The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Dream’s new president, COO to continue rebuilding project
By Wednesday night’s final buzzer, the Dream wrote the same on-court tale. They walked off the home floor with a narrow defeat in a game that they previously had control of, before roster attrition took over and added another loss to the team’s record as the season draws to a close.
Each of the Dreamplayers and staff members walked through the tunnels with heads held high, however. The result stung, but it also didn’t hold much significance for a team that has shown obvious development.
“I want to shout out our coaches, staff and players who have withstood a lot of change,” said Larry Gottesdi e n e r, the Dream’s majority owner. “The winds of change have blown, and they’ve built windmills. Despite the recent win-loss record, we have competed really hard. I’m proud of our organization despite a challenging year.”
A big piece of the Dream’s rebuild came a few hours earlier, and that became the organization’s biggest win of the season. The team, albeit still without a general manager, began to lay out its vision for a rebuild with a major front-office hire. On Wednesday, the team added Morgan Shaw Parker as team president and chief operating officer.
She came to the organization after many years as the vice president and chief marketing officer for the Falcons and AMBSE group under Arthur Blank.
The Dream (7-21), who have lost 19 of their past 22 games, have spun through a revolving door of
transition over recent months that includes two coaching changes, from Nicki Collen leaving for Baylor and two interim coaches — Mike Petersen and Darius Taylor — filling a void in a matter of months. The Dream faced a heap of injuries and a suspension of young star guard Chennedy Carter. More change is coming with plenty of unrestricted free agents on the active roster.
The addition of Shaw Parker is the first major hire under the ownership group of Gottesdiener, Renee Montgomery and Suzanne Abair. Montgomery took pride in the addition of a known executive, because she said it made the WNBA a destination spot rather than a stepping stone for those climbing their waythrough professional sports.
“We’re building it the right way,” Montgomery said. “It might not be at anyone’s pace, and it might not be what everyone wants us to do at whatever time we want to do it, but we’re putting quality pieces in place to build a franchise.”
Shaw Parker will serve the Dream in anumber of areas, but her role will be focused on marketing the organization, building interest within the fan base and having a goal of making the Dream a premier sports destination in Atlanta. She also voiced her interest in maintaining the
Dream’s work toward social-justice initiatives, which surged in 2020 and earned Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year honors.
“Bring on the underdogs. The opportunity is huge in terms of what this market will bear,” Shaw Parker said. “It takes time, and you have to build trust within the Atlanta market. We have to take time to see how we can serve our fans to where they can be reflected.”
A general manager or a decision-maker with a similar title has been missing since the April firing of Chris Sienko, who held the position since 2017. His dismissal was one of the ownership group’s first moves.
“We will wait until we find the right hire in the GM search,” Gottesdiener said. “We’re going to look for someone of (Shaw Parker’s) caliber to join the team. I’m sure we will, actually. We have a lot of decisions to make in the offseason. Sooner would be better, but we’re not going to rush it.”
A number of questions loom in the coming offseason. Eight players are free agents, five of them unrestricted. That includes longtime Dream fixtures Elizabeth Williams and Tiffany Hayes, along with All-star guard Courtney Williams. The status of second-year guardcarter also remains in question after a suspension July 4 that has yet to reach a resolution.