Betnijah Laney-Hamilton remained with the Liberty after the trade deadline on Monday, but her role is still very much unresolved. The 32-year-old veteran said the situation has been “a lot” as she continues to sit outside Chris DeMarco’s rotation.
That uncertainty has lasted for more than a month. Laney-Hamilton received her first DNP-CD on June 21 and has now gone seven straight healthy games without seeing action. For a player who was a starter on the 2024 title team and a former All-Star, the stretch has marked a sharp turn in a season that has already included plenty of stops and starts.
A veteran role that has changed quickly
Laney-Hamilton signed a one-year, $400,000 contract in April, then missed all of last season with a knee injury. Since then, she has been outside the rotation and has played her fewest minutes in eight years. Through 17 of 30 games, she has averaged 4.7 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists while shooting 36.2 percent from the field and 24.3 percent from 3-point range.
The bigger question is not whether the Liberty still have a capable player in Laney-Hamilton. It is how they choose to use her. Chris DeMarco said the situation is “gonna be game to game” and that the team is going to “look at everything,” which leaves her place on the roster open to interpretation for now. That kind of uncertainty is especially notable for a veteran who became the Liberty’s second-longest-tenured player in 2021.
What comes next for the Liberty
Laney-Hamilton’s status has stayed in the spotlight because the minutes have dried up even though she is healthy. She was also ejected on July 12 for throwing a shoe in the loss in Toronto, another sign of a frustrating stretch for a player who has been part of important Liberty moments.
Breanna Stewart still sees value in what Laney-Hamilton brings. Stewart called her “a great player” with a successful WNBA career and said what she offers “on and off the court” is important. Stewart also pointed to Laney-Hamilton’s halftime communication and advice as part of her value to the team. Even with the rotation questions, that kind of support helps explain why the Liberty have kept her around.
For now, though, the situation remains open-ended. Laney-Hamilton is still with the Liberty, but her recent stretch has made clear that a roster spot and a real rotation role are not the same thing. If the role changes, it will happen game by game. If it does not, her next chapter in Brooklyn will continue to look more complicated than anyone would have expected in April.
A deeper look at what her quiet stretch could mean for the Liberty is here: Aneesah Morrow: Atlanta Dream should check in on Betnijah Laney-Hamilton after quiet New York Liberty spell.
