The Fire's appointment of former NCAA champion and NBA scout Ashley Battle as their first-ever VP of Basketball Operations was not the only major development coming out of Portland on Tuesday.
The WNBA's newest franchise, slated to begin play alongside the Toronto Tempo in 2026, has also decided on its first-ever head coach -- and that decision is splitting opinion online.
According to a since-deleted post on LinkedIn, the Fire have hired Cleveland Cavaliers assistant Alex Sarama as their head coach. Sarama joined the Cavaliers as Director of Player Development in July 2024 after holding the same role for the Rip City Remix -- the Portland Trail Blazers' G League affiliate.
In addition to the Portland connection, Sarama and Fire general manager Vanja Cernevic worked together in British basketball, when both were employees of the London Lions.
MORE: Portland Fire tap former UConn, WNBA star for key front office role
Despite Sarama's background and resume in player development, some fans on social media are disenchanted with the hire. They saw the Portland opening as a chance, in a predominantly-Black league, for a brand-new franchise to hire a Black woman as a head coach; Seattle's decision to part ways with Noelle Quinn means there are no female Black coaches in The W at present.
"Was a woman not available?" one fan wrote of the Sarama hire. Another remarked that Sarama was only promoted to assistant on Kenny Atkinson's Cleveland staff just three months ago.
However, other observers pointed to Sarama's track record as the continuation of a trend that demonstrates the WNBA's growth. This school of thought centers on Sarama's embrace of Constraints-Led Approach (CLA) in his coaching -- the use of which led Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum to career-changing revelations.
Alex Sarama has crafted a solid reputation on the NBA circuit, has experience w/Vanja Cernivec at the London Lions, plus brings a sense of “innovation” (especially with his CLA-based training methods).
— Alford Corriette (@alfcorriette) October 15, 2025
Definitely a forward-thinking approach. https://t.co/NpsFEWy3cx
Sarama also is further proof that NBA assistant coaches are more readily jumping to the WNBA for a shot at the top job. This season's WNBA Finals is a great example of how those gambles are paying off. Both the Phoenix Mercury (Nate Tibbetts) and the Las Vegas Aces (Becky Hammon) hired longtime NBA assistant coaches to lead their teams.
Under Tibbetts, the Mercury reached the finals for the first time in four years; Hammon has led the Aces to three titles in four years.
It remains to be seen whether Sarama finds anywhere near the same level of success that Hammon, or even Tibbetts, has enjoyed. But the Fire are going to give him a chance.
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