SEATTLE — Turns out, Gabby Williams will not become an unrestricted free agent after all, and the Storm will use their core designation on the sixth-year forward, according to an ESPN report.

After her late arrival in August, Williams said she re-signed with the Storm in part because the team promised not to designate her a core player and allow her to test free agency this year.

Since then, the Storm’s situation has changed dramatically considering six-time WNBA All-Star Jewell Loyd made allegations of harassment and bullying by the coaching staff, then asked to be traded when the team said an independent investigation failed to find evidence to support her claims. For now, Loyd remains with the team.

The Storm likely didn’t envision trading one of their top players and couldn’t risk losing Williams, who the team believes has star potential.

Under the league’s core designation rules, the Storm have exclusive negotiating rights until Jan. 20 with Williams, who is eligible for a one-year supermax deal of $249,244.

Players can officially sign contracts Feb. 1.

It’s a significant salary bump for Williams who received a base salary of $144,000 in 2022 during her first year with the Storm, $100,000 in 2023 and $23,491 during her abbreviated season in 2024, according to HerHoopStats.

Williams’ international commitments and desire to play with the French Olympic team, which won a silver medal at last year’s Paris Games, restricted her to playing just 12 games for the Storm in 2024.

During her truncated season, Williams helped the Storm to a 25-15 record — a 14-game improvement from the previous season. She averaged a career-high 10.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.7 steals while starting 11 games.

In the playoffs, Williams averaged 17 points and 6.5 and was the most productive performer for the Storm, who were swept 2-0 in the first round by Las Vegas.

Seemingly, the Storm will rebuild their depleted roster with Williams as a fundamental piece alongside standouts Skylar Diggins-Smith and Ezi Magbegor, who have a year remaining on guaranteed contracts.

Additionally, Jordan Horston, Nika Mühl and Mackenzie Holmes are under team control with non-guaranteed deals.

In September, the Storm said re-signing nine-time WNBA All-Star forward Nneka Ogwumike, who is ineligible from being cored, is a top priority but will need to wait until Jan. 21 before teams can officially negotiation with free agents.

Securing Williams appears to affirm the beliefs of many around the league who expect the Storm to trade Loyd, who is scheduled to earn a supermax salary of $249,032.

This is the first time Williams has received a core designation — players can only be cored twice during their careers — and she joins New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum and Dallas Wings forward Satou Sabally who have the designation this year.

Wiliams, who was voted by fans as FIBA’s 2024 European Player of the Year, is playing with the Turkish professional team Fenerbahçe during the WNBA offseason. Through nine games, she’s averaging 13.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.9 steals while shooting 56.6% from the field, including 38.1% on 3-pointers.

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