LAS VEGAS — Significant questions loom over the Sky one day into the All-Star break, and they start and end with the franchise’s decision — or lack thereof — to separate the coach and general manager roles.
Interim coach/GM Emre Vatansever expressed his desire for the role to be separated, as have Sky players and coaches outside of the organization. Sky ownership and executives haven’t said one way or the other what they plan to do.
“Emre will be there through the 2023 season,” operating chairman Nadia Rawlinson told the Sun-Times after James Wade’s resignation. “We’re excited and confident in his ability to lead the team. We feel good about him in this role for now.”
While Sky executives weigh their options on the best step forward, they’re putting the team in a position of playing catch-up.
Kahleah Copper is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year. This is the time for a general manager to be discussing contract extensions. Two weeks ago, reigning MVP A’ja Wilson signed a two-year extension with the Aces through the 2025 season.
Beyond contract extensions is the WNBA’s Aug. 7 trade deadline. They are in need of a true point guard but don’t have many options when it comes to tradable assets. The Sky have also made no indication they are active in the trade market.
Wade’s trade for Marina Mabrey came with a three-year $202,000 contract in the first year and it goes up from there in years two and three. The biggest issue with the acquisition isn’t the draft stock Wade traded away, it’s the unlikeliness that her contract could be moved if necessary.
Historically, the WNBA isn’t a trade-heavy league at midseason other than players who have wanted out. The Sky have experienced that twice, with Sylvia Fowles and Elena Delle Donne requesting trades. Fowles was traded at midseason to the Lynx in a three-team deal that brought Erika De Souza to the Sky. In 2017, Delle Donne was traded to the Mystics for Stefanie Dolson and Copper.
Vatansever has made it clear that his experience in the GM role goes as far as how much Wade chose to include him.
“I’m not into it that much yet,” Vatansever said last week. “I had to cut Kristine Anigwe. Other than that, I haven’t made any major decisions. I observed what James was going. He did an amazing job and has done an amazing job managing everything. But I feel like it’s a big distraction.”
Beyond management’s need to address that elephant in the room, Vatansever has to come up with some kind of response for the Sky’s on-court issues.
When Wade brought Mabrey in, he touted her as a guard who could run the point, which she hasn’t done consistently. That responsibility has been delegated to Courtney Williams, who is doing it well for not having played the point regularly in her pro career.
She recorded her first career triple-double and the Sky’s fifth at the beginning of the month. But that doesn’t negate the fact that the Sky are 10th in the league in points allowed off turnovers and have the franchise’s worst offensive rating (ninth) since 2017.
That’s not a problem for Williams to solve, either. It’s the job of the coach to solve on the court and the general manager to solve off of it. The Sky clearly must believe it’s a good thing they have one person doing both.
