According to reports, Orlando Magic assistant coach Nate Tibbetts is in the process of finalizing a deal to become the next head coach of the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury.
Although figures and terms haven’t been publicly disclosed as of yet, Tibbetts’ new deal is expected to make him the highest paid coach in WNBA history. The 46 year old coach has had stops with Portland and Cleveland before joining Orland for the 2021-22 campaign.
The former NBA assistant replaces former Mercury coach Vanessa Nygaard who parted ways with the club in June. After getting off to a dismal 2-10 start to the season, Nygaard was relieved of her duties, with Nikki Blue being elevated to an interim head coach role.
Tibbetts annual salary is believed to be larger than that of Becky Hammon who set the current WNBA record two seasons prior when she joined Las Vegas.
The Mercury are coming off a season in which they finished in last place in the league with a 9-31 record. This led to wholesale changes across the organization, spearheaded by new owner Mat Ishbia.
The first significant change Ishbia made when he assumed control of the franchise was to pry former Golden State Warriors executive Nick U’Ren away from the west coast to act as General Manager of the club. U’Ren’s hiring of Tibbetts represents the first significant move of his tenure, ahead of what will be an exceptionally busy offseason for the Mercury.
First, the club announced plans to build a new $100M dedicated practice facility alongside the Phoenix Suns. The facility will be state of the art and will represent a significant upgrade from the Mercury’s current training arrangement.
Next up will be the WNBA draft which will boast a star studded field of prospects potentially headlined by Iowa star Caitlin Clark, UConn’s Paige Bueckers, and LSU’s Angel Reese and Hailey Van Lith amongst others.
Photo: Lorie Shaull. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.