“Alex represents the next generation of coaches,” Fire general manager Vanja Černivec said in a statement Friday. “He not only teaches the game, he transforms it. His approach to player development, grounded in evidence-based science, research and creativity, aligns with our vision of making Portland a global center for innovation in women’s sports.”
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She is the organization’s second major hire in recent days, joining former WNBA veteran and Maine Celtics assistant general manager Ashley Battle, who will be the Fire’s vice president of basketball operations, strategy and innovation. Both contracts were carried out by Černivec.
Sarama brings a global perspective similar to Černivec to the game. Sarama, born in England, worked in basketball operations for NBA Europe in Madrid, where he coincided with Černivec. He held coaching and player development roles in Belgium, Italy and France, as well as working as methodology director for the London Lions in 2023-24 when Černivec was general manager. The club became the first British team to win the European Championship that season.
“The opportunity to build something from scratch is unique,” Sarama said in a statement. “At the Fire, we are not just creating a team: we are redefining how the game is taught and played, through an approach focused on adaptability and supported by evidence-based methodologies. We want to create a new standard for the game.”
Sarama is somewhat familiar with the Portland market after a stint as an assistant coach for NBA G League team Rip City Remix. He left Portland to become director of player development for the Cleveland Cavaliers and was recently promoted to assistant coach. Sarama is the latest in a line of WNBA head coaches to have spent time on an NBA bench, joining 2025 finalists Becky Hammon and Nate Tibbetts, as well as 2025 Coach of the Year Natalie Nakase, who also took charge of an expansion team in the Golden State Valkyries.
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Sarama is the author of the book “Transforming Basketball” on the theory and implementation of the constraint-based approach, or CLA. It’s a learning method that has made its way into basketball coaching circles and has a disciple in WNBA star Kelsey Plum. The Cavaliers adopted the practice, which eschews the concept of muscle memory and instead introduces unpredictable training environments, en route to a 64-win season in 2024-25, the second-most wins in franchise history.
The Fire have had an uneven release in the WNBA. Their original attempt to become the WNBA’s 14th franchise failed before Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal joined, delaying their entry into the league by a year. His first hire, team president Inky Son, was fired three months later. Even Sarama’s hiring was revealed prematurely on LinkedIn. But the Portland franchise now has its management core in place ahead of what figures to be a tumultuous offseason across the league.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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