NEW YORK \u2014 Betnijah-Laney Hamilton did not look like her normal post-game self after the New York Liberty\u2019s Commissioner\u2019s Cup championship win over the Las Vegas Aces on June 30.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t her expression that stood out. It was her appearance.<\/p>\n
There wasn\u2019t a single bead of sweat clinging to her forehead, and her uniform showed no signs of the normal wear and tear of a title game after she earned her second \u201cDNP\u201d of the season. It was an unusual occurrence considering who Laney-Hamilton has been for the Liberty in big games over her five-year tenure with the franchise and who she was expected to be coming into 2026.<\/p>\n
Three nights later, she earned her second consecutive DNP and third of the season amid \u201cWe want Laney\u201d chants from fans. That\u2019s where Laney-Hamilton finds herself at the halfway point of her 11th year in the league.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a competitor, as somebody who\u2019s worked really hard, as somebody who\u2019s been a part of the organization for a long time, it can sometimes be disappointing and frustrating,\u201d Laney-Hamilton said Tuesday before going scoreless in 15 minutes of the Liberty\u2019s 88-77 loss to the Dallas Wings. \u201cBut, you know, that\u2019s also part of the process.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Liberty\u2019s roster depth and rotation decisions have left Laney-Hamilton, who has been with the franchise since 2021, in an unfamiliar position, and her inconsistent role prompts questions about her future with the team.<\/p>\n
Tuesday was the clearest that Laney-Hamilton has been all season about her dissatisfaction with her current role in New York. But if coach Chris DeMarco can\u2019t figure out a way to get her more minutes, what then?<\/p>\n
There is interest in Laney-Hamilton in the trade market.<\/p>\n
Laney-Hamilton\u2019s name came up in trade talks at the beginning of the season, according to multiple league sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the discussions. But ultimately, the asking price from Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb was too high.<\/p>\n
DeMarco said he\u2019s in talks with Kolb every day about roster construction and potential trade opportunities, but was adamant that they \u201clove\u201d the Liberty\u2019s roster as is.<\/p>\n
Asked if she expects to be with the Liberty through the end of the season, Laney-Hamilton said, \u201cWe\u2019re working on things.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what everything looks like right now,\u201d she added. \u201cI\u2019m just trying to take everything one step at a time and just stay in the moment. It\u2019s been difficult, but today, right now I feel pretty good.\u201d<\/p>\n
After starting the first four games of the season, Laney-Hamilton has been relegated to a bench role in 10 of 11 appearances following a brief absence due to personal reasons. She\u2019s averaging 17.6 minutes and 4.9 points per game \u2014 her fewest in both categories since 2019 with the Indiana Fever. And the Liberty (13-9) are 11-4 in games Laney-Hamilton has appeared in this season.<\/p>\n
A key to the Liberty\u2019s resurrection as a franchise, culminating in a 2024 title run, Laney-Hamilton missed the entire 2025 season while recovering from surgery for a meniscus injury in her left knee that she sustained playing for Unrivaled. Kolb suspended her contract in a procedural move to free up cap space and provide added roster flexibility with an open spot. It also meant the Liberty would maintain exclusive negotiating rights over Laney-Hamilton in free agency this offseason.<\/p>\n
She signed a one-year, $400,000 deal to return to New York.<\/p>\n
Early conversations between Laney-Hamilton and DeMarco indicated she would be a starter on this season\u2019s star-studded roster, which only got deeper with the additions of forward Satou Sabally and undrafted rookie Pauline Astier in free agency.<\/p>\n
The obvious challenges of returning from injury have been compounded by her inconsistent role in DeMarco\u2019s system. In her 15 appearances, she has had a handful of bright spots in wins against the Connecticut Sun and Phoenix Mercury earlier in the season. But she has yet to truly establish herself.<\/p>\n
DeMarco attributed Laney-Hamilton\u2019s two absences last week to a tightened rotation, but assured that the Liberty\u2019s plans moving forward include her.<\/p>\n
He turned to her on Tuesday night with forward Leonie Fiebich ruled out with foot soreness. Laney-Hamilton went 0-of-5 shooting in her first appearance since June 28.<\/p>\n
Questions remain about what her role looks like with the Liberty long term, especially with a fully healthy roster.<\/p>\n
DeMarco has deployed nine starting lineups this season as the Liberty have navigated injuries and absences throughout their first 22 games. He has favored a starting five with Fiebich and Marinne Johannes flanking either Sabrina Ionescu or Astier in the backcourt and Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones in the frontcourt. He\u2019s also gone to Astier, Fiebich and Ionescu starting backcourt and inserted Sabally when healthy.<\/p>\n
Last week, after beating the Lynx without Laney-Hamilton in the rotation, DeMarco backed her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still have confidence in her,\u201d he said. \u201cOur staff, players have confidence in her. She\u2019s going to get her opportunity again.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK \u2014 Betnijah-Laney Hamilton did not look like her normal post-game self after the New York Liberty\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":781525,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3724],"tags":[7,3801,458],"class_list":["post-781524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-basketball","tag-new-york-liberty","tag-wnba"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116885725100493051","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/781524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=781524"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/781524\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/781525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=781524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=781524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=781524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}