Speculation ran rampant online after Sandy Brondello’s ousting.

Some wondered what her departure may mean for the return of the Liberty’s star trinity of Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones. 

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General manager Jonathan Kolb eased some of those concerns Thursday.

“I have the utmost confidence that they want to be back with us,” Kolb said of the trio.

Stewart, Ionescu and Jones had all shared their plans to run it back in 2026. They’ll have to do it, though, with a new person in charge.

This offseason was bound to bring change after the Liberty followed up a 2024 title win with a first-round playoff exit. Brondello was the first domino to fall, though Kolb stressed the decision was not solely rooted in this season’s performance. 

Kolb said the Liberty have a “massive opportunity” over the next few months. There’s still plenty of unknowns surrounding roster size, salary cap and expansion drafts because of the unfinished collective bargaining agreement.

And because the majority of the league’s players are free agents, Kolb speculated that this offseason could have ramifications for years to come. 

“This is honestly a probably once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for many franchises,” Kolb said. “I also feel that the next — I don’t know what the contract links will be — but three or four years, the WNBA future is going to be decided in the matter of a few weeks.”

Expect the Liberty to be aggressive in fortifying their roster. 

But before that, Kolb must hire the coach who will lead the team in a new direction. 

Kolb doesn’t view this past year as a “lost season,” despite the team’s shortcomings. 

“In fact, I said something similar to the group after Game 3 in Phoenix, that we have to learn from this and during the season, there were many opportunities to learn,” he said. 

Kolb witnessed the myriad ways opponents exposed his team’s weaknesses this season.

It was no secret that the Liberty struggled against physical teams. The offense would get stagnant when the initial action or two were blown up by the defense and the ball would get stuck like bubble gum under a shoe.

The decline in defense and rebounding were especially troubling. The Liberty went from being the No. 1 rebounding team in 2024 to seventh this season. Their defensive rating went from being top three in the league (95.3) last year to sixth (100.6) this year. 

Losing Betnijah Laney-Hamilton to a knee injury for the entire season no doubt hurt the Liberty, and they expect to have her back next year. 

But Kolb has to evaluate whether other personnel changes need to be made. 

“We want to get back to being who we have been,” he said, “but also solving the problems that we still found success through.”

The next coach will need to be innovative with their game plan and adaptable to in-game changes. The future style of the WNBA could mirror the shift the NBA has seen in years prior. 

Some teams, including the Valkyries, Mystics and Mercury, have started to adopt those different styles and have stupefied opponents. 

“The game is changing rapidly,” Kolb said. “I honestly don’t even know if it’s the same league as in 2023. We’re seeing a basketball style on both sides of the ball that is rapidly changing and I think that will impact our decision not only that we made recently but also roster as we look at our build and making sure that we are not standing still and we provide the right ingredients for whomever sits in that coaching seat to cook with.”