Tag: DESIGNATION

With the WNBA free agency now in full swing, the Connecticut Sun wasted no time in giving Alyssa Thomas a core-player designation, essentially allowing the franchise to make her a restricted free agent. As WNBA reporter Madeline Kenney wrote in an article for the New York Post on Monday, however, the fact that the Sun cored Thomas could have an impact on her fiancée, DeWanna Bonner.

Because the franchise now has a chance to hold on to Thomas through the WNBA free agency, they could also end up retaining Bonner. As Kenney wrote in an article for The Post, the fact that the team might keep Thomas could indicate that Bonner will stay with the Sun as well.

At 38 years old, Bonner, a two-time WNBA champion and six-time All-Star, is certainly on the tail-end of her career. However, she has continued to show her dominance year after year.

In addition to playing all 40 games in back-to-back seasons, Bonner is still producing at a rate consistent with her career points per game average of 14.9, averaging 17.4 in 2023 and 15.0 in 2024.

Given that, as the Sun looks to win their first title in franchise history, retaining both Thomas and Bonner through the WNBA free agency period would certainly be a big plus for the team.

Could Alyssa Thomas wind up parting ways with the Sun despite core-player designation in WNBA Free Agency?

The WNBA’s core player designation means that teams around the league can essentially mark certain players as restricted free agents, however, that doesn’t mean that Thomas will be with the Sun to start the 2025 WNBA season.

The WNBA’s core-player designation allows the Sun to cut out other teams by offering Thomas a one-year supermax contract.

Although the two sides could use that as an opportunity to negotiate a long-term deal, with the WNBA expected to finalize a new CBA before the 2026 season, Thomas and plenty of other players are targeting one-year deals.

Because of that, the two options seem to be either the Sun hold on to Thomas, or after receiving her core-player designation to kick off the WNBA Free Agency, she requests a trade.

Although she hasn’t done so, last season Thomas notably expressed frustration over the fact that the Sun doesn’t have a dedicated practice facility. Back in September, before their first playoff game with the Indiana Fever, the team was practicing at a community rec center.

Given that, Thomas’s expressed frustration could be an indication that she may not want to stick around in Connecticut this season.