Sky shocker: Coach James Wade steps down to take assistant spot with Toronto Raptors
mmcgraw@dailyherald.com
This move was a shocker, because it was so unexpected.
Sky coach and general manager James Wade resigned Saturday to take an assistant coaching job with the NBA's Toronto Raptors. The Sky is roughly halfway through the WNBA season, just played a game Friday night and will be in action again Sunday afternoon at Indiana.
At the same time, no one is going to pass up a chance to work in the NBA. A good illustration of the chasm between the two leagues is the salary cap. Each WNBA team's payroll is capped at $1.42 million this year. The NBA just released the new cap number for next season: $136 million.
Toronto recently hired a new head coach, naming former Memphis assistant Darko Rajakovic, a native of Serbia, to replace Nick Nurse.
Wade spent 13 years playing all over Europe, then coached teams in France and Russia. Wade got into coaching women's basketball through his wife Edwige Lawson-Wade and they met when both were playing professionally in France.
Sky principal owner Michael Alter released a statement basically saying the team was happy to help Wade reach his career goals.
"We are thrilled that James can fulfill a lifelong dream to join the NBA, and we send him our warmest congratulations and best wishes," the statement read. "We thank James for establishing a winning, team-oriented culture in Chicago and leading the Sky to our first ever WNBA championship in 2021."
The Sky named Emre Vatansever interim general manager and head coach. He's a native of Turkey and has been with the Sky one year longer than Wade. Vatansever filled in a for Wade a couple of times last season when the head coach was in health and safety protocols.
Vatansever got his first head job last winter with Turkish club Cukurova. He's married to former Stanford basketball player Kristen Newlin.
As Wade leaves, he was probably the best hire Alter made with the Sky. During the first 13 years of the team's existence, the Sky produced just three winning seasons.
Since being hired in 2019, Wade hasn't had a losing season. He led the team to its first championship in 2021, then the best record in franchise history (26-10) last year.
Despite heavy roster turnover, Wade insisted the Sky could reload on the fly and set expectations high coming into this season.
The results have been merely OK, with a 7-9 record after Friday's win over the Sparks. Losing two key players, Isabelle Harrison and Rebekah Gardner, to injuries early in the season hurt. But Wade liked to point out the Sky finished 16-16 the year it won the championship, so it was too early to write off this season's team.
A native of Memphis, Tenn., Wade is an interesting personality. He can tell long, off-the-wall stories that somehow connect with basketball and also get testy with reporters when asked basic questions.
He leaves the Sky with an 81-59 record, and the Vatansever era begins Sunday.
Twitter: @McGrawDHSports