After nearly three months filling in as the Sky’s coach/general manager following James Wade’s resignation on July 1, the franchise announced Wednesday Emre Vatansever would not be retained for either position.
The move makes official what Sky ownership has neglected to acknowledge since Wade’s departure: a search for a new coach and general manager in separate positions has begun.
“I want to thank the Chicago Sky for six incredible years here at this organization,” Vatansever said in a statement. “I learned so much from our coaches, players, staff who have supported me throughout my time in Chicago and in my career.”
Before joining Amber Stock’s Sky staff in 2018 as a player development coach, Vatansever was a coaching intern on Jenny Bouck’s Storm staff. When Wade was hired following the 2018 WNBA season to replace Stock, who was fired after leading Sky to a 25-43 record in two seasons, Vatansever was promoted to an assistant role.
After Wade resigned in July, he told the Sun-Times he had confidence that Vatansever would successfully lead the team through this transition. His greatest success was coaching the Sky to their fifth straight postseason appearance despite going 11-13 to end the regular season.
His lone move as general manager was releasing Kristine Anigwe from her hardship contract when Ruthy Hebard returned from maternity leave. In his first week on the job he made his thoughts clear that he felt the coach and general manager roles needed to be separated moving forward.
The Sky, who were the last remaining WNBA or NBA team operating with the dual role, are officially separating the positions ahead of the 2024 season. Sky CEO Adam Fox told the Sun-Times the team does not have a timeline for when they expect to hire the franchise’s first individual coach and general manager.
“We are looking at separating the jobs,” Fox said. “We aren’t holding ourselves to any specific timeline. We’re looking to make the most informed and best decisions possible to make sure we have the right people.”
The Sky were swept by the Aces, 0-2, in the first round of the playoffs. On Monday and Tuesday, Vatansever went through exit interviews with players before he met with Sky principal owner Michael Alter.
Multiple sources have told the Sun-Times the Sky have had conversations with potential coaching candidates, including Hall of Fame player Teresa Weatherspoon and Grizzlies assistant Sonia Raman.
Three-time All-Star and 2021 WNBA Finals MVP Kahleah Copper signed a supermax extension on Sept. 10 that keeps her with the Sky through the 2025 season. Fox, Alter and Sky operating chairman Nadia Rawlinson were responsible for securing Copper’s extension with her agent, Zack Miller of WME. Copper told the Sun-Times that her interest in signing an extension changed after she was assured about the direction the franchise was headed.
“It made sense,” Copper told the Sun-Times ahead of the Sky’s Game 1 loss to the Aces. “I understand that we need to get through the season, but I needed to know what we were doing.”
Vatansever said Monday if the Sky opted not to retain him as head coach, he would be open to returning to his position as an assistant. That decision would ultimately be up to the person hired, whether it be Weatherspoon or another candidate.
The Sky and the Mercury are the only two WNBA franchises with coaching vacancies to fill. Weatherspoon was a finalist for the Mercury’s head coaching vacancy in 2022 before she withdrew her name from consideration to remain with the Pelicans as an assistant.
Weatherspoon was part of the Pelicans staff from 2019-2023. Originally hired as a two-way player development coach, Weatherspoon was an assistant coach in 2020 and parted ways with the organization in June.
