Seattle Storm opens WNBA season with new roster, coach, owners

Like a buffet filled with your favorite foods, the Storm's ninth season is packed with goodies from a gluttonous offseason: secure ownership, All-Star player additions, favorite-player retentions and coaching changes.

Everywhere the eye roams Saturday at the team's KeyArena season opener, something new will stand out.

In the stands, four new independent owners. On the sideline, a new coach, Brian Agler. And on the court will be offseason acquisitions: former MVPs Sheryl Swoopes and Yolanda Griffith, and Swin Cash, who came in a trade.

The lineup is loaded, expectations are high and anything less than a championship will be a disappointment. In other words, a lot has changed since the end of last season.

"We left on a bit of a low," Lauren Jackson said of the Storm's third consecutive first-round playoff exit and uncertainty regarding possible relocation to Oklahoma City. Jackson is the longest-standing member of the Storm, entering her eighth season.

"This feels different because it's such a fresh start," she continued. "Everything has completely changed. I don't feel as much pressure as I've felt in a long time on the court, which is crazy. I feel like it's going to be good."

But how did the Storm get here?

How did the team reach this seismic shift after two seasons filled with bad news from the Storm's former link with the Sonics under owner Clay Bennett, who sought to take both teams to his native Oklahoma?

You could say it began when Bennett was finally persuaded to sell the Storm for the standard WNBA asking price of $10 million in January. Force 10 Hoops chairwoman Anne Levinson and Storm CEO Karen Bryant led the charge for change.

But that's not even the true start of what is being aptly called the "Perfect Storm."

Just as this season's conclusion, whether it is a championship run or maybe just a fifth consecutive playoff berth, won't truly be the end.

Not for women's basketball in Seattle.

The beginning

The first crack in this new ground came via e-mail, into inboxes around the globe in November. The sender was Anne Donovan. The message was concise. She wanted the 12 Storm players to know she wouldn't be returning as their coach for the 2008 season.

Players pointed to her responsibilities as the U.S. Olympic coach, saying Donovan wanted to narrow her focus heading into the Beijing Games. Donovan publicly would say only that she it was time for a "new direction." According to one player, the coach concluded her message by wishing players "lots of wins."

Despite leading the Storm to the 2004 championship, Donovan's lack of success in some areas was documented. In five seasons, guards Tanisha Wright and Katie Gearlds are her only successful draft picks. Some international players chose to stay in their native countries, and others found success elsewhere after being cut by the Storm.

Sources also said Donovan had a contentious relationship with some players. Still, her resignation was abrupt.

Guard Sue Bird had just completed a tour with Donovan and the national team and had no idea her coach was stepping down. When Jackson was asked this week if she has spoken with Donovan since the announcement, the Australian's reply was "not at all."

Wright said of Donovan's resignation, "I was really shocked, playing under Coach D for so long, but everyone has to do what they have to do. She felt like she needed to step down. She has USA Basketball to concentrate on, and that's not going to be an easy task. I talked to her once over the Christmas break, and she was in good spirits."

In San Antonio, Silver Stars coach Dan Hughes' ears perked.

During the 2007 WNBA season, Hughes had spoken with former Spurs assistant coach P.J. Carlesimo, who had taken the Sonics' head-coaching position. Hughes had asked Carlesimo how Spurs coach Gregg Popovich helped him get ready to become a head coach again. Carlesimo spoke of increased responsibilities and support he had been given. So that's what Hughes imparted on his lead assistant: Agler.

Agler last coached the expansion Minnesota Lynx, leading them to 15-17 records the first two seasons. But the team was 12-20 in 2001, and after a 6-13 start in 2002 he was replaced by former Storm assistant Heidi VanDerveer.

Agler made a stop in Phoenix as an assistant before joining Hughes' staff, where he spent three seasons. Hughes placed Agler in charge of the offense, credits him for player development and when Hughes suffered a torn Achilles last summer, Agler led the Silver Stars to an 8-2 record.

With Donovan gone in Seattle, Hughes saw an opportunity for Agler.

"The year he was out of our league, he scouted for me," Hughes said. "And you could sense that Brian was willing to do whatever it took to create another opportunity for him to be a head coach."

Agler's basketball expertise, vast familiarity with WNBA players and a keen eye in piecing together a formidable roster is why Bryant, the CEO, pushed for his hiring in January. Bryant, a former general manager of the defunct Seattle Reign of the American Basketball League, knew of Agler from their ABL days. Agler won the league's only two championships and was named 1996-97 coach of the year.

"He has the type of personality that can deal with adversity," said Bryant, who also gave Agler the title of director of player personnel. "He has a very laid-back kind of style, yet is very intense when he needs to be.

"But he's way too humble. He deserves a lot if not all the credit for the roster he's assembled. The players we've acquired have had every option that you could want in terms of where they want to play, and they chose us in part because of Brian. He'll never say that, which is what I love about him."

Take the lead

Before Agler came new ownership, however.

Levinson, a former deputy mayor, gathered three other prominent Seattle-area businesswomen to form Force 10 Hoops and purchase the Storm from Bennett.

The four have been season-ticket holders since the Storm's inception in 2000, and all claim the 2004 championship as being their favorite moment.

"It was so loud, like a rock concert," said co-owner Dawn Trudeau.

Which one?

"Don't say Barry Manilow," quipped Levinson, helping Trudeau not give away her age.

"I'm still wrapping my mind around the moment," co-owner Ginny Gilder said, cutting into the recent interview with the group. "The Storm has grown to be part of our community, and I never dreamed we'd be in this position."

The owners have signed up several sponsors who weren't previously part of the organization but jumped in because of the niche market the Storm attracts as an independent entity — one of seven in the 14-team league. The headliner is Olivia, a travel and entertainment company that is sponsoring its first sports team in its 35-year history.

The Storm, which averaged 7,974 fans last summer, appears to be able to continue its stronghold in Seattle.

Trudeau says not much will change from the fan perspective. The group doesn't want to raise ticket prices to stay afloat, choosing instead to dump money into putting out a quality product that they hope increases the fan base by at least 10 percent this season.

"They're the rock stars of the city right now," Agler said of the owners. "They've really been the individuals to step forward and make things work. I hope we hold up our end."

Stargazing

Jackson laughs about any speculation that this team of stars will have trouble uniting.

Egos clashing? Ball-hogging?

Please.

"Obviously people don't really know the relationships we have off the court," she said of the Storm's new star-studded lineup. "For me, Sheryl [Swoopes] and Yo [Griffith] were mentors of mine for a long time. There's a massive respect level that I have for them, and I know that I have that in return from them.

"Sue's an on-court leader, and I'm just going to do my thing. I'm sure it's going to be pretty easy. I don't think there's going to be an ego problem at all. When I heard that, I was kind of like, 'What the? Who would say that?' "

Uncomfortable with a leadership role off the court, Jackson and Bird repeatedly asked management to return the roster to the veteran-laden guidance that helped win the 2004 title.

"We have five people on our team right now who are used to being leaders on their team," said Bird, who has experience playing with everyone through college, all-star games or the Olympics. "We're going to have to find our role. But, to be honest, let them be vocal, that's cool by me. When we're on the court, I'm definitely the quarterback. But if they want to be vocal, that's a huge plus."

Agler became the dealing-est coach since Bill Laimbeer in Detroit, frequently unwrapping another present from February to the final signing of Griffith in March.

Agler left second-leading scorer Betty Lennox unprotected in the expansion draft for Atlanta and traded Brazilian Iziane Castro Marques to Atlanta to clear room under the soft $750,000 salary cap for bigger moves. Center Janell Burse decided not to return due to a foot injury suffered overseas in April, clearing more cap space.

The assembly of Swoopes and Griffith, both former league MVPs, and Cash, who won two WNBA championships, has some comparing the roster to the Boston Celtics or New York Yankees.

"Every day [overseas teammate] Shameka Christon would be like, 'Girl, you'll never believe who y'all have now,' " said returning Storm center Ashley Robinson.

The whirlwind collection, which started with Agler opting out of the deepest draft in league history by trading the fourth overall pick to Detroit for Cash, doesn't come without doubts.

Swoopes, 37, missed 31 games in Houston last season because of a lower back injury that required surgery. Griffith, 38, had her worst season in Sacramento, playing with a hyperextended thumb and knee trouble. Cash, watching her role deteriorate after six seasons in Detroit, hasn't been consistent since suffering a knee injury in 2004.

Still, the group is the anticipated starting lineup with Wright, Robinson and forward Shyra Ely as the projected key contributing reserves. Agler said he wants the group to be known for defensive intensity, and all agree that anything less than a championship is unacceptable.

"I think Brian has learned from his mistakes and is a better person and coach now," said Griffith, who played against Agler in the ABL. "I've been looking forward to this moment to actually get a chance to play for a coach like him because he wants the best for you and the best out of you. But all this is just on paper, which looks good. We still have to play the games."

Jayda Evans: 206-464-2067 or jevans@seattletimes.com