only athlete to compete in seven editions of the tournament.

"I won't be on the pitch in 2027, but I'm always ready to represent Brazilian football – even more so at a special moment like this," said the retired Formiga.

"I know every corner of our country, and I can tell you: Each of these cities is full of women's football talents who need support and inspiration," she continued. "The Women's World Cup will be an opportunity for them to see the greatest up close and think, 'If they can be there, so can I.' That's the impact that only an event of this size can have."

Using the 2027 World Cup — the first ever hosted in South America — to grow the women's game is top-of-mind for former player Mariléia "Michael Jackson" dos Santos, who now serves as the country's director of women's football promotion.

"We want to create a solid network that will last well beyond 2027," said dos Santos. "The idea is to decentralise the impact so that women's football flourishes in every corner of the country."

"It's a unique opportunity to change the game, and we're going to make the most of it because Brazilian women's football deserves it, and so do the girls in our country."

WNBA teams continued to trim their 2025 rosters this week, as preseason matchups set the stage for the league's May 16th regular-season tip-off.

After wrapping their 2025 preseason slate on Tuesday, Wednesday saw the Las Vegas Aces waive Harvard alum Harmoni Turner — drafted 35th overall last month — and fourth-year veteran center Queen Egbo.

Turner was the Aces’ third-round pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft. pic.twitter.com/buxEKqdVVe

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) May 7, 2025

Other standouts recently shown the door include Indiana Fever recruit Bree Hall (20th overall pick from South Carolina), the Seattle Storm's Madison Conner (29th overall pick from TCU), and Minnesota Lynx rookie Diamond Johnson (undrafted from Norfolk State).

While teams can sign up to 18 athletes to training camp rosters, they must whittle their lineups down to the league's regular-season max of 12 players, a system that sparks lots of movement — both in cuts and additions — in the days leading to tip off.

To that end, after the Golden State Valkyries cut their 17th overall draft pick Shyanne Sellers on Saturday, the Atlanta Dream snatched up the Maryland grad on waivers on Monday — just in time for their final preseason showdown with Indiana on Saturday.

Also receiving good news this week was Dallas's Maddy Siegrist, as the third-year forward saw the Wings exercise her fourth-year rookie option on Tuesday.

Alongside Indiana's 2023 WNBA Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston, Villanova grad Siegrist and the former South Carolina standout are the only 2023 draftees officially on rosters before the 2025 season's start.

Flush with talent and low on roster spots, the WNBA has long been one of the hardest sports leagues to secure a place in — and even more fan favorites are likely to land on the chopping block in the coming days.