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Reflecting on Brian Agler's coaching and GM record with the Seattle Storm

Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Seattle Storm head coach and general manager Brian Agler is leaving the organization to take over the vacant coaching position with the LA Sparks. Greenberg also reports that Storm associate head coach Jenny Boucek is the leading candidate to replace Agler in Seattle. While unexpected, it is not a complete surprise to see a shakeup in the coaching and basketball operations of the Storm.

The team brought in Alisha Valavanis as its new CEO last season after Karen Bryant, the organizations first ever employee, stepped down to pursue other ventures. Since Valavanis has taken over, the Storm have already made noticeable changes in terms of their marketing, and it stands to reckon that part of the plan moving forward is to reinvigorate the product on the court to draw new fans to games.

While Agler is by far one of the best coaches in all of women's basketball, he has proven to be a subpar general manager. His focus on bringing in older veteran players at the expense of developing new talent is the chief reason the Storm have fallen into mediocrity. His draft history has also been far from acceptable, with only one player drafted by him still remaining on the Storm roster. Of the six first round selections that Agler has made while GM of the Storm, two of them lasted only one season in the WNBA.

Before the 2014 season Agler packaged his 2013 first round pick Tianna Hawkins, along with his 2014 1st round pick Bria Hartley, to Washington in exchange for two time all-star power forward Crystal Langhorne. A good enough trade until you take a look at the Storm's roster and notice that the team already featured a very good starting power forward in Camille Little. With an already aging roster, it would have made more sense to keep Hawkins, who also plays power forward, and allow her to develop behind Little instead of attempting to run Little and Langhorne side by side in what became a comically undersized front court.

Last season also saw Agler make one of the most perplexing trades in WNBA history when he sent the rights to center Ewelina Kobryn to Phoenix in exchange for veteran power forward Charde Houston only to waive Houston the day before training camp. While Kobryn was most likely never going to play for Seattle again, the fact was she was still a tradable asset, and to send her to a conference rival in exchange for absolutely nothing defies all logic.

With the Storm owning the number one pick and Valavanis stating that the Storm will be looking to maximize their draft capabilities for the next several years in order to rebuild the franchise, it stands to reason that a fresh approach to both the coaching and general management of the franchise is the right move to make. With Agler taking the job in L.A., it allows the Storm to do just that. It will also likely mold the Sparks into one of the most potent defensive teams in the WNBA while still possessing Candace Parker and Nneka Ogwumike. The last time Agler had that kind of talent, Seattle went 28-6 and was undefeated at home, swept the playoffs and won its second championship. So with Agler making the move to join Magic Johnson's ownership group's quest for a title in L.A., it most definitely will improve the fortunes of both franchises and create yet another layer of intrigue for fans of the WNBA's greatest franchise rivalry.