In yet another surprising twist this off-season, the Washington Mystics have chosen to part ways with Coach of the Year candidate Julie Plank and promote Trudi Lacey to the dual role of coach and general manager.

"We appreciate the patience of our fans as we moved through this process. We were in discussion with Julie about a joint gm/coach role as well as our philosophy moving forward. Julie only wanted to coach the team and both sides agreed to part ways. I am excited to have Trudi Lacey as our general manager and head coach.

Nothing against Lacey, but what makes this so surprising is not only that Plank was a strong Coach of the Year candidate - and in fact had a strong case over coach Brian Agler, despite the Seattle Storm's historic success - but that the Plank - Angela Taylor combo had so quickly revitalized an organization that had struggled for so long.

We wish Lacey the best of luck in continuing that success.

Update from @DishNSwish: "It's all about the money. Doc J saying we "weren't successful on the business side"