Engelbert has big picture in mind
At WNBA All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas, commissioner Cathy Engelbert offered updates on the state of the league.
The league lost a quality coach in Chicago’s James Wade, who left the club midseason to become an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors. Wade’s departure leaves the league with three Black coaches — out of 12 teams — in a league with a majority of Black players.
“When I came into the league . . . we put in some incentives to bring in former WNBA players as coaches,” Engelbert said. “That has yielded great results in the diversity of our coaching base. I think 70 percent of our assistant coaches are people of color. Our head coaches, I think when I came in we had three women. Now nine of 12 are women. And so really proud of the diversity that our owners have placed in these coaching positions and the incentives we put in place. It’s really paying off.
“I thought it would take much longer to get those results, but when you look down at the assistant coach and head coach level, we’re making progress. But it is important. It’s also important for us to support minority-owned and Black-owned brands. That’s why I think it’s great some of the things we’re doing in our markets. I know our Chicago Sky, our New York Liberty, and some of other teams are really supporting local businesses, diverse local businesses, to make sure that we’re supporting them. We do that at the merchandise level as well.”
While Engelbert lauded the number of assistant coaches of color, the fact was that of the five openings this offseason, none were filled by Black coaches. Wade, who led the Sky to the 2021 WNBA title, was regarded as one of the league’s top coaches.
“I think having former WNBA players coaching and in the front office as GMs, as team presidents, is certainly a goal of mine, as are players who when they graduate from playing on the court,” Engelbert said. “I know some of them want to be involved, whether it’s at the league or team level, and want to sit kind of at that intersection of business and basketball. No better place to do that than the WNBA.”
Meanwhile, it has become increasingly more difficult for talented players to make WNBA rosters because of the lack of interest by teams to keep 12 players on their rosters, resulting in a clamoring for expansion. But WNBA union member Kelsey Plum said expansion should not be a priority until current players receive improved traveling conditions.
Oakland and Toronto are the leading candidates for expansion, but the league does not appear to be in a hurry.
“We obviously have a strategy at the league that is very player-first, focus on stakeholder success and fan engagement, making it easier to be a fan and find our content and our games,” Engelbert said. “So we’re sticking with that strategy. We talk with the Players Association about that strategy. There are choices that you can make around your allocation of both your human capital and your financial capital. That’s one thing I think I was brought in to evaluate how you do that, and how you do that effectively.
“Coming off training camps this year there was a lot of call for expansion, whether rosters or expansion of teams. I talked a lot about how hard we’re working at the league level on expansion of teams because I think as you look at, again, a country of 330 million people, longest-tenured women’s professional sports league in the country by double any other at 27 years, we need to be in more than 12 markets.
“Our corporate partners want to see us in more cities as well, and the fan base and the loyalty and the fandom gets bigger. So that’s why I would prioritize that. But we do listen to the players and the Players Association about how we balance, how we allocate our, again, finite capital, both financial and human capital. But I think we’re building a business. We’re growing a business. I think the players are going to benefit in the end.”
Layups
Jaylen Brown was in Andalusia, Spain, this past week to participate in the NBA Players Association program called The Sanctuary, which allows players to train and work on their games in a new facility named The Embassy. Brown and the group of NBA players not only train but conduct basketball camps with local kids and also participate in cultural events. It’s the second consecutive year Brown has participated in the program and it was planned several months before his negotiations for a maximum contract . . . The Celtics are expected to exhibit patience on when to use their third twoway contract. The club has already signed former second-round pick JD Davison and former Clipper Jay Scrubb to two-way deals. NBA teams are now allowed a third two-way contract with the new collective bargaining agreement, allowing them to wait until players are released in training camp to use their third deal. Two-way contract players are limited to playing 50 regularseason games with the NBA club and are not eligible for the postseason . . . The Celtics have two players who will enter camp with nonguaranteed contracts, including center Luke Kornet, whose deal will be guaranteed if he remains on the roster by Jan. 10. Justin Champagnie will receive $50,000 if he’s on the Celtics’ roster by Aug. 1 and another $350,000 if he makes the opening night roster. The Celtics have 17 players on their roster and can add three with training camp invitations . . . The free agent market is beginning to thin and there are going to be some quality players signing below-market deals. Former Dallas center Christian Wood is the highest-ranking free agent and he may have to accept a short-term deal for the mid-level exception. Kelly Oubre has been an impact player in the past but he struggled during his stint with the Warriors and there’s a question whether he can contribute to a winning club.