The Portland Fire will begin playing in the WNBA in 2026, becoming the second franchise in the city’s history after
The Portland Fire will begin playing in the WNBA in 2026, becoming the second franchise in the city’s history after the original team shut down in 2002. But they have already made a major faux pas.
The new franchise has already made major moves in preparation for its debut, with Vanja Černivec and Ashley Battle recently being hired as general manager and vice president of basketball operations, respectively.
Now, a former Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach will be named the Fire’s first head coach — though the announcement came by accident.
Fire Deletes Premature LinkedIn Post
A LinkedIn post early Tuesday morning from the official Fire page mistakenly shared the news of former Cavaliers assistant coach Alex Sarama’s hiring before it was quickly deleted, per Annie Costabile of Front Office Sports.
Sarama has been with the Cavaliers for the last 15 months and was previously an assistant coach and director of player development for the Rip City Remix, the Portland Trail Blazers’ G League affiliate. His familiarity with the Portland basketball scene could ease the transition.
According to Costabile, while a contract has not yet been finalized, Sarama is expected to be announced soon.
The Portland Fire prematurely announced NBA assistant Alex Sarama as the franchise's head coach on LinkedIn Tuesday AM.
— Annie Costabile (@AnnieCostabile) October 14, 2025
Multiple sources told me that while a contract has not yet been finalized, Sarama is expected to be announced in the coming days. https://t.co/kzrinta313
This is not the first time the new WNBA franchise has been caught up in an accidental reveal. The Portland Fire team name was revealed after four trademark applications were filed by league officials in June.
The latest reveal follows a growing trend as multiple WNBA teams in recent years have tapped former NBA assistant coaches and found success from those moves.
The Las Vegas Aces hired their longtime coach Becky Hammon, who has led the team to three championships in four seasons following her stint in the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs.
Similarly, the Phoenix Mercury brought in Nate Tibbetts in 2023, and he led them to the WNBA Finals this year.
It will be interesting to see how the debut campaign of the Fire pans out next year as they follow the same strategy with Sarama.
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