BROOKLYN — The plan was struck in the fall.
Jonathan Kolb, the New York Liberty general manager, wrote three names on the white board in his office: Breanna Stewart, Courtney Vandersloot and Jonquel Jones. He was assertive in who his franchise would target.
Around that same time, Stewart and Vandersloot started talking too; about their shared goals and possible destinations as they entered free agency.
Stewart had flirted with the idea of coming to New York before, taking a meeting with Liberty brass last winter. This time she and Vandersloot worked in tandem. They discussed their ambitions and overlapped in their decisions.
Thursday morning, they rode in together in a glistening black SUV, and as it pulled up to the Barclays Center here, Stewart couldn’t help but wonder how their plans had manifested. She was in a joy born of disbelief.
“Can you believe it?” Stewart said. “We can’t believe that it’s actually here. We actually were able to make it happen.”
Stewart and Vandersloot were home now. The signage outside said as much, welcoming each to New York. They posed for pictures as family watched on a warm winter morning. This was a new era for the Liberty and new chapters for its two new stars.
Two of New York’s newest stars have arrived in the city.
Breanna…
