The talented assistant
Around the league, there are remarkable people in basketball operations who are making their teams stronger, utilizing cutting-edge information and understand the game in ways that are supercharging the growth of the WNBA.
No one may be a better example of this than Clare Duwelius, the current assistant general manager to Cheryl Reeve in Minnesota. Reeve just signed a justly-deserved three-year contract after winning Executive of the Year, and values Duwelius. But the chance to run her own shop in Los Angeles could be tempting.
The same is true for Las Vagas, where Dan Padover has a great deal of say, but ultimately reports to Bill Laimbeer, another strong personality with set ideas about how the league operates. Padover values the perimeter shot more than Laimbeer does, and the Sparks’ roster, particularly if the salary cap goes up in the next CBA, will offer multiple opportunities to build around inside-outside stars like Parker and Ogwumike (Ogwumikes, really, as Chiney is also a proficient outside shooter who can and likely should be deployed more beyond the arc).
And let’s not forget Michael Fischer, who is in-house, worked under Toler, but has his own ideas about how to run the franchise, along with all the institutional knowledge of how it works in L.A.