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The Liberty rebuild, highlighted by the move to Barclays Center and selection of Sabrina Ionescu in the WNBA Draft, continued Wednesday with the hiring of assistant coaches, including a performance specialist, and a decision to waive long time point guard Brittany Boyd.
Filling out new head coach Walt Hopkins staff will be Kelly Raimon and Dustin Gray. The team had previously hired Shelley Patterson as an assistant.
Said Hopkins. “Between Dustin’s elite understanding of player development and team “X’s and O’s”, and Kelly’s valuable perspective as both a coach and former player, we’re rounding out our coaching staff with a pair of very talented, high-character people.”
Hopkins replaced Katie Smith as head coach back in January. Gray will be the team’s performance coach. Gray had previously worked on his own, preparing a number of players for the NBA Draft, including Kevin Love, Luc Mbah a Moute, Chase Budinger, Brandon Jennings, and DeMar DeRozan.
The team also announced that it was waiving Brittany Boyd who’d been the Liberty’s starting point guard the last five years. Boyd’s starting job will be taken by Ionescu. The Liberty also signed Layshia Clarendon, a veteran WNBA point guard to mentor Ionescu, leaving Boyd with few minutes.
“Brittany has been a valuable member of the Liberty for the past five seasons,” stated GMJonathan Kolb. “However, we are going in a different direction at her position and wanted to give her ample time to pursue other opportunities across the league. We wish her nothing but the best.”
- New York Liberty waive guard Brittany Boyd - Jackie Powell - High Post Hoops
- New York Liberty Waive Guard Brittany Boyd - New York Liberty
- Liberty Announce Additions to Coaching Staff - New York Liberty
- Liberty add assistant coaches in Kelly Raimon and Dustin Gray - Jackie Powell - High Post Hoops