Game of Jones! Liberty Trade for 2021 WNBA MVP

It cost a hefty price, but the New York Liberty undoubtedly rise to the top as contenders in the WNBA with the arrival of Jonquel Jones.

The New York Liberty announced on (day) the arrival of 2021 WNBA MVP Jonquel Jones via a three-team trade. That yielded the following on each side...

• LIBERTY GET: Jonquel Jones, Kayla Thornton
• SUN GET: 2022 1st-Round Pick (No. 6 from NY), Bec Allen, Ty Harris
• WINGS GET: Natasha Howard, Crystal Dangerfield

Rachel Galligan of Winsidr was the first to report the deal. 

Having turned 29 on Jan. 5, Jones has already earned countless accolades on the WNBA circuit since arriving as the sixth overall pick of the 2016 draft out of George Washington. Born in the Bahamas and raised in Maryland, Jones burst onto the scene in her sophomore season, hauling in a WNBA-record 11.9 rebounds en route to the Most Improved Player honor and the first of four All-Star appearances. 

Jones was later named the WNBA's Most Valuable Player in 2021 after taking the prior campaign off for health reasons, scoring a career-best 19.4-point average and protecting her rebounding title for the second time at 11.2. 

New York also welcomes Thornton, who made a name for herself over the last six years in Dallas after entering the Association as an undrafted free agent in 2015. Thornton averaged 8.2 points and 4.8 rebounds during her time in Dallas, notably (and ironically) putting in 20 points during Dallas' upset postseason victory over Connecticut in Game 2 of their opening-round playoff series.

While the addition of Jones ... a proven paint talent that should handle the backcourt with Sabrina Ionescu and Betnijah Laney on the outside ... should no doubt place larger postseason aspirations on the Liberty, they bid farewell to several reliable veterans. 

Most notable among the departures is Allen, who was by far the longest-tenured bearer of seafoam at seven seasons. Howard, a three-time champion and 2022 All-Star, is also among the departures after she was the yield of a previous three-team deal that also brought in Sami Whitcomb. Dangerfield was an in-season addition last year but wound up starting 27 games alongside Ionescu at guard. 

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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