5 WNBA teams that need to swoop in and steal Satou Sabally in free agency

Last week, Dallas Wings forward Satou Sabally announced during a press conference for Unrivaled, the 3-v-3 basketball league that starts on Friday, that she would be leaving the Dallas Wings in WNBA free agency.

Then on Tuesday, the Wings officially used the core designation on Sabally, which means she is only able to sign a deal with Dallas. Essentially, this means that the Wings will be able to get something of value for Sabally via a sign-and-trade instead of losing the oft-injured star for nothing.

One thing that's been confusing when discussing Sabally's future is how the WNBA's core designation works. Teams are only allowed to core one player, which led to a lot of speculation that Dallas coring Sabally would mean she couldn't go to a team that has cored a player already. But Richard Cohen of Her Hoop Stats pushed back against that belief on Monday:

Cohen is probably the No. 1 expert on the WNBA CBA outside of actual league employees, so it's safe to assume he's correct on this. That would mean that the Liberty coring Breanna Stewart and the Aces coring Kelsey Plum wouldn't prevent those teams from acquiring Sabally, which would open up a whole new range of possibilities for where she could land. Here are five teams that make the most sense for her.

Indiana Fever

Last season, Caitlin Clark proved that her game translated to the WNBA. Now, the Fever need to work on building a contender around her, and one clear way of doing that would be by adding a player as good as Sabally.

Forming a big three of Clark, Sabally and Aliyah Boston would give the Fever a core that can turn into a championship team. Sabally's ability to stretch the defense with her outside shooting would open things up for this Indiana offense, allowing the team to play a four-out approach with Sabally at the five that would open up driving space for Clark and Kelsey Mitchell, assuming the Fever bring Mitchell back in free agency.

One other factor here might be that the Fever can offer the Wings one of the most intriguing pieces via trade in forward NaLyssa Smith. Smith, who just finished her third season out of Baylor, is coming off her worst season as a pro as she struggled to consistently fit in as the fourth option for Indiana. A fresh start in Dallas where she'd be higher in the pecking order would be good for both Smith and the Wings.

New York Liberty

Sabally's younger sister Nyara plays for New York and after the Liberty captured the championship in 2024, Satou was out there on the floor celebrating with her sister. If the only game you watched all year was the deciding game of the Finals and you saw Satou out on the court after the game, you might have thought she was an injured member of the team. So her landing in New York wouldn't be a shock at all.

It also helps that Sabally's college teammate, Sabrina Ionescu, is a member of the team. The two brought Oregon some monster seasons and could have brought a title to Eugene if not for the pandemic canceling the NCAA Tournament in 2020.

New York could also use another forward after Kayla Thornton was selected by Golden State in the expansion draft. It would likely take sending Betnijah Laney-Hamilton to Dallas to make a deal work though, and the Liberty would have to balance the risk of acquiring Sabally and her injury history.

Seattle Storm

Could we see a swap of stars?

The Storm look like they'll be moving Jewell Loyd this offseason after she requested a trade. Dallas is a weird fit for Loyd because the team already has a defensive liability in the backcourt in Arike Ogunbowale and are likely going to select Paige Bueckers in the WNBA Draft, but that doesn't necessarily mean this can't happen.

On the Seattle side, going after Sabally makes sense because the team could use a youth infusion. Nneka Ogwumike played great last season for the team, but the former MVP will turn 35 in July, so it's worth wondering how much longer she can be a high-level player in the WNBA.

Golden State Valkyries

If Sabally wants a chance to be the undisputed No. 1 player on a team, moving to the expansion Valkyries would be the move.

Moving to Golden State could set Sabally up for a huge payday in 2026 when the league's current CBA ends. We still don't know what that means exactly, but many players will be signing one-year deals this offseason in preparation for an assumed spike in the salary cap for 2026.

Sabally surely would love to be on a contender and Golden State is far from that, but as the top scoring option on the Valkyries, Sabally would have a chance to set herself up for big money in 2026 if she can stay healthy and post the biggest numbers of her career.

Las Vegas Aces

Something just felt a little off with the Aces last season. After winning back-to-back Finals in 2022 and 2023, Vegas lost 13 regular season games in 2024, its most since 2019. The team then lost to New York in four games in the semifinals.

Vegas is no stranger to going out and finding a way to bring in a big name. The team added Chelsea Gray in 2021 for example, getting the league's best point guard in her prime in a move that led to two titles for the Aces. Now, the team could make another splash by adding Sabally and moving A'ja Wilson to center on a full-time basis, relegating Kiah Stokes to the bench and giving Vegas the scariest lineup in the league.

The problem with Sabally going to Vegas is that it's hard to see what the Aces could give Dallas for her that would make sense for both sides. Kelsey Plum was just cored. Trading Jackie Young feels like a lateral move. Alysha Clark and Tiffany Hayes are too old to really make sense for a Wings team that looks poised to enter a rebuild. Maybe Liz Kitley and draft picks can get it done, but that won't be the best offer Dallas gets, so Sabally would need to demand Vegas as her only destination to make something like that work.