Everyone here has been in a relationship where there's no closure and you just move on. … I'm in this next relationship and I'm loving life."
The free agency period was uniquely compressed into 13 days due to collective bargaining agreement negotiations.
Cloud noted that the resulting financial constraints forced several front offices to make difficult salary cap decisions regarding veteran players.
"My free agency was interesting, to say the least.
It's no surprise that I didn't expect to be where I was," Cloud said Wednesday morning, just hours before the new-look Sky host the Dallas Wings in their home opener.
"Everyone wants me to have an answer. I don't have an answer for why my situation was what it was."
Cloud admitted experiencing a period of significant anxiety during her time on the open market.
She described dealing with the fear of being left out of the league entirely after an 11-year career.
"I feel like I did everything that I needed to do, whether it was as a player, as a person in the community, and sometimes that isn't valued the way that it should be," Cloud said.
"What you do is you pivot.
I'd be lying if there wasn't a span of anxiety and freaking out and being fearful of not being back in the league that I've given 11 years to."
The guard pointed to her internal development during the stressful offseason limbo. She emphasized that she focused on preparation rather than expressing public frustration.
