Kevin Durant isn’t helping the Storm in their bid to retain Breanna Stewart.
The Brooklyn Nets star, who played his rookie season for the Sonics, is lobbying Stewart to leave Seattle and join the New York Liberty.
In the most recent “Boardroom” episode, Durant and co-host Eddie Gonzalez discussed the Liberty acquiring 2021 WNBA MVP Jonquel Jones and the possibility of adding Stewart, the league’s 2018 MVP, to build a super team that includes WNBA All-Star Sabrina Inoescu.
“If Stewie comes here it would be ridiculous,” Durant said. “I hit her the other day, and I never do this, and was like, ‘Yo, it would be an incredible dynasty in New York City if you came here.’”
Last Wednesday, Liberty coach Sandy Brondello, co-owner Clara Wu Tsai, general manager Jonathan Kolb and assistant general manager Ohemaa Nyanin flew to Istanbul and sat courtside to watch Stewart, who plays for the Turkish team Fenerbahçe.
Stewart entertained offers from the Storm, Liberty, Washington Mystics and Minnesota Lynx when WNBA free agency began Jan. 21 and has narrowed her choices to Seattle and New York, according to a Winsidr report.
Teams can begin signing players on Wednesday.
So far, the big winner in free agency is the Las Vegas Aces, who made headlines Saturday when two-time WNBA MVP Candace Parker announced she was signing with the defending WNBA champions.
And on Sunday, the Aces reportedly reached a two-year agreement with former Storm defensive standout Alysha Clark, who spent the past two years with the Mystics.
Few teams have the firepower to combat a stacked Las Vegas team comprised of two-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson, four-time All-Star Chelsea Gray and All-Star guards Jackie Young and Kelsey Plum, who starred at the University of Washington.
Last year, Seattle (22-14) garnered the No. 4 playoff seed and was eliminated 3-1 by top-seeded Las Vegas (26-10) in the WNBA semifinals.
Any chance for the Storm to close the gap on the Aces starts with retaining Stewart, their No. 1 overall draft pick in 2016 who led Seattle to WNBA titles in 2018 and 2020.
At 28, the 6-foot-4 forward is entering the prime of her six-year career, not including 2019 when she sat out due to an Achilles injury.
Last season, she tied her personal best in scoring (21.8 points per game) and averaged 7.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.9 blocks while garnering her fourth All-WNBA first team nod and WNBA All-Star appearance.
The Storm have roughly $1 million in salary cap space to field a roster alongside holdovers Jewell Loyd and Mercedes Russell. WNBA teams must carry at least 11 players and a maximum of 12.
Seattle extended qualifying offers to Gabby Williams and Ezi Magbegor and has hosted free agent Courtney Vandersloot, the former Kentwood High standout who has spent her entire 12-year WNBA career with the Chicago Sky.
League speculation ties Stewart and Vandersloot together in a package deal for a WNBA suitor considering they share the same agent, won the EuroLeague Women championship for Russia’s UMMC Ekaterinburg in 2021 and play for Fenerbahçe this year.
The upcoming EuroLeague playoffs are scheduled to end April 16, which should allow WNBA players ample time to return for league training camps that start April 30.
Stewart has been a vocal opponent of the WNBA prioritization rules that requires players with two or more years of experience in the league report to their teams by May 1 to avoid a fine. If players miss the start of the regular season on May 19, then they will be suspended without pay for the year.
Stewart has also used her free agency to spark a conversation about the WNBA’s travel policies, which prohibits the league’s 12 teams from chartering flights.
Last year, the WNBA slapped the Liberty with a historic $500,000 fine for charting flights for away games during the second half of the 2021 season.
Despite widespread backlash from its players, the league argued the landmark sanctions were necessary because New York’s violations ran afoul of its Collective Bargaining Agreement and represented a competitive advantage for the Liberty.
Last summer, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert estimated chartering flights would cost $20 million per season and “could jeopardize the financial health of the league.”
Still, Stewart is factoring charter flights into her looming free agency decision.
On Jan. 22, she tweeted: “I would love to be part of a deal that helps subsidize charter travel for the entire WNBA. I would contribute my NIL, posts + production hrs to ensure we all travel in a way that prioritizes player health + safety, which ultimately results in a better product. Who’s with me?”
Her tweet was seen by 4 million viewers and generated nearly 15,000 replies.
Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant tweeted: “Count me in.”
Nets star Kyrie Irving said: “We gotta get something done and I’m with them no matter how much it cost.”
And basketball hall of famer Kareem Abdul Jabbar added: “… I’m all for @WNBA players getting equal rights. Congrats Breanna for raising this issue.”