Contingency plans are required when punching above your weight class.
No one knows this better than Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca, who is in the middle of trying to land the highly sought-after Stephanie White. His goal is not the problem; rather, it’s who else is in the picture — mainly the Fever.
According to league sources White — who is under contract with the Sun through 2025 — is in talks with her current employer, the Sky and the Fever. The latter offers her what the former two can’t.
With the Fever — who still have a coach under contract in Christie Sides — White would have proximity to family, a world-class organization and an opportunity to coach Caitlin Clark, whose rookie season painted the clear picture that she will one day soon be the best player in the league.
I’m not saying the Sky won’t land White. I’m merely pointing that Pagliocca would be remiss not to already have a backup plan in place.
Aside from speaking with White, the Sky have had preliminary conversations with other candidates, including former Sparks coach Curt Miller and former Wings coach Latricia Trammell.
As of Sunday, the WNBA has five coaching vacancies, with the potential for two more, according to league sources. Given the shallow pool of qualified candidates, it’s easy to assume the Sparks, Sky, Mystics, Dream and Wings could end up shuffling their coaches.
However, several assistants are being considered for these vacancies.
Aces assistant Tyler Marsh has spoken with the Dream and Sparks. Trammell has also spoken with the Sparks. Lynx assistant Katie Smith is expected to be interviewed for multiple vacancies, including the Sky’s. Another assistant the Sky could target is the Mercury’s Kristi Tolliver.
One of the biggest issues plaguing the WNBA’s pool of coaches is lack of depth. There is a small group of candidates with head-coaching experience in the WNBA. Former Mystics general manager Mike Thibault is the most experienced coach on the market, but it’s unclear if he is interested in returning to a coaching role.
The depth issue begs the question: Why not look to the college ranks?
The best coaches in college are making a lot more than the WNBA’s highest-paid coaches. According to reports, LSU’s Kim Mulkey became the highest-paid NCAA women’s basketball coach after signing a 10-year, $36 million contract extension after the team’s title season. South Carolina’s Dawn Staley and UConn’s Geno Auriemma reportedly bring in more than $3 million per year.
All of this is to say, negotiating with the best college coaches starts with improved -salaries.
The Sky have never paid a coach more than a six-figure salary, which indicates landing White might be beyond their means. Expect the team’s Plan B to include another discussion with Trammell and Miller.
Despite the looming draft lottery and expansion draft, slated for Nov. 17 and Dec. 6, respectively, Pagliocca does not need to rush. But it would be preferable to have a coach before the expansion draft, which gives the Sky a month to narrow their candidates when they ultimately lose the race for White.