![\"Paige](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0_GettyImages-2235653720.jpg\")
Paige Bueckers missed out on the opportunity to play under head coach Sandy Brondello(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\nToronto Tempo head coach Sandy Brondello revealed that she preferred to build a WNBA franchise from the ground up rather than work with Dallas Wings star Paige BueckersPaige Bueckers missed out on the opportunity to play under head coach Sandy Brondello(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Former New York Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello shed light on the reason why she passed up the opportunity to work with Dallas Wings superstar Paige Bueckers.<\/p>\n
Back in September, the Liberty<\/a> sent shockwaves across the WNBA<\/a> upon deciding to part ways with Brondello<\/a> just one year she commanded New York to its first title in franchise history.<\/p>\n Speaking to Marie Claire<\/a> on Monday, Brondello conceded that she knew her tenure in the Big Apple had come to an end following the Liberty\u2019s first-round playoff exit at the hands of the Phoenix Mercury. \u201cRight after we lost, I knew this was the end of the chapter,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Lions star punched in face after performing Donald Trump gesture as opponent ejected<\/a>READ MORE: Commanders star caught punching referee but escapes ejection in heated loss to Lions<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cAnd obviously that’s sad because you can build such strong connections with these players and the people around you.<\/p>\n \u201cBut in the end it wasn’t sad for too long. I love what I do and other opportunities, and I had people reaching out immediately after, so that was nice.\u201d<\/p>\n On the heels of Brondello\u2019s surprise firing, a handful of teams expressed interest in acquiring her talents \u2014 chief among them the Dallas Wings<\/a>, who fired first-year head coach Chris Koclanes mere days after she was let go.<\/p>\n Despite also receiving an offer from the Seattle Storm, Brondello opted to sign with the Toronto Tempo \u2014 the newest WNBA expansion team.<\/p>\n \u201c[The other offers she received] were from the Seattle Storm and the Dallas Wings,\u201d she recalled. \u201cOnce I decided, it was leaked, and then the other teams and I knew that I had to make a decision.”<\/p>\n As for why she\u2019d rather build a franchise from the ground up rather than coach Bueckers \u2014 one of the best players in the entire league \u2014 Brondello explained: \u201cAll of them are just different, but I just felt excited to build something from scratch with the really good people in a really great city [Toronto] and with the whole country behind you. How cool is that?\u201d<\/p>\n Brondello doubled down on her decision during an interview with The Athletic<\/a>, stating: \u201cIn Seattle, I probably could have had a chance to win straight away. In Dallas, there\u2019s Paige Bueckers.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I just felt like building something from the ground up, doing something new, and doing it in a different country. I\u2019m Australian. Canada is part of the Commonwealth of Nations.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Angel Reese confirms relationship status before doubling down<\/a>READ MORE: WNBA star Sophie Cunningham can’t resist cheeky dig at NASCAR drivers<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cAnd then ultimately, it comes back to the people \u2014 the vision Monica and team president Teresa Resch had. They sold me on that.\u201d<\/p>\n Upon losing the Brondello sweepstakes, the Wings quickly pivoted by hiring Jose Fernandez for their vacant head coaching position. The 53-year-old is more than familiar with Bueckers\u2019 abilities on the basketball court, having faced her several times while at South Florida.<\/p>\n “Paige is special,” Fernandez said. “Great players want to be coached. She wants to be coached and held accountable. And I think the things that we’re going to do in the half court and the open floor are going to suit her. So I’m really excited to get to work with her.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Toronto Tempo head coach Sandy Brondello revealed that she preferred to build a WNBA franchise from the ground…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":276340,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[49,48,3459,3457,4658,82,630],"class_list":["post-276339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-dallas-wings","tag-new-york-liberty","tag-paige-bueckers","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=276339"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276339\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/276340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=276339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=276339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=276339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Sandy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0_GettyImages-2244508727.jpg\")
Sandy Brondello chose to sign with the Toronto Tempo over the Dallas Wings(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n