LAS VEGAS — Becky Hammon’s official ties with the New York Liberty ended April 4, 2007. She was traded to San Antonio, which ended up being a boon to the rest of her playing days and then her coaching career. But it’s not as if she just stopped caring about the team with whom she spent her first eight years in the WNBA.
Sometimes, she would still check in on the Liberty from afar, watching the Liberty’s ups and downs, and wondering about the team’s decisions, how the organization seemed to lose touch with fans, and if they would ever put all the pieces together to win a championship.
“I’ve always said it’s good for the league when New York does well,” Hammon, now the Las Vegas Aces coach, told ESPN from Michelob Ultra Arena, site of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals (Sunday, 3 p.m. ET, ABC). “I played in New York; I get it. But having said that, now I have to try to beat them. Still, it’s good to see that franchise back.
“When they did so well in the offseason with the players they got, I texted [Liberty coach] Sandy Brondello and said, ‘This is about to be…
