Report: Lynx to have free agent meeting with superstar forward Breanna Stewart
The Lynx are one of four teams to net a free agent meeting with WNBA superstar Breanna Stewart when free agency opens late Friday night, ESPN reported.
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne said the Lynx, Liberty, Mystics and Storm will all meet with the former MVP and two-time WNBA champion. Those meetings will take place in Turkey, where Stewart is currently playing overseas. That lines up with the four emojis Stewart tweeted Friday, with each one signifying one of the four franchises.
Lynx coach and general manager Cheryl Reeve currently coaches Stewart with Team USA. Stewart was in Minneapolis over Final Four weekend, practicing with Team USA at the Lynx’s facility — which certainly impressed the forward.
“This is the kind of thing every WNBA team needs,” Stewart said last spring. “This accessibility, this easy access to everything. Everything is in one location, and that’s really nice.”
That inside look gave Stewart some insight into why the Lynx have been so successful for so long.
“Yeah, actually,” Stewart said. “I’m like ‘OK, now I understand.’ ”
Shelburne also reported the free agency of Chicago guard Courtney Vandersloot — a top-tier point guard — will factor into Stewart’s decision. Minnesota is reportedly set to meet with Vandersloot, as well. The point guard position has been a bugaboo for the Lynx ever since Lindsay Whalen’s retirement.
The Lynx enter free agency flush with cap space and in search of reforming their roster back into a championship contender after missing the playoffs last season. Minnesota is aiming to build around star forward Napheesa Collier in the wake of Sylvia Fowles’ retirement.
Surrounding Collier with the type of playmaking, shooting and championship experience Stewart and Vandersloot present would open the floor for Collier and put the 26-year-old — who missed much of last season after having a baby — in a position to win now.
