LOS ANGELES -- Fresh off a plane ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon, Kate Martin arrived at Crypto.com Arena in downtown L.A. -- her new home. Just before 8 a.m., the Sparks had announced they had signed Martin to a development roster spot.
The move came four days after she was waived by the Golden State Valkyries, where she played last season.
"It was brutal," Martin said, speaking to reporters ahead of the Sparks' season opener against the Las Vegas Aces. She took a moment before continuing to speak, fighting back tears.
After several deep breaths, she continued: "It was a business decision. That's what professional sports is. It's a business. ... It wasn't an easy process, and now I feel like I can relate to a lot more people on a level I never wanted to be able to relate on. But it's going to help me as a leader and a person going forward."
In her second season in the league, Martin averaged 6.2 points and 2.7 rebounds in 16.4 minutes per game for the Valkyries, who took her from the Aces in the expansion draft ahead of the 2025 season. Las Vegas had selected her with the 18th pick in the 2024 WNBA draft out of Iowa.
Golden State coach Natalie Nakase told reporters that cutting Martin was "very emotional, a lot of heartache. Kate was our family member and someone we cared about deeply. And we still do care deeply about Kate."
The coach also said, "It's hard because we are trying to build the best team possible."
Martin said she was told of the Valkyries' decision Wednesday.
"I loved it in [Golden State]," Martin said. "I loved my time there. I loved my teammates. That's the hardest part, leaving my teammates. But I know I'm going to be surrounded by amazing people here."
"I would say my basketball career hasn't always been the easiest route," she added. "You can go one of two ways from this: You can go down a negative path, or you can take it as a positive and learn from it and grow from it. That's what I'm choosing to do."
Martin said she chose to come to Los Angeles because of the way the Sparks approached her.
"They wanted me here, and I had really good talks with Coach [Lynne] Roberts," Martin said. "I felt confident in my decision because of the way they approached me and thought I would fit well into this system."
In their second season under Roberts, the Sparks added Nneka Ogwumike, Erica Wheeler and Ariel Atkins during free agency, taking their team from a building project to win-now mode.
Kelsey Plum also is in her second year in Los Angeles, and Martin said she reached out to Plum before arriving in L.A. The two played together during Martin's rookie season in Las Vegas.
"Even though I literally just got here, it's really nice [having pre-existing relationships]," Martin said. "It's not like I'm a rookie coming to a brand-new team. I do feel some comfort in knowing some people."
In a developmental roster spot -- akin to the NBA's two-way player -- Martin is eligible to suit up for up to 12 games throughout the season. She'll be paid $6,136 per game and receive a $750-a-week stipend when she's inactive.
Development spots are an addition to the new collective bargaining agreement that was negotiated during the offseason.
"I just feel honored for the opportunity, and opportunities like this don't always come around in this league. For the year I got cut to be the year where there are development spots, I feel very grateful for that," Martin said.