Alex Sarama, Cavs Assistant, Will Lead New WNBA Fire Team

Alex Sarama Will Lead the New WNBA Team in Portland

The Portland Fire, the WNBA expansion team, have announced Alex Sarama as their inaugural head coach. Sarama, who served as an assistant coach for the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, enthusiastically takes on this new challenge. Sarama is recognized as an expert in an innovative training system that has gained popularity in European basketball, soccer, and, increasingly, in the NBA. Players like Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs and coaches like Kenny Atkinson of the Cavaliers are fervent followers of this approach. Sarama expressed that the opportunity to implement the principles of CLA (Constraints-Led Approach) with an expansion team is ideal. This is because he and General Manager Vanja Černivec can hire personnel that fit the new system, without the need to unlearn previous systems.

“I’ve had this philosophy for a while,” Sarama said. “And I think the setup to be able to do it with an expansion team is unique. We’ll have the opportunity to impact every department and have a completely unified approach where everyone works in perfect harmony.”

Alex Sarama

The Fire seeks to emulate the success of the Golden State Valkyries in their first year in the WNBA. They believe that, with the experiences and focus of their leaders, they have a good opportunity to achieve it. Černivec, who comes from the Valkyries where she served as vice president of basketball operations, has a deep knowledge of the European market. She met Sarama years ago at the NBA office in Europe in Madrid, and was impressed by his intellect and passion for coaching.

“For me he was a genius,” said Černivec. “He produced documents and works that took me two hours; he did them in five or ten minutes. I kept thinking, ‘How does this guy’s brain work?’ And his obsession was always training.”

Vanja Černivec

Sarama, in addition to his academy, had successful experiences as a coach with the London Lions and Paris Basketball. His fame grew after the publication of his bestseller, “Transforming Basketball”, in 2024. Atkinson, upon reading the book, incorporated him as a player development coach for the Cavaliers. CLA is a training methodology that emphasizes adaptability, improvisation, and decision-making instead of predetermined movement patterns and exercises. Sarama rarely repeats the same exercise, using games with restrictions to force players to make decisions under pressure. Sarama explained that players usually respond positively to this approach, considering it a refreshing change from what they are used to in their NBA careers. The coach highlighted that this method makes training more engaging and creative. Hiring NBA coaches is becoming increasingly common in the WNBA, following the success of teams like the Phoenix Mercury and the Valkyries. Černivec pointed out the advantage of being able to start from scratch, which facilitates the implementation of new ideas. Currently, Sarama and the Cavaliers are discussing when she will leave Cleveland to start full-time in Portland. The WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement expires on October 31, and it is not yet known how the negotiations will affect the expansion draft and free agency. For now, Sarama will remain in Cleveland, but she hopes that her start in Portland, which will open its doors in May 2026, will not be delayed much.