Tuesday marked the official return of Marine Johannès, who finally re-signed with the Liberty.
The plan was always for Johannès to be back with the Liberty this season. She was a reserved free agent, meaning New York had exclusive negotiating rights with the French guard.
Finalizing her one-year, minimum contract (worth $277,500) was one of the last major boxes the Liberty needed to check off to finish free agency. Johannès said her delayed signing was nothing more than her wanting to wait until she got to Brooklyn to make it official.
Now that it’s behind her, she’s eager to integrate herself into New York’s new motion offense, which should bode well for her.
In a lot of ways, Tuesday felt like the first day of school for Johannès. She came to Barclays Center with renewed excitement after a disappointing finish to last season.
“I’m really happy,” Johannès said after her first practice. “It’s good to see everyone, it’s kind of new actually, like new faces, so it’s kind of different and yeah, I think I like it, the vibe was really good today. … Happy to be back.”
Johannès, who played for the Turkish club Galatasaray during the WNBA offseason, took some much-needed time off after the EuroLeague Women Finals ended April 19. She went home to France and spent time with her family.
“It was really important for me. I’m glad they let me have the chance to go back home,” Johannès said. “I was home for like three days for Christmas, so it was a long time, so I was happy to spend six days with them again.”
Johannès joins the Liberty feeling “a little tired but nothing crazy.”
“I feel healthy,” she said. “I feel good.”
The Liberty are glad to have Johannès, aka the “Wizard,” back in the mix.
“[Johannès] brings a unique blend of creativity and shot making to the floor and her feel for the game energizes both the team and the fanbases,” GM Jonathan Kolb said. “The coaching staff is eager to help unlock her full potential in the WNBA this season.”
Last season was a tough year for Johannès, who averaged a career-low 6.4 points on 39.7 percent shooting. She fell out of the rotation toward the end of the season heading into the playoffs and logged only 10 minutes in the entire first-round series against the Phoenix Mercury.
Johannès’ skill set, though, could allow her to carve out a larger role within the Liberty this season.
“We think she’s one of the best pick-and-roll players in the WNBA,” coach Chris DeMarco said. “The way she sees the floor and for Marine specifically, it’s about the consistency, and we do want to play in a lot of pick-and-roll, we do like her with … our other playmakers.
“It’s just another component of her ability to shoot and her ability to play make,” DeMarco continued. “We want to use her on the ball, we’ll also use her as a screener.”
DeMarco did his best to try to set up Johannès and French point guard Pauline Astier for success on their first day with the team. He sent them film and some practice plans. They also had preliminary conversations on what to expect.
However, it’s one thing to talk through expectations, but it’s another to actually put them into practice. The Liberty tried to find that balance with Johannès and Astier on Tuesday.
“You always have to feel it as a player,” DeMarco said. “A few times, we had her and Pauline watch those first two groups and then come in and try to execute the offense and then some of the defensive stuff, learning the new concepts and everything. It’s a challenge, but they also just got done playing, so they have a good rhythm right now.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
