NEW YORK (AP) — New York general manager Jonathan Kolb decided to make a coaching change so the Liberty could evolve for the future and not live in the past.
“Very serious thought and consideration was made to retaining Sandy (Brondello), but ultimately we determined that evolution and innovation is what is needed at this time," Kolb said Thursday morning to a group of reporters.
The franchise announced Tuesday that Brondello's contract wouldn't be renewed for next season after the team exited in the first
round of the playoffs. That came a year she led the team to the WNBA championship in 2024.
“I think it’s really important, that I emphasize that this decision was in no way punitive, nor was it reactive, but it’s instead rooted in being proactive,” Kolb said. “Nor was this decision based solely on the results of this past season. I actually think Sandy did a good job, navigating this group through uncharted waters, through injuries and a lack of availability.”
After a 9-0 start, the team struggled with injuries to star players Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones and Sabrina Ionescu this year. New York earned the No. 5 seed in the playoffs before losing to Phoenix in a decisive Game 3.
The players outwardly support Brondello.
“To anybody that kind of questions Sandy being here, this is a resilient group,” Stewart said after the Game 3 loss to Phoenix last week. “And she has our back and we have hers. The way that she continued to kind of deal with the cards she was dealt was incredible. It wasn’t easy for anybody but she came in every day with a positive attitude and a mindset to put us in our best positions possible and best foot forward.”
Kolb said he did talk to the players about the move, but didn't want to share the conversations he had. Kolb did site the team's offensive numbers in many categories were similar to last season, but their league rankings dropped.
“I think our organization has always taken pride in being innovative and looking forward and being future oriented and process based,” Kolb said. “For us, we not only evaluate throughout the season our own team, but we also evaluate the league and with where this league is going. We felt very confident that we need to move forward.”
For now the next step is to find a new coach. Kolb didn’t have a timetable for when he would hired a replacement. The league is potentially going into an offseason of instability with the current collective bargaining agreement running out at the end of next month.
“We want to take as long as it takes to find the right person,” he said. “Obviously we’d love for that to be on the sooner end of things, but we’re not going to rush anything. We need to nail this. Our players, if we’re going to make a bold decision like this, our players deserve to get the best and so we’ll take the time necessary.”
Kolb said he spoke with the Liberty's “Big Three” of Stewart, Jones and Ionescu and they all want to return next season.
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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
