For a long time, it was unclear in which direction the Sky would be headed after the midseason departure of championship-winning coach/general manager James Wade.
Franchise ownership didn’t want to commit to the separation of the coach and GM roles, despite the Sky being the last pro basketball team in the United States operating that way. In fact, things were so uncertain that three-time All-Star Kahleah Copper was ready to explore the free-agent market until the Sky’s last-ditch effort to persuade her to sign an extension was successful.
The reason for that success was the Sky’s commitment to a new direction. Now that coach Teresa Weatherspoon and GM Jeff Pagliocca are in place, that direction is coming into focus, and it’s centered on player development.
‘‘We have an advantage,’’ Copper said. ‘‘We have someone like [Pagliocca] who is our general manager but can also help [develop players]. When people come into organizations, they want to continue to get better. For me, that’s very big.’’
Copper used the progression of her own career — coming, in part, from her experience working directly with Pagliocca — as an example about what other players can expect if they sign with the Sky.
Pagliocca was promoted from director of skill development to GM and Weatherspoon joined the Sky after spending four years in the NBA with the Pelicans, for whom she served as a two-way player-development coach before being promoted to assistant coach. She played seven of her eight seasons in the WNBA with the Liberty and served as their first director of player development in 2015.
Pagliocca said that when it comes to roster construction, he will rely on his 15 years of experience in player development to identify talent. He also clarified that major roster decisions will be made by committee, with the help of Weatherspoon and CEO Adam Fox.
‘‘My hope is that it’ll be collaborative and collective the majority of the time,’’ Pagliocca said. ‘‘What made it so attractive to accept the role is working with so many like-minded people. Especially right now, working directly in a partnership with Teresa and Adam and everybody else is something that made a lot of sense and will continue to for some time.’’
Ownership repeatedly has shared its commitment to putting the franchise in the best possible position to succeed by investing in player support, resources and marketing strategy.
Pagliocca’s move from director of skill development to GM left a vacancy. Whether the Sky will fill it or have him operate in a new iteration of a dual role will be another indication of their commitment to their new direction.
