Marine Fauthoux always ‘had eyes on’ Liberty — and now gets a development chance with CBA wrinkle

It’s a whole new world to Marine Fauthoux under the WNBA’s new collective bargaining agreement.

The French guard was drafted by the Liberty in 2021, which was a surprise to her when she saw herself on the television as the 29th overall pick while attending fellow French player Iliana Rupert’s draft party.

She played overseas the past five years but recently sought a different challenge: taking an experimental path on one of two Liberty developmental contracts.

Prior to 2026 under the previous CBA, teams would draft young talent and hope to store them overseas to develop. 

Now, every team receives two developmental spots, allowing players to participate in training camp and practices.

They can be activated for up to 12 games per season without affecting the 12-player roster or cap space.

“It’s such a different way to play here in the ‘W,’ ” Fauthoux said Monday. “So, me, I’m just here to learn. … I’ve always had eyes on this organization, and for me it was the right time to come because I feel really ready to play with them.”

Fauthoux is currently recovering from an ACL injury.

She said she is “at the end” of her rehab, but has no timeline for a return.

Thus, no one has seen her play within the revamped Liberty roster.

What is more intriguing is the wide-open second and final developmental spot. 

It feels as if the Liberty’s 12-player roster is all but set, though Australian guard Anneli Maley is top of mind for consideration for the final piece of the puzzle. 

Maley, currently on a training camp contract, has made an early impression.

She scored 13 points and logged seven rebounds, three assists with five turnovers in the Liberty’s preseason loss to the Fever on Saturday.

The performance puts her in the mix, along with the Liberty’s draw to international players.

However, if the Liberty want to make her their final developmental player, they would have to waive Maley, and she would need to clear waivers before signing a developmental contract. 

In other words: They risk losing her before they can sign her, which is not ideal for coach Chris DeMarco. 

“There was only 13 teams, now 15, and there is so much talent in this world,” he said. “Not everybody gets the chance to play in the WNBA, so adding these spots gives these players an opportunity. … I think it’s really important and honestly hope that, one day, we can have these spots and say, ‘Hey these are our players,’ and we can develop them, keep them in our system rather than other teams being able to pluck them away.”

There is still a lot to “iron out,” DeMarco said, including how the Liberty intend to use these spots. 

It seems the Liberty still are in evaluation mode, as Fauthoux said she has yet to speak with DeMarco about her role as she goes through rehab. 

“But I can see on the court what he wants,” she added. “I think the team is doing really well.”

However, the new wrinkle allows the Liberty to avoid sacrificing young talent on a win-now team.

A year ago, they had to release Jaylyn Sherrod to make space for Emma Meesseman on the roster.

General manager Jonathan Kolb said in a dream world, he wants to build a “pipeline” in Brooklyn with the developmental contracts in play.

“I want to be able to have players with us that are in our program that are then elevated to regular roster spots in the future,” Kolb said. “We also want to have players that are ready to play in the sense of being utilized potentially as injury replacements as well. … This is new … we’re gonna see where it ends up, but I’m really excited about where we are.”