SA Stars moving

[Dillon77]

I posted an article above

Sorry, I missed that article...thx for posting.
That's an interesting development if "Trader Bill" heads out west and Katie Smith takes over. Laimbeer and the Liberty ran into the wild card game two years running and am wondering if a slightly different approach could be useful. Most notably, this team has a over abundance of wings and guards and perhaps there could be addition by subtraction.

As we know, Bill likes to pound it down low, so I wonder how SA's guards are going to adjust.

Lastly, from a school standpoint, this is one ND Center, Laimbeer, replacing another, Riley, who is one and done.

 

[Bliss]

Source: Laimbeer to be Stars' coach, GM

And Katie will be the new Liberty coach according to the article. Good for her. I'm still a fan.

 

[Carnac]

Source: Laimbeer to be Stars' coach, GM

This is the best news I've heard all week. This is certainly a step in the right direction. The current GM/coach did absolutely nothing. A 1 game W/L improvement over the year before. Still the worst in the league for the 2nd year in a row. Time to clean house, time for a change.

I hate to see him leave the NY Liberty, but trader Bill knows his way around the W, and will put this franchise on the right track in short order. It may take a couple of years, but he WILL improve their state. It will be interesting to see how much fan support they get in sin city.

Their community relations staff had better hit the ground running once they setup their offices. They'll have one chance to make a first impression. There are lots of "potential" new WNBA and LV franchise fans in the Las Vegas metropolitan area for the taking.

Las Vegas has hosted the world's biggest boxing and mixed martial arts events for several decades, but the growing desert gambling mecca has become a coveted target for professional team sports over the past few years.

The expansion Las Vegas Golden Knights began their first NHL season in October as the city's first franchise in a North American pro sport. In March, the NFL formally approved the Oakland Raiders' relocation to Las Vegas for the 2020 season to occupy a proposed new stadium on the Las Vegas Strip.

 

[easttexastrash]

If they're only in SF for 4 months and make 45k in that timeframe, they can afford to live there for that summer. Or if they can't, then they may need a lesson in basic money management.

But could be they afford to live there year-round? Wouldn’t it be nice for them if the team were in a city that they could afford to make a permanent residence?

 

[JoePgh]

I wonder if Tina will be happy in NYC with Katie Smith as her coach. It has always appeared to me that she distinctly preferred to play for a male coach.

 

[Dillon77]

I wonder if Tina will be happy in NYC with Katie Smith as her coach. It has always appeared to me that she distinctly preferred to play for a male coach.

I distinct remember reading a few stories that Tina wanted a "change of scenery" from Connecticut and coming back to her hometown of NYC certainly didn't hurt.
Sun deal 2012 WNBA MVP Charles to Liberty


As per whether she'd want to play for a Laimbeer vs. Katie Smith, I found this article previewing the current season in which she was asked about using the triangle offense and mentioned all of the Liberty coaching staff:

"When asked about the triangle, Charles, arguably the WNBA’s best player, said, “I think whatever Bill or [assistants] Herb Williams, Katie Smith want us to do, I’m all for it. They’ve been at that championship level. They know what it takes to win. I trust what they want to do. I will lead the way and everyone else will follow.

"When a couple of writers smirked at her response, Charles demanded to know what was funny. Told that some Knicks players rebelled, Charles said, “We don’t do that over here. We’re family, dude.’’

Katie Smith has some pretty serious pedigree which Tina is aware of. I doubt the Liberty would've promoted her if their star player had serious reservations...and she's not a shrinking violet.

To your point, it would be interesting to see if Williams follows Laimbeer to Las Vegas, chooses to stay in NYC to work with the posts and/or a different person is brought in altogether.

 

[Vowelguy]

But could be they afford to live there year-round? Wouldn’t it be nice for them if the team were in a city that they could afford to make a permanent residence?

Yeah a nice cheap city like New York.

For the life of me I can't figure out how this non-issue about Bay area costs got started. Yes, the Bay is expensive place to live. So is NYC. And yet WNBA players manage.

 

[triaddukefan]

But could be they afford to live there year-round? Wouldn’t it be nice for them if the team were in a city that they could afford to make a permanent residence?

Like Waco

 

[Vowelguy]

Like Waco

Yeah 10 years rent costs just $1000 in Baylor.


Correction.
That's rent for 1 month. It only feels like 10 years.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Yeah a nice cheap city like New York.

For the life of me I can't figure out how this non-issue about Bay area costs got started. Yes, the Bay is expensive place to live. So is NYC. And yet WNBA players manage.

I agree it is a non-issue.

That said, Las Vegas is probably affordable. The real estate market there has recently started to take off, but it probably lags a lot of other cities.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

I don't know that Vegas is a good fit for the WNBA; there are so many distractions there.

 

[rt bb fan]

Source: Laimbeer to be Stars' coach, GM

Did Laimbeer resign or get fired. Nothing in the press except Katie Smith is the new coach of the liberty.

 

[Dillon77]

Did Laimbeer resign or get fired. Nothing in the press except Katie Smith is the new coach of the liberty.

Since the move to Las Vegas (and/or the new owners) has not been officially announced, it's kind of hard to tell the pecking order of events at this point, isn't it? I've read some articles that infer Laimbeer had the Coach/GM titles for Las Vegas dangled in front of him, but have not read anything definitive.

This NY Times article doesn't give any further insight into the Laimbeer/Smith timing per se, but does chart the not-quite smooth relationship Trader Bill has had with the franchise and his boss, former Detroit bad-boy teammate, Isiah Thomas. I'd forgotten his option was not picked up a few years back, then they called him after three months and said, "come on back..."

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/16/...a-liberty-katie-smith-bill-laimbeer.html?_r=0

 

[Plebe]

 

[Dillon77]

In a similar vein, a note to San Antonio from guard Kayla McBride (written from Turkey, where she's preparing for her winter-league team).

 

[easttexastrash]

Like Waco

I only wish that on highly rated college players.

 

[easttexastrash]

Yeah 10 years rent costs just $1000 in Baylor.


Correction.
That's rent for 1 month. It only feels like 10 years.

Average rent for a 1 bedroom apartment in NYC: $2700/mo
Average rent for a 1 bedroom apartment in San Francisco: $3500/mo

 

[MilfordHusky]

Average rent for a 1 bedroom apartment in NYC: $2700/mo
Average rent for a 1 bedroom apartment in San Francisco: $3500/mo

That NYC figure sounds low, but it may include some outlying neighborhoods.

 

[CocoHusky]

In a similar vein, a note to San Antonio from guard Kayla McBride (written from Turkey, where she's preparing for her winter-league team).

KMAC is trying to age me prematurely. She has spent 4 seasons in SA not 4 years. She arrived there in Spring/ Summer of 2014.

 

[EricLA]

I was reading that the W is excited about the move. Apparently they will be playing at the Mandalay Bay Center, and that MGM really wanted to buy them. Hopefully the team will get some good attendance, but Las Vegas is a much smaller city than San Antonio (permanent residents). Not sure how many gamblers will be interested in going to WNBA games. I was just there and getting in and out of the downtown strip area is no picnic - it's a madhouse.

From the article: "Will there be an immediate fan base? How much and how quickly the WNBA will be embraced by locals and visitors remains to be seen. From strictly a population standpoint, San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States with over 1.4 million residents. Las Vegas comes in at No. 28 with just over 630,000."

Stars relocation to Vegas

 

[Shades]

Average rent for a 1 bedroom apartment in NYC: $2700/mo
Average rent for a 1 bedroom apartment in San Francisco: $3500/mo

WNBA players get free living expenses during the preseason/season/postseason.
They're not obligated to stay in the city year round. If they love it enough that it's worth the expense, then they'll stay, just like anybody else. Aren't salaries usually commensurate to the living area?

 

[easttexastrash]

WNBA players get free living expenses during the preseason/season/postseason.
They're not obligated to stay in the city year round. If they love it enough that it's worth the expense, then they'll stay, just like anybody else. Aren't salaries usually commensurate to the living area?

Maybe in the private sector, but I don't think WNBA salaries are adjusted due to the city that the team is in. But, if they are given free housing then it is a non-issue.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

I was reading that the W is excited about the move. Apparently they will be playing at the Mandalay Bay Center, and that MGM really wanted to buy them. Hopefully the team will get some good attendance, but Las Vegas is a much smaller city than San Antonio (permanent residents). Not sure how many gamblers will be interested in going to WNBA games. I was just there and getting in and out of the downtown strip area is no picnic - it's a madhouse.

From the article: "Will there be an immediate fan base? How much and how quickly the WNBA will be embraced by locals and visitors remains to be seen. From strictly a population standpoint, San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States with over 1.4 million residents. Las Vegas comes in at No. 28 with just over 630,000."

Stars relocation to Vegas

The metro populations are similar, but Las Vegas is so transient I don't think they will build a following.

 

[triaddukefan]

WNBA players get free living expenses during the preseason/season/postseason.
They're not obligated to stay in the city year round. If they love it enough that it's worth the expense, then they'll stay, just like anybody else. Aren't salaries usually commensurate to the living area?

Ive wondered about this..... but didnt know any WNBA players that I could ask

 

[Shades]

Maybe in the private sector, but I don't think WNBA salaries are adjusted due to the city that the team is in. But, if they are given free housing then it is a non-issue.

WNBA salaries are fixed no matter what team they're on. I was thinking more along the lines of their second job when they're not playing in the WNBA. But most of them play overseas, so it makes the most sense to stay wherever they consider their home base, most likely a place cheaper to live than NYC or SF.