High Post Hoops
Fansided

Four paths for the Los Angeles Sparks general manager opening

By Howard Megdal

LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 15: A general view of the Los Angeles Sparks logo before a game against the San Antonio Stars on June 15, 2017 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. 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 2017 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 15: A general view of the Los Angeles Sparks logo before a game against the San Antonio Stars on June 15, 2017 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. 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 2017 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – MAY 12: Candace Parker #3 of the Los Angeles Sparks poses for a portrait during the Los Angeles Sparks media day on May 12, 2016 at St. Mary’s High School in Inglewood, California. 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 2016 NBAE (Photo by Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – MAY 12: Candace Parker #3 of the Los Angeles Sparks poses for a portrait during the Los Angeles Sparks media day on May 12, 2016 at St. Mary’s High School in Inglewood, California. 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 2016 NBAE (Photo by Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images) /

The precocious player

Thanks to her broadcasting work, the larger basketball world has gotten to learn what everyone covering the league has known for a long time: Candace Parker knows basketball like few in the game.

Parker has acknowledged that she has many more days behind her as a player than she does ahead of her. Accordingly, what better way forward for the Sparks to both honor her time with the team and let her chart the course for a post-Parker world than by making her something like a GM-in-training, say with Fischer overseeing while she played out her contract (Parker is signed through 2020) followed by an elevation to GM. And is anything more Hollywood than a player getting benched in a playoff game, then becoming that coach’s boss?

The course would be different but the idea largely similar if the Sparks hired Lisa Leslie, who came up in conversations with several league sources. In Leslie, the Sparks would have a remarkable basketball mind whose game largely predicted the subsequent direction of the league’s play as well.

And let’s not lose sight of Alana Beard, who has said she doesn’t wish to coach, but is one of the sharpest minds the league has ever seen, but might be ready to move on from a distinguished playing career herself.

Then again, the Sparks and Lakers share a ton of common DNA, so maybe the best direction is…

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