PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Portland Fire formally introduced their first head coach, Alex Sarama, as he enters a new era of women’s basketball in the Rose City. After assisting the Cleveland Cavaliers, Sarama makes the transition to the WNBA to lead the Fire when they debut in 2026. With a new leader at the helm in Portland, the preparation for general manager Vanja Černivec to assemble a roster can begin.

In the last few years, the WNBA has had several short head coaching tenures, especially with ones like Sarama, who is new to coaching in the league. While every situation is different, a good player-to-coach relationship is important for team success in the short and long-term future. Sarama emphasized the importance of fostering and maintaining a strong player-coach relationship with both young players and established veterans.

“For me, it starts with complete transparency with the players and having frequent and very regular conversations,” Sarama said. “I’m a huge believer [that] the best environments are player-led and providing opportunities for autonomy…We’ll involve conversations with the athletes, how we approach practice, [and] how we warm up. I really believe that starting with transformational leadership and providing opportunities for autonomy will put us in a really strong position to have great relationships with our athletes.”

Before working for the Cavaliers, Sarama spent one year with the London Lions, for whom Černivec was the General Manager. Now reunited on the Fire, they will work together to build towards a championship. Sarama is bringing a unique style of player development to Portland called the “Constraint-Led Approach”. This is a coaching method that uses different constraints, like shortened game situations and modifications, to encourage players to create and develop problem-solving skills on the court. Sarama has become an expert in this method of coaching, thus making him a perfect fit for the Fire. His background fits the qualities Černivec spoke about when she was first introduced as general manager. 

“[I’m] definitely looking [for] someone that’s going to be a strong leader with a huge basketball IQ, and will empower players to make decisions on their own,” Černivec said. “I’m looking for someone that will build the environment where players will be encouraged to be problem solvers, not a coach that will try to give all the solutions to players…”

While WNBA coaches employ different strategies to achieve success, their approaches can be highly effective or ineffective. With the Atlanta Dream, Karl Smesko brought his fast-paced, five-out offense to the team, and they finished third in the WNBA regular season. On the other end, former Dallas Wings coach Chris Koclanes seemed to have lost the locker room at different points in the season, which caused their lack of success. While expectations remain a mystery given the uncertainty of the roster, Sarama’s relationship with his players and how they go about his strategy to win is imperative to competing right away.

Černivec has been in charge of Portland for a little over a month, and she is already showing what her vision for this team is before they take the court. Before bringing in Sarama, she hired former WNBA player Ashley Battle as the Vice President of Basketball Operations. Battle will be working alongside Černivec as they construct the roster in the expansion draft and free agency. Although the specifics of the expansion draft are unclear, they will participate with the Toronto Tempo to select players for their roster. While the expansion teams wait with the rest of the WNBA for more clarity regarding ongoing CBA negotiations, the Fire’s vision is becoming more transparent.

When Černivec was put in charge of basketball operations for Portland, she visualized what the team could look like. With an ex-WNBA player and a familiar face now assisting her, she is grateful her vision is starting to come into fruition.

“It’s a dream come true, and we’re just getting started,” Černivec said. “I’m just very energized and humble, and proud to be in this position [and] to be able to have a blank slate and build in accordance to your beliefs and previous experiences. Similar to Alex, my vision has changed as well; probably four to five years ago, I stumbled upon evidence-based approaches mostly through movement and rehabbing my body, and that’s why I started diving into [that strategy]....There’s a popular saying, once you see it, you can’t unsee it, and I’ve been waiting for this opportunity and people to kind of be open to innovate and do things differently, and here I am….”