Mercury’s Brittney Griner tests free agency for the first time

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MIAMI — Brittney Griner is testing the free agency market for the first time in his career.

The All-Star center will meet with several teams starting Tuesday, according to her agent. WNBA executives were in Miami for the opening of Unrivaled to talk to Griner and other free agents.

Griner has been a free agent before, but always re-signed with the Phoenix Mercury since she was first selected by the franchise in 2013 as the No. 1 pick.

“I want to show off my skills for free agency,” Griner said of playing in the new league, which appears to be dominated more by guards and wings than post players.

Unrivaled has some of the best unrestricted free agents, like Griner and Courtney Vanderslootas well as some players who will likely play for other teams next season despite being given the franchise tag by their current WNBA team.

“There are a lot of free agents here,” said the star of the New York Liberty, Breanna Stewart. “It’s like a one-stop shop to do everything.”

The new league is a unique opportunity for free agents to build relationships on and off the court with some of the star players of potential target teams.

“There’s definitely conversations going on. Everybody’s saying, ‘Hey, do you want to come play here?'” said Vandersloot, who has meetings this week with several teams. “I think it’s great. It gives you an opportunity to get honest feedback on the teams and say, who wants to play with the others? We’re at a point in the league where there’s going to be a lot of player movement.”

They have invited each other to coffees and dinners and conversations are constantly being held between the 36 players. Vandersloot joked that buying him a six-pack of IPA would be a good recruiting strategy.

“I drink IPA beer, so I guess it’s not a requirement. But listen, if you show up with a six-pack of IPA beer, you might have an advantage,” he said with a laugh.

Some of the possible stars of Unrivaled who could change teams include Satou Sabally, Jewell Loyd and Alyssa Thomas. Sabally and Thomas were given franchise tags by their WNBA teams, so the only way they could change teams would be through a trade.

Sabally said he does not plan to return to Dallas next season to play for the Wings. Loyd is not a free agent, but has requested a trade from the Storm.

“This is the best place to recruit free agents,” said the Phoenix Mercury guard, Natasha Cloud. “At the end of the day, I’m a person who does what’s best for Satou in the future; that’s what I want for Satou.”

Negotiations can officially begin on Tuesday and players can sign contracts starting February 1. With a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with huge wage implications expected to come into effect in 2026, most players will sign only one-year contracts.

This season, the Connecticut Sun and the expansion team Golden State Valkyries They have the most cap space to sign free agents. The Sun could lose most of their starting lineup in free agency with the possible departure of DeWanna Bonner, Brionna Jones and Thomas.

“There’s a lot to think about, a lot to process,” Thomas said. “But I’m going to weigh all my decisions.”

A free agent who is not in Unrivaled is Diana Taurasi. The WNBA’s all-time leading scorer is still weighing her decision on whether to retire or return for another season.