New York Liberty waive Brittany Boyd

Longtime point guard out after five seasons

The New York Liberty announced on Tuesday that Brittany Boyd, the team's point guard for much of the past five seasons, has been waived.

“Brittany has been a valuable member of the Liberty for the past five seasons,” Jonathan Kolb said in a press release Tuesday. “However, we are going in a different direction at her position and wanted to give her ample time to pursue other opportunities across the league. We wish her nothing but the best.”

The decision makes sense for both parties. Boyd's primary position is point guard, and as you may have heard, the New York Liberty have a new one in Sabrina Ionescu.

But while that eventuality was set into motion the moment the Liberty won the WNBA Draft Lottery months ago, Boyd's fate was likely sealed when the team signed free agent Layshia Clarendon to serve as mentor and running partner at the position.

That left Boyd with relatively few minutes to grab at the position, especially when her long-distance shooting — 30.4 percent from three last year, 26.5 percent for her career — simply never developed.

Boyd's combination of passing efficacy and creating turnovers at the defensive end always came with the handicaps of poor shooting efficiency and too many turnovers. Her 2015 season, after the Liberty selected her with the ninth pick in the first round, showed great promise. But in virtually every metric, Boyd's numbers that first season represent career highs.

Boyd is 30th in Liberty history in win shares, and eighth in assists.