Liberty Trade Sun for Natasha Cloud

Natasha Cloud will join Unrivaled teammate Sabrina Ionescu on the New York Liberty.

May 19, 2023; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) drives to the basket as Washington Mystics guard Natasha Cloud (9) defends at Entertainment & Sports Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

This Cloud was anything but a damper on the New York Liberty, as they make a big-time addition to their roster.

The defending WNBA champions announced the acquisition of Natasha Cloud to close the weekend. Cloud arrives from the Connecticut Sun and comes to Brooklyn in exchange for the Liberty's first-round picks in 2025 and 2026.

“We could not be more excited to welcome Natasha Cloud to the New York Liberty family,” Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb said in a team statement. "Tash is someone who we identified years ago as a prime fit for our team and embodies everything we look for in a player.”

"She has always left a lasting impression on the Barclays Center crowd, and we look forward to seeing the best fans in the WNBA embrace her on a nightly basis. Tash will undoubtedly strengthen our roster on both sides of the ball as we pursue another title in 2025.”

Cloud, 33, joins New York for her 10th WNBA season, spending the first eight with the Washington Mystics and last year with the Phoenix Mercury. She has appeared on three All-WNBA Defensive Teams, including first squad honors in 2022, which also saw her lead the Association in assists. The St. Joseph's alumna was a part of the Mystics' championship team in 2019, the same season she won the Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award.

In Liberty lore, Cloud is best-known for her memorable battle with new Liberty teammate Sabrina Ionescu during the opening round of the 2023 playoffs. The Liberty won the best-of-three series against Washington fairly quickly but it was far from easy thanks to Cloud's efforts, which saw her go one-on-one with Ionescu in a brilliant backcourt battle.

Though Cloud was a bit of a metropolitan villainess for two nights in Brooklyn, she and Ionescu carried a mutual respect and the Barclays Center crowd offered her an honorable ovation upon her exit from the latter game of the series.

Cloud, who was traded from Phoenix to Connecticut in February, became a favorite on Liberty fan offseason wishlists after she and Ionescu collaborated on Phantom BC in Unrivaled, the new 3-on-3 league co-founded by her new Liberty teammate Breanna Stewart.

"Even though I take that villain role in the game, I have a lot of respect for who Sabrina is, what she is to our league, who she is as a player. Iron sharpens iron, that’s what I said to her," Cloud said after the second showing back in 2023. "I really do respect her as a player, enough that I had to make her my primary focus in Game 2."

The Liberty's first postseason title defense begins on May 17 against the Las Vegas Aces.

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