The New York Liberty have signed Layshia Clarendon. This is a great move for the struggling franchise.

Every so often a franchise signs a player and the significance of the signing barely gets noticed amidst the hype of the rest of free agency. However, the signing of Layshia Clarendon is a low volume soundwave which will resonate with the Liberty organisation for years.

Clarendon is the first true pass first point guard the Liberty will have had in a long time. The last time she truly ran a team was in 2017 when she started 33 of a possible 34 games for the Atlanta Dream.

In these game she averaged 10.7 points, 6.6 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 0.9 steals in 29.8 minutes per game. After she was traded to the Connecticut Sun in 2018 her numbers took a severe dive. Last year she only managed nine games through injury.

So, why is it that I think she is going to be such a huge signing for the Liberty? The experienced head of her shoulders. Clarendon is a seven year veteran who has also had national team experience.

She only averages 1.7 turnovers per game in her entire career. She is a sure ball handlers who will run the Liverty offense with no fuss. She has the talents of Tina Charles and Kia Nurse around her to take the scoring load.

Clarendon will also be able to get the ball to shooters such as Rebecca Allen who know how to find the bottom of the net. However, it is likely that her mentoring of Asia Durr which will have the biggest impact on the franchise for years to come.

Durr is an exceptional talent, taken with the second pick of the 2019 WNBA draft, had her rookie season cut short through injury. Having the respected first vice president of the WNBPA as a mentor who plays the same position as you is certainly going to help your game.

Durr played 18 games last season averaging 9.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. These numbers will improve when she learns of Clarendon. This means that the Liberty will have a tremendous three guard rotation to throw at  any opposition.

This is going to make the squad really hard to guard, especially with the talents of Tina Charles on the court as well.With this one signing the future of the New York Likberty looks brighter already. These should be more to come.

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