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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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LAS VEGAS, NV – JULY 09: Allison Galer who is an agent specializing in women athletes talks about entrepreneurship during the Legends National Basketball Retired Players Association Conference at Caesars Palace on July 9, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV – JULY 09: Allison Galer who is an agent specializing in women athletes talks about entrepreneurship during the Legends National Basketball Retired Players Association Conference at Caesars Palace on July 9, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images) /

The Lakers playbook

From super-agent to general manager. Doesn’t sound so crazy, does it?

We’re seeing it all over sports right now. Rob Pelinka did it with the Lakers, and now LeBron James and Anthony Davis call Los Angeles home.

Could Allison Galer do the same thing? No one dismissed it out of hand when I raised it. Her agency, Disrupt The Game, certainly has, and Galer reps Liz Cambage, Chiney Ogwumike and Chelsea Gray, among others. The latter two, of course, are already on the Sparks. Cambage, famously, wanted to come to L.A. as well, the easier flight home to Australia vital to her.

But beyond the overlap and connections (none of which should preclude such a move — after all, the Mets hired Brodie Van Wagenen, who represented numerous players on the team already, including Jacob deGrom) — there’s the reality of how Galer knows the league and is the personification of a real, growing trend in front office hires. Would she do it, as Disrupt The Game is finding another level? The Sparks should at least make the call.

And let’s be clear: if they want to pursue such a path, talking to Erin Kane, Lindsay Kagawa Colas and Ticha Penicheiro would be basic due diligence as well. No one will understand the new CBA better than these four. They run the league in some fundamental ways. Having one of them run a team makes a great deal of sense.

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