2025 WNBA Off-Season | Page 2 | The Boneyard

2025 WNBA Off-Season

It is a little bit of a head scratcher. I wonder if public perception of Bronadello or some internal conflict swayed the decision makers. There was definitely something off with this season, something larger than injuries.

Or maybe they have another, better candidate in mind? But who?
 
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Basingstoke said:
Has Kurt Miller confirmed that?
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Annie Costable reported it in this article.

"The Chicago Sky and Dallas Wings are two franchises with records that often come with a change. According to multiple sources, neither franchise will pursue coaching staff changes ahead of 2026. '

frontofficesports.com

WNBA Has No Black Woman Head Coaches After Noelle Quinn Fired

Quinn could end up being the only coach fired in this cycle.
frontofficesports.com frontofficesports.com
 
visitingcock said:
I keep looking for a “but” at the end.
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Me, too, and we won't get anything from this article, which has end-of-the-season quotes from players (Steward, Cloud) praising Brondello. Listen, this season was one of those when the sum of all the great parts obviously didn't create a great whole package.
Yes, that's the job of the coach to piece things together as best she/he can, but this had so many starts and stops and maybes that it was very difficult. Still...she won the freaking WNBA championship the year before. Unless we're all blown away by the soon-to-be-named successor, I'll scratch my head. A lot.

www.espn.com

Liberty coach Sandy Brondello out after early playoff exit

The Liberty announced Tuesday that coach Sandy Brondello was out, a few days after the defending champions were eliminated from the WNBA playoffs.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

p.s. And that successor better be named fast because GM Kolb has got to convince a lot of UFA's to come back, most notably Stewie.
I didn't think Stewie would leave NYC because she loves the region for personal reasons, but without Brondello, she might look for the right situation. And I don't blame her.

p.s.s. As for Coach Brondello, I'm sure her agent is reaching out/will hear from other teams with coaching vacancies (and perhaps those who currently don't). She could start from scratch in Portland or Toronto, or take over some very good, promising talent in Seattle and see what free agents to bring back and/or go after to augment that core.
 
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Dillon77 said:
Me, too, and we won't get anything from this article, which has end-of-the-season quotes from players (Steward, Cloud) praising Brondello. Listen, this season was one of those when the sum of all the great parts obviously didn't create a great whole package.
Yes, that's the job of the coach to piece things together as best she/he can, but this had so many starts and stops and maybes that it was very difficult. Still...she won the freaking WNBA championship the year before. Unless we're all blown away by the soon-to-be-named successor, I'll scratch my head. A lot.

www.espn.com

Liberty coach Sandy Brondello out after early playoff exit

The Liberty announced Tuesday that coach Sandy Brondello was out, a few days after the defending champions were eliminated from the WNBA playoffs.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

p.s. And that successor better be named fast because GM Kolb has got to convince a lot of UFA's to come back, most notably Stewie.
I didn't think Stewie would leave NYC because she loves the region for personal reasons, but without Brondello, she might look for the right situation. And I don't blame her.
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And the thread to start the "Stewart to Dallas" campaign will be posted in 5,4,3,2............ 😉
 
TheFarmFan said:
To me, it all depends on who they have in mind to replace her. If they announce the new coach and soon, makes sense. If it's a prolonged search and her replacement is no better, it will feel like a bit of a panic move.

Maybe @azfan can lobby to get his favorite coach back to the desert?
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That would be a dream! Lol. After the loss that eliminated the Liberty both Stewie and Sabrina voiced their support for Brondello.

Pro sports is a win now, what have you done lately industry

So ......... I continue to question the highest salary in WNBA history.

That said I'm delighted to hear the name Kristi Tolliver in speculation about open coaching jobs. Glad the real coach of the Mercury is receiving some consideration.
 
Dillon77 said:
p.s. And that successor better be named fast because GM Kolb has got to convince a lot of UFA's to come back, most notably Stewie.
I didn't think Stewie would leave NYC because she loves the region for personal reasons, but without Brondello, she might look for the right situation. And I don't blame her.
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Are any free agents going to sign before the collective bargaining agreement is signed? I agree that the Liberty have to start looking soon and narrow it to a few candidates, but I'd be shocked if the CBA is executed in 2025. If it's signed by New Year's, that gives the teams four months to get their( (stuff) together before the draft so I don't think either side is in any rush.
 
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bballnut90 said:
To be fair, aside from those 2 they don’t have anyone else worth building around or keeping on the roster aside from Ariel Atkins.
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Fair point but you need additional players, and they have some players that could help. Hailey Van Lith & Maddy got potential. Rebecca is a solid player. Kia Nurse, if she stays, is another solid player to help build a team. Rachel Banham might not be an elite guard, but she is a decent option off the bench and could help out as a starter. Throw in Michaela Onyenwere, the Sky got some players to help Angel and Kamilla.
 
JellyBean said:
I am curious to see how this whole Angel Reese and Chicago Sky situation plays out over the off season. I will be honest, I don't see how she comes back to the team unless the front office just blows up the roster and builds around Angel and Kamilla. This off season is going to be pretty intense with the players CBA and roster moves.
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As a Sky fan, after two seasons, I just don’t see it happening between Angel & Kamilla together. They're too limited offensively and neither of them being able to stretch the floor does us no good. It’s hard to build an offense around two players who are paint dominant, at least one should be comfortable on the outside (which is why not drafting Rickea still doesn’t make sense to me).

I think it’s time for Chicago to move on from one of them (preferably whoever gets us more in return).
 
darrell said:
As a Sky fan, after two seasons, I just don’t see it happening between Angel & Kamilla together. They're too limited offensively and neither of them being able to stretch the floor does us no good. It’s hard to build an offense around two players who are paint dominant, at least one should be comfortable on the outside (which is why not drafting Rickea still doesn’t make sense to me).

I think it’s time for Chicago to move on from one of them (preferably whoever gets us more in return).
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@GamecockFam and myself are pretty much in the same lane as you....
 
JellyBean said:
Fair point but you need additional players, and they have some players that could help. Hailey Van Lith & Maddy got potential. Rebecca is a solid player. Kia Nurse, if she stays, is another solid player to help build a team. Rachel Banham might not be an elite guard, but she is a decent option off the bench and could help out as a starter. Throw in Michaela Onyenwere, the Sky got some players to help Angel and Kamilla.
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Did you watch the sky this year? If they have players, they why were they so horrible? There no way they keep most of these players unless they want another losing season
 
darrell said:
As a Sky fan, after two seasons, I just don’t see it happening between Angel & Kamilla together. They're too limited offensively and neither of them being able to stretch the floor does us no good. It’s hard to build an offense around two players who are paint dominant, at least one should be comfortable on the outside (which is why not drafting Rickea still doesn’t make sense to me).

I think it’s time for Chicago to move on from one of them (preferably whoever gets us more in return).
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Free Kamilla!
 
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Vowelguy said:
I’m not a silver lining person but teams pulling the trigger (too?) fast on coaches is a sign of a league where the owners care and the stakes are higher.
This is ultimately a good thing I’d say .
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That's a valid point. I just think firing Sandy after 1 underwhelming season is jumping the gun after winning a title and being runner ups the previous year. Especially if players seem to like her? If your big 3 of Stewart, Ionescu and Jones all like her, that's a championship core you can build around for 2026 and beyond, but now that might all be up in the air depending on who they hire.

Sure, Sandy's never been viewed as a top tier coach and has stretches of underachieving but I'm not sure who NY can grab that'll be better.
 
Geew1992 said:
Did you watch the sky this year? If they have players, they why were they so horrible? There no way they keep most of these players unless they want another losing season
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Did you watch the Sky this season? Did you read the preseason report on the team going into the season? Hindsight is always 20/20 but going into the season there was a lot of build up for players that many of us fans were kind of like "I don't know how this is going to pan out."
 
darrell said:
As a Sky fan, after two seasons, I just don’t see it happening between Angel & Kamilla together. They're too limited offensively and neither of them being able to stretch the floor does us no good. It’s hard to build an offense around two players who are paint dominant, at least one should be comfortable on the outside (which is why not drafting Rickea still doesn’t make sense to me).

I think it’s time for Chicago to move on from one of them (preferably whoever gets us more in return).
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I could see it working with Angel and Kamilla. One high and one low. There were stretches this season where Angel was in the pinch post and things were clicking between her and Kamilla/Elizabeth or whoever was in the paint. It is a timing thing and something that has to be worked on during practice and off-season. Sadly, Chicago may move on from Angel because I do not see how she stays with the Sky after comments about the team and front office. So, we will see what develops.

As far as them drafting Rickea. Would that have worked out for them in Chicago, if she would have been available? Who knows. There is so much to unpack with that because then you are looking at overall team structure of who stays or goes in that 2024-25 season into this season, as well as what other teams were thinking about which players to take, other than Indiana and Caitlin Clark. The rest of the draft was "would it be Cameron or Kamilla as the second pick?"
 
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bballnut90 said:
Sure, Sandy's never been viewed as a top tier coach and has stretches of underachieving but I'm not sure who NY can grab that'll be better.
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?

Sandy Brondello ranks sixth on the WNBA's all-time wins list for coaches.

She has accumulated 271 regular season wins and 40 playoff wins, which ranks her second in career playoff wins.

One of 7 coaches to win 2 or more championships.

One of 2 coaches to win championships with multiple franchises.

She has a career regular season record of 271-181 over 12 seasons, and a 40-32 playoff record, according to The Seattle Times. She led the Phoenix Mercury to a WNBA championship in 2014 and the New York Liberty to their first championship in 2024. Brondello was named WNBA Coach of the Year in 2014.

During her tenure with the Liberty, she went 107-53 and led the team to its first WNBA Championship in 2024.

Can't help but wonder what it takes to be considered a top coach.

If her current and former players were polled I suspect they'd fall agree she's a top coach. Oh, right that's what Stewie and Sabrina said.

Wonder how long it takes this not so top coach to be offered another position.

Oy
 
azfan said:
?

Sandy Brondello ranks sixth on the WNBA's all-time wins list for coaches.

She has accumulated 271 regular season wins and 40 playoff wins, which ranks her second in career playoff wins.

One of 7 coaches to win 2 or more championships.

One of 2 coaches to win championships with multiple franchises.

She has a career regular season record of 271-181 over 12 seasons, and a 40-32 playoff record, according to The Seattle Times. She led the Phoenix Mercury to a WNBA championship in 2014 and the New York Liberty to their first championship in 2024. Brondello was named WNBA Coach of the Year in 2014.

During her tenure with the Liberty, she went 107-53 and led the team to its first WNBA Championship in 2024.

Can't help but wonder what it takes to be considered a top coach.

If her current and former players were polled I suspect they'd fall agree she's a top coach. Oh, right that's what Stewie and Sabrina said.

Wonder how long it takes this not so top coach to be offered another position.

Oy
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I don’t think she should’ve been fired and she certainly has her place in WNBA history but when has she ever widely been considered as being among the best coaches in the league aside from 2014?
 
bballnut90 said:
I don’t think she should’ve been fired and she certainly has her place in WNBA history but when has she ever widely been considered as being among the best coaches in the league aside from 2014?
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Odd?

Do the widely considered have some insight a la the magical realists such as Gabriel García Márquez. Perhaps an alternative to reality?

Assuming there have been 135 head coaches in WNBA history:

2nd in playoff victories
6th total victories
2 Championships

One might easily assert that of the 135 coaches in the NBA history she would be in the top 10%? Top 6%?

Perhaps the widely considered have read 100 Years of Solitude too many times.
 
I think two things can be true at once: Sandy is one of the most accomplished coaches in the W AND she may not have been the right fit to guide the Liberty in their next phase. Somehow I'm not sold she's not one of the league's best coaches but I also was fairly underwhelmed by the Liberty all season, and her excuses about injuries and "failing to gel" didn't make sense when teams like the Valkyries regularly had 3 of their 5 starters out with injuries, lost 1/3 of the team to Eurobasket, and ended with 6 players who either missed training camp entirely or joined midway through the season on a series of 7 day contracts. Nat never made excuses, the players never made excuses, and the product on the Court actually got better even as the injuries and the rotating cast piled up. Much of the same was true for Phoenix, and they too weathered that storm without any excuses.
 
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