Liberty snag Emma Meesseman and add wing depth with Stephanie Talbot

But now she does, because the New York Liberty have continued to tinker with their roster in a meaningful way. ESPN‘s Alexa Philippou reported on Monday afternoon that Meesseman, the 2019 WNBA Finals MVP, has committed to playing for the Liberty for the rest of this season and into the playoffs. Per Philippou, Meesseman also considered the Phoenix Mercury and the Minnesota Lynx, the Liberty’s main competition to win the 2025 WNBA championship this season.

Meesseman won’t be with the Liberty right away. ESPN also reported that her arrival in New York depends on how long it takes for her visa application to be processed and approved. The Belgian superstar will most likely arrive in the United States on a P-1A Athlete visa. These can take between 3-6 months to process, although applicants can pay extra for a decision to be made on a work visa in 15 days.

Meesseman won’t be the only Liberty newcomer. The team announced earlier on Monday that they had signed the veteran wing Stephanie Talbot, who will join their roster and take the place of 24 year-old guard Marquesha Davis, who the team waived before the midpoint deadline on July 13 at 5 p.m., ET. Talbot will be available to play for New York in their first game following the All-Star break on Tuesday night against the Indiana Fever.

A source familiar with the situation confirmed to The Next that Talbot’s contract is a rest of the season (ROS) rather than a 7-day contract. To be clear, this isn’t a hardship contract; the Liberty had an extra roster spot to fill and weren’t in any need for a hardship player with Jonquel Jones returning to play on Tuesday night. Also, the team had around $154,969 of salary cap space prior to signing Talbot and now have $119,859 in cap space after signing her on Monday.

Talbot’s ROS contract will be a veteran minimum prorated deal that amounts to $35,110, but she also earns most of her $125,000 contract that she received once the Valkyries waived her on July 13.

Why do all of these details about Talbot’s contract matter? Because they determine how much the Liberty are able to give Meesseman. As of Monday, New York has $119,859 left in total cap space. A prorated player maximum that begins on Tuesday costs around $97,000. A team like Minnesota, however, only had the cap space to offer Meesseman a little over half of that.

How else might the Liberty have made a stronger case for Meesseman to come to New York? She knows the team’s head coach, Sandy Brondello, and has played with at least a fourth in the team’s players in Stewart, Jones and Natasha Cloud. Brondello coached Meesseman in Russia when the Belgian star was, as Brondello said, just “a baby.” Jones and Stewart played with Meesseman while playing for former European powerhouse UMMC Ekaterinburg. Stewart also played with Meesseman while with Turkish club Fenerbahçe prior to joining the Liberty, and Cloud played with Meesseman for four WNBA seasons, including the Mystics’ 2019 championship season.

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Brondello has always admired Meesseman’s She made that clear back in 2022 when she was in her first season at the helm of the Liberty. That was Meesseman’s last season in the WNBA before the prioritization rule and her commitments to her Belgian national team got in the way of her prospects in the WNBA.

“She’s one of my favorite players,” Brondello said about Meesseman before facing the Chicago Sky on July 23, 2022. “I’ve got to coach her, and she’s just a real professional.” Brondello marveled at how that 2022 Chicago Sky team used Meesseman as a passer, especially when Meesseman is put on the nail and she can find cutters by going back-door.

Without Jones on the floor this season, the Liberty struggled to maintain a high level of cutting and moving without the basketball. Having another player like Meesseman, who can serve as a passing hub like Jones, might help the Liberty on that front moving forward.

Will another pivotal moment in New York Liberty history deliver?

With Jonquel Jones expected to return to play on Tuesday night, the Liberty will get only more talented in the coming weeks. When Meesseman arrives, the Liberty’s front court will be loaded, as she’ll be joining Jones, Stewart, Nyara Sabally and Isabelle Harrison.

There are reasons to be optimistic; there are, still, a lot of questions that remain. Is Meesseman comfortable coming off the bench? Will the Liberty employ more of “point-Stewie”, the lineup scheme Brondello used in the Liberty’s two final games before the All-Star break, so that Meesseman can play the four with Stewart playing on the wing or handling the ball to get Ionescu off of the ball?

Also, once Meesseman arrives, who will the Liberty have to say goodbye to via a trade or a cut? To be clear, all salary is guaranteed now, so waived players will still earn the money that’s owed to them.

Based on recent performances, it wouldn’t be shocking if New York waives Jaylyn Sherrod, who has struggled in her most recent moments on the floor. Or perhaps the Liberty will waive Harrison, as the front court will get crowded with numerous bigs. New York could also trade Talbot, which would be shocking considering that the Liberty prefer to have another switchable wing in addition to Leonie Fiebich, Kennedy Burke and Rebekah Gardner on roster.

Monday represents a day for Liberty fans to remember, and it might be one of Liberty GM Jonathan Kolb’s most memorable birthdays to date. New York has once again proved that this is a franchise that wants to make history and win. And they are a franchise that will make subsequent moves to put themselves in the very best position to do that.

This hot day in July contrasts the colder days in January when Kolb was trying to retool the 2025 roster to repeat as champions. It was a difficult offseason. The Liberty attempted to reunite Nyara Sabally with her sister Satou back during free agency, but Satou chose the Mercury instead. Then the Liberty waited months before being able to trade for Natasha Cloud. Their offseason wasn’t flashy, but their midseason pre-trade deadline period for sure has been.

Will another historic move pay off in the end? That remains unclear.

What to expect from Stephanie Talbot

Ever since the Liberty knew they’d be without Betnijah Laney-Hamilton for the entire 2025 season, New York has wanted another switchable wing. They won the 2024 WNBA finals with four: Laney-Hamilton, Fiebich, Kayla Thornton and Kennedy Burke. In 2025, New York employs Fiebich, Burke and Gardner and now will add Talbot.

While Talbot has struggled with her speed since she returned to the floor following her ACL tear in 2023, she remains a serviceable wing who can shoot, defend on the wing and facilitate when needed. She’s also a player who has Brondello’s trust, as the Liberty’s head coach drafted Talbot into the league and coached her on both the Phoenix Mercury and on the Australian National team.

Talbot will be a depth piece that can give the Liberty’s wing mainstays, Fiebich and Burke, a little rest. The Liberty will play 23 games in the final 52 days of the regular season, right before a compact and grueling playoff schedule that begins just three days later. There’s a lot coming up, and the Liberty are putting themselves in the best possible position to handle it.

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