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Report: Brian Agler named new head coach of the Dallas Wings

By Howard Megdal

SEATTLE - SEPTEMBER 2: Head coach of the Seattle Storm Brian Agler poses with the 2010 WNBA Coach of the Year award before the game against the Phoenix Mercury in Game One of the 2010 Western Conference Finals during the 2010 WNBA Playoffs on September 2, 2010 at Key Arena in Seattle, Washington. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2010 NBAE (Photo by Terrence Vaccaro/NBAE via Getty Images)
SEATTLE - SEPTEMBER 2: Head coach of the Seattle Storm Brian Agler poses with the 2010 WNBA Coach of the Year award before the game against the Phoenix Mercury in Game One of the 2010 Western Conference Finals during the 2010 WNBA Playoffs on September 2, 2010 at Key Arena in Seattle, Washington. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2010 NBAE (Photo by Terrence Vaccaro/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The former coach of the Storm and Sparks is now in charge of the Wings.

Well, that didn’t last long.

Brian Agler, just weeks after leaving his post with the Los Angeles Sparks, has been named head coach of the Dallas Wings, according to a report by Doug Feinberg of the Associated Press.

The Wings have scheduled a Tuesday press conference for the official announcement.

Agler, 60, will face a very different roster to mold in Dallas than the one he left in Los Angeles. Instead of established stars signed to long-term deals like Candace Parker and Nneka Ogwumike, the Wings face questions about both their franchise center, Liz Cambage, and guard Skylar Diggins-Smith.

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Cambage said at the end of the season that she planned to take some time to figure out whether or not her first season in Dallas would be her last. Her dominance was unquestioned, and a great deal hangs on what she decides to do.

As for Diggins-Smith, she announced the happy news that she is expecting a child, a blessing for her personally, but one that leaves the Wings with some obvious roster questions, given her foundational import to what Greg Bibb has built in Dallas.

The Wings also need to make decisions about free agents Karima Christmas-Kelly and Glory Johnson.

But if it is defense a team needs—and goodness knows Dallas does, after another season near the bottom of the league in defensive efficiency—bringing in Agler, who just guided the Sparks to the second-best rating in the league last year, is a logical way to address it.

Dallas has long held championship ambitions, and Agler brings that to the table as well, having won titles in Los Angeles, Seattle, and with Columbus of the ABL.

The opening in Dallas dates back to mid-season, when Bibb and then-coach Fred Williams had an altercation following a Wings game against the Washington Mystics. Williams left the job soon after.

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