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It genuinely surprised a lot of people when Sandy Brondello was named the head coach of the new WNBA team, the Toronto Tempo. Fans had been convinced she’d end up in Dallas, coaching Paige Bueckers and giving the Wings a fresh start. It felt like the perfect fit on paper — so when the Tempo announcement dropped, it was a real curveball. But once you hear Brondello make this announcement, it starts to make a lot more sense. “This is Canada’s team, and I thought that would be very exciting. And I’m up for every challenge. Like you said, I’ve won a few championships there, but I think this is just a little different situation, obviously. A lot of the players now are free agents. Yes, we’ll be an expansion team, but hopefully summer in Toronto is pretty special, I hear. So hopefully we can get some pretty special players to represent,” she said in a recent press conference via SHIFT, signaling her intentions with the franchise. Sandy Brondello knows exactly what it feels like to be part of a WNBA expansion team because she lived it. Back in 1998, she made her debut with the Detroit Shock in their very first season. She experienced the uncertainty, the growing pains, and the thrill of being part of something brand new. She’s already talked about her plans to create strong relationships across the organization — from players to staff to the community — because in her mind, that’s the foundation every successful franchise is built on. “I’m a firm believer that the more connected you are off the court, that’s going to help on it because you can overcome adversity. We’ll invest time into doing that,” she said in an interview with Athletic’s Ben Pickman. “But it’s not my culture. It’s their player-led culture.” And to create that kind of culture, she will need experienced players, leaders who know how to win, and voices who can shape a locker room where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued. It’ll be fascinating to see who Sandy Brondello picks in the expansion draft….whenever it happens. No one knows which players will be available, and we still don’t have an official date, because the WNBPA and the WNBA haven’t finished their CBA talks yet. They already took a 30-day extension after the October 31 deadline passed, so things are still very much uncertain at this point. But if we had to guess the type of players Brondello might target, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a few Canadian stars on her radar. Kia Nurse, Bridget Carleton, and Aaliyah Edwards all headline the list of potential free agents who could be drawn in by the chance to play closer to home. Each brings a different kind of experience and leadership, and signing even one of them would instantly deepen the franchise’s connection with its fanbase. But one name that we feel would be a realistic fit for the Tempo is Laeticia Amihere. The former South Carolina Gamecock and NCAA champion just finished a solid 2025 season with the Valkyries — but with only 29 games under her belt, her role as a long-term starter there seems uncertain. Moving to Toronto could give her a fresh opportunity to take on a bigger role while playing much closer to home. Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports Regardless of who Sandy Brondello ends up selecting, her mission would be to build a longstanding legacy at this franchise. We’re talking about a coach with two WNBA championships to her name, someone who’s proven she can build contenders. So it’s safe to expect she’ll shape a roster ready to compete for top honors sooner rather than later. But there’s still one thing that continues to puzzle fans: why was she let go by the New York Liberty in the first place? When asked recently about her departure from New York, here’s what Brondello had to say. Sandy Brondello on leaving the New York Liberty The news of her joining the Tempo wasn’t as surprising as the news of her getting fired by the New York Liberty. Just a year ago, she and her players were probably celebrating somewhere, drowned in champagne after helping deliver the first championship in Liberty history. But fast forward just one season, and Brondello was already thrown out for getting eliminated in the first round. “It was a great four years. We got to win that championship and build something special, building something into what it is today….But we faced a lot of adversity this past year, and it was hard without our main players there. I just kind of thought it was time, probably not as aligned as I would have hoped, and that goes both ways. This is a business, and if they feel I’m not the right person for the job, then that’s fine,” she said in the same interview with Ben Pickman. The Liberty had started the season 9-0 before injuries hit. From Jonquel Jones to Breanna Stewart to Sabrina Ionescu, each and every one of their superstars had to face time on the sidelines, and that was tough. Results didn’t go their way, and the Liberty management decided to make the move. Whether that decision was justified or premature is something we’ll only know once next season unfolds. But for now, that debate will have to wait. The entire league has a bigger priority: reaching a new CBA agreement. Until that happens, everything from free agency to the expansion draft to even who plays next season — stays stuck in limbo.
