The Liberty on Monday extended a reserved qualifying offer to French guard Marine Johannès, paving the way for her to return to Brooklyn this season.
The move, revealed on the WNBA’s transaction page Tuesday afternoon, was not a surprise. The Liberty had to take this step to maintain exclusive negotiating rights heading into free agency, which begins with negotiations Wednesday.
Johannès has the potential to be a difference-maker off the bench, especially with the Liberty likely to overhaul their offense under new head coach Chris DeMarco.
She’s a floor spacer who can fit in with different lineups. She’s become a fan favorite since she made her WNBA debut in 2019 and is nicknamed “the Wizard” for her blink-and-you-miss-it playmaking and timely 3s.
Johannès didn’t play for the Liberty during their 2024 title run as she helped the French win silver at the Paris Summer Games. The two-time Olympian returned to the WNBA last season and was the only Liberty player to appear in all 44 regular-season games.
Johannès, 31, averaged 6.4 points while shooting 39.7 percent from the field and 34.4 percent from deep, a downtick from her career clip of 37.7 percent from 3.
She fell out of the rotation in the playoffs, logging only 10 minutes in three games in the first round against the Mercury.
While the official negotiating period opens Wednesday, WNBA teams can’t start signing players until Saturday.
