Natasha Cloud arrived in Brooklyn two weeks before WNBA training camps opened Sunday in order to get acclimated to her new home.
She met the staff and her teammates, learned the Liberty’s schedule and embraced the championship mentality that’s inescapable around the facility.
“It’s almost refreshing,” Cloud said Sunday. “There’s not a lot of lackadaisical, there’s no complacency. They understand that they won last year, but they understand now that the pressure is a privilege to do it again. All eyes are looking forward to how to do that.”
Cloud always thought one day she’d suit up for the Liberty.
But she didn’t envision what transpired this offseason would be how it would happen.
In January at Unrivaled, Cloud talked about recruiting Satou Sabally to the Phoenix Mercury. A little more than two weeks later, though, Cloud was dealt to the Connecticut Sun as part of the four-team trade that sent Sabally to Phoenix.
Cloud has been in this business long enough to know that it can “f–king suck and that it doesn’t always benefit us as players.”
The Sun had been the site of a mass exodus this offseason.
All five of their starters from the 2024 team that went to the semifinals were gone. Connecticut wasn’t where Cloud, a nine-year veteran on the back end of her career, wanted to spend the season.
“It was a s—ty situation for everybody,” Cloud said.
Cloud told her agent she wanted to play for the Liberty.
The Sun turned down the Liberty’s initial trade proposal. Ultimately, the Libs dealt two first-round picks, including No. 7 in this year’s draft, for Cloud.
The past few months may not have gone as Cloud anticipated.
Cloud was told she was going to retire as a member of the Mercury, but that didn’t happen. Her patience was tested.
In the end, Cloud got what she wanted — a chance to compete for another championship.
“I got pissed off in the offseason, and I’m using all that as fuel to my fire,” Cloud said. “I understand what we already had here as an organization and all I was able to add to it. So whatever y’all need for me, every single night, I’m giving to y’all. I care that Liberty is across my chest. … I’m just excited to be here.”
Breanna Stewart was a limited participant in Sunday’s practice after she had a cleanup procedure on her knee last month.
She’ll be integrated into more live action next week. Her status for the team’s preseason opener May 9 is unclear.
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