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#ShrinkTheGame Vol. 21
Coaching Updates
Fred S
November 16, 2025
Table of Contents
Coaching Updates
The Seattle Storm: Sonia Raman
hired former Liberty assistant coach Sonia Raman. She will be the first Indian head coach in the WNBA or NBA. She received high praise from Jaren Jackson Jr. and Ja Morant, having served as an assistant coach for the Memphis Grizzlies from 2020–2024. Sonia was largely responsible for the positionless offense the Liberty ran last season, which probably would’ve had more success with a healthy roster. She also played a big role in Kennedy Burke’s leap this year. She’ll be great for Seattle’s young stars, particularly Dom. Her hire sort of signals that Seattle is ready to move on from Nneka and Skylar.
The Dallas Wings: Jose Fernandez
In a surprise move, the Wings fired Chris Kolance and began their search for a new head coach. Given Geno’s recent comments about who would be the best coach for Paige, it’s no surprise that Dallas hired Geno’s close friend, Jose Fernandez. Jose spent the last 25 years as the head coach at the University of South Florida, producing seven WNBA players (hello, Courtney Williams) and over 100 professional basketball players. He received high praise from fellow college coaches like Coach Yo (Ole Miss), Geno Auriemma, and Vic Schaefer (University of Texas).
The Toronto Tempo: Sandy Brondello
The Tempo hired Mrs. Sandy “Keep a Job” Brondello. Just a few short weeks after being fired by the New York Liberty, the Tempo jumped at the chance to sign the 2x champion as their first-ever head coach. Sandy is personable, a players’ coach, and a proven winner — though she’s mostly done it with star-studded rosters. It’ll be interesting to see what she does in Toronto. Going from champion contender to expansion team is some serious whiplash, but honestly, Sandy feels like the perfect person for the job.
Sandy mentioned that she knew her time with New York was up as soon as they lost in the first round (and tbh, we all knew because Clara does not typically fly across the country for a first round game, but then again, the Liberty usually have home court advantage…). She turned down offers from Dallas and Seattle, one of which was allegedly ready to pay her a bag, because she preferred a chance to build a team from the ground up. This will be her first coaching job where a championship is not an immediate expectation. That lack of pressure after years of high-pressure situations in Brooklyn (and Phoenix) is a welcome change for Big Sandra.
Unfortunately for the Liberty, this means yet another year where a Liberty coach or GM heads to an expansion team and will probably snatch up a good player in the draft lol. Her ass needs to take Talbot with her. Aussie Aussie Oy Oy Oy.
Portland Fire: Alex Sarama
The Portland Fire hired Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach Alex Sarama. I am not going to pretend like I know much about him. So… good luck!
His résumé includes working as a Player Improvement Specialist for Paris Basketball, Director of Methodology for the London Lions, Assistant Coach and Player Development for the Rip City Remix (Portland’s G League team), and Assistant Coach and Director of Player Development for the Cleveland Cavaliers. He’s also the founder of Transforming Basketball, a company focused on basketball coaching education.
New York Liberty: ????
The Liberty is still interviewing people for the role. It is extremely important to nail this, especially after firing Sandy one year after winning a championship. They have narrowed it down to three people and plan to announce next week.
Kristi Toliver, Former WNBA player, former Washington Wizards assistant coach, and current Phoenix Mercury assistant coach. Kristi is the only remaining candidate with WNBA experience, obviously as a player, but also as a coach. She has direct connections with Tash Cloud and Emma Meesseman, having played with both and won a championship with them in DC. The worry is that she would be a first-time head coach for a high-profile, high-pressure job. It would be a risk, but I believe it’s one they should be willing to take.
Will Weaver is a former Nets assistant (for Jacque Vaughn), and he currently works as a consultant with the Hornets. He has head-coaching experience in the NBL in Australia, where he coached the Sydney Kings to a top seed and a Finals appearance. He is a very likely hire, as he has a strong relationship with the Nets and Liberty organization. He was named G League coach of the year when he coached the Long Island Nets.
Jama Mahlalela is currently an assistant coach with the Toronto Raptors, and he finally got to meet with Clara Tsai when the Raptors played the Nets on Monday. I don’t know much, but he has experience serving as the head coach of Raptors 905 of the NBA G League and as an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors. From what I’m reading about him, he seems great. He is responsible for saving Scottie Barnes from being a bust. I am not joking when I say this alone sold me lol.
CBA Update and Project B
There are no CBA updates as of now, but the WNBA Draft Lottery is scheduled for November 23rd, right before the extension expires. The Draft Lottery is when the lottery picks, aka the order of the top seven picks in the draft, are selected.
Usual suspects here with the Dallas Wings having the highest chance at the number one pick. The Seattle Storm received the LA Sparks’ 2026 lotto pick last year in the Jewell Loyd trade, so they’re in a good position to find a running mate for Dominique.
The craziest thing here is that the number one team, the Minnesota Lynx, own the Chicago Sky’s lotto pick, making them the second most likely to get the number one pick. Life ain’t fair.
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Recently, there has been of a new league called Project B. Founded by Grady Burnett, a former Facebook and Google executive, and Skype co-founder Geoff Prentice, Project B is touted as an offseason league offering players a rumored $2-5 million to play in Asia, Latin America, and Europe. For now, it is not supposed to be in competition with the WNBA.
However, we can already see its effects on Unrivaled, where top talent with more to be announced, like Alyssa Thomas and Nneka, have already signed up. Unrivaled can’t compete with the type of contracts they are offering. Remember, there are quite a few players who opted not to return to Unrivaled. Have some of those people joined Project B? My prediction is Unrivaled will be for the young girlies, Project B will be for retiring vets who need money, and AU Pro Basketball will be for the ladies trying to get into the league.
The real red flag here is the alleged ties to the Saudi Arabian public investment firm Sela. Project B insists they’re just working with Sela and not taking Saudi government money… but let’s be serious. It doesn’t take a genius to understand why a country running a reputation rehab campaign through sports would funnel government money through a PR and entertainment company.
Now, I do believe there are many ways to look at this situation. Obviously, it’s fuck Saudi, but I do question the same people who openly celebrate the NBA and their various teams (looking at you, Knicks) and don’t hold them to the same standard. Or FIBA? Plus, American money isn’t any cleaner. Its all badbadnotgood
But it’s still so gross riiippppp. Like, Nneka, the WNBPA President, deciding to sign up with this league during CBA negotiations is not a good look, especially given the conflict of interest aspect. To me, this means the CBA negotiations are going horribly. Adam and Cathy have all but refused to budge on adjusting the salary system for players, and it is a non-negotiable for players, as it should be.
The league’s middle class of players should be particularly loud right now, as multiple sources tell The IX Basketball the overall salary cap increase on the table would not keep pace with proposed jumps in rookie and max salaries. That would be the second straight CBA which does s
My main questions:
How sustainable is a patron league, really? Like, a league that only exists because a rich person or a rich country is bankrolling it.
American fans are not tuning in to watch a league based in Asia, Europe, and Latin America. That’s just a fact. So what’s the point? Who is the actual audience here? HOWEVER, let me not downplay the women’s basketball fans in other countries. But I be watching those international games……
Are they only trying to recruit American WNBA players? Their following on Instagram says otherwise
And will players really want to do six months of Project B and then turn around and play three to four months of WNBA? If they’re making $2–5 million overseas, what’s even the incentive to come back?
And honestly… what does this mean for Unrivaled?
Offseason News and Chisme
Check out some of the cool podcasts, videos, reads, and fashion I saw this week.
Unrivaled Schedule Released and Ticket Sales start Monday, November 17th at 4 PM
AUPro Basketball Tickets on Sale
Battle of the Jollof in NYC: WNBA Players Arike, Kiki Iriafen, and Chiney Ogwumike all made an appearance at the Battle of the Jollof in NYC, where Team Nigeria won it all.
Mercedes Russells joins AUPro Basketball, which will be her first time playing in the league since the 2022 inaugural season
2025 WNBA draftee, Serena Sundell, tears her ACL playing in the WNBL
