Missing the WNBA playoffs for a sixth-consecutive year means the offseason has begun for the Los Angeles Sparks.
They’ve wasted no time getting to work.
The day after their season ended, they parted ways with head coach Lynne Roberts
. And on Tuesday morning, they held an introductory press conference for their new general manager Ariana Andonian, who was officially hired on Sept. 4.She didn’t waste any time and immediately laid out her vision for the organization, announcing:
I think the real goal
here is we want sustained success, right?
We want to be a championship-level organization; we want to be able to sustain it over time. That doesn’t happen overnight. A lot of that is making a lot of long-term decisions, taking time to assess and making sure we have super high standards across all departments, and doing our best to bring in the absolute best people here.
Sustained success is ideal, but to achieve it, they need to find the right people to be Sparks—from top to bottom. The first step on that path is to hire a head coach. While that is a priority, the organization’s timeline for getting that done is not firm.
I don’t want to put a timeline on it.
I wouldn’t expect this is something that we’re hiring here in the next few days. We’re going to take our time making sure we know all the greatest coaches that are out there and that we’re making sure to find the best ones and the best fit for our team as well.
Understandably, any deadline is currently unrealistic, but even a window for when they’d like a coach in place would’ve been helpful.
Who do you want to see on the LA sideline?
Currently, the Sparks are the only WNBA team with a head coaching vacancy. Who do you think should be the top candidate for the job, as well as any others that open up? Another college head coach? A former player? What about an international coach? Head to The Feed to make your nominations.
Women’s college basketball is right around the corner. Will LA attempt to poach a coach from those ranks before play begins? Do the Sparks think they can do that at any time and are unconcerned about that starting up? Will they be focused more on professional coaches? Are they more likely to interview people with WNBA, NBA, or international experience?
And do they want whoever is in charge hired before the WNBA Draft Lottery, the draft itself or is a head coach not urgent until the beginning of free agency?
Right now, there are a ton of questions and no answers.
The Sparks are not ready to embark on another rebuild—yet
This could be LA’s third rebuild in six years. However, Andonian isn’t ready to label the Sparks’ situation, explaining:
We’re still kind of re-evaluating and looking at where we are as an organization and what the best path forward could be.
Whether that’s free agency, draft—we have two lottery picks this year—which we’re really excited about. As I mentioned across the goals of making sure we have the best groups, that talent identification is a part of that, and making sure we nail those picks as well. I think that putting any title or plan on exactly what we’re going to do going forward is probably a bit unfair for where we are right now.
Again, Andonian didn’t offer much concrete clarity. In her defense, the Sparks do have to go through an offseason before they can be sure what kind of team they’ll be next year.
And in the WNBA, luck can change in a flash.
The Golden State Valkyries went from not existing to an expansion team in the playoffs to the second-best team in the whole league. If the Sparks keep the best parts of their roster, attract some elite players in free agency and get some lottery luck, their fortune can turn around.
And even during a relatively vanilla presser, Andonian made it clear this upcoming draft could be franchise-changing, especially if the 2027 WNBA Draft Lottery goes LA’s way:
Everyone wants to move up, of course, and if we were able to move up that would be the opportunity of a lifetime to be able to jump in the draft, whether that’s to one or two.
But, we can’t control that. We can only control what we can control, and right now that means making sure we have the best talent identification group that we can. And whether it’s six or seven, or one and two, we’re going to do our best to make sure it’s a phenomenal player who’s excited to be an LA Spark and who LA is proud of as well.
Sparks fans might be dreaming about JuJu Watkins in a Sparks uniform, but, at least for now, that is a fantasy that is a ways away from becoming a reality.
For now, Andonian has laid out the ultimate goal and updates for upcoming objectives that need to be accomplished. After this offseason, hopefully, the Sparks are in a better place than they’ve been in quite some time.
