Caitlin Clark loved the roster she had assembled for the WNBA All-Star Game.
The coaching situation, though, was another story.
In a move that was as shocking as it was unclear if it was technically allowed, Clark traded Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve to Team Collier for Liberty coach Sandy Brondello.
Reeve was supposed to coach Team Clark in the July 19 showcase before Napheesa Collier and Clark agreed to the coach swap and revealed it during the WNBA All-Star draft that was airing on ESPN’s pregame show before the Liberty faced the Aces.
“I don’t know if this is in the rules, I don’t really care, but I think we already discussed we are going to trade coaches,” Clark said. [Collier] is going to take her coach. Sandy Brondello, let’s get it. It’s going to be amazing. Sorry WNBA if that’s not in the rule. Sorry, ESPN, if that’s not in the rule, but we just made it a rule.
“Sandy Brondello, come on over. You can coach Sabrina [Ionescu]. Maybe [Breanna Stewart] wants to come over to my team.”
Clark continued to jokingly prod Collier to “let her know” if she wanted to allow the Liberty star to join Team Clark.
Collier plays under Reeve for the Lynx, so the swap allows her to play for her in the All-Star Game as well.
The trade is notable not only for its unprecedented nature but also because of the perception around Reeve and her comments regarding Clark.
Reeve had seemingly taken a swipe on social media when the WNBA promoted a preseason game being televised featuring Clark and the Fever in 2024.
The Lynx coach re-shared the WNBA post on X and mentioned that Minnesota was also playing the Sky that night and included the hashtags #theWismmorethanoneplayer and #12teams.
She then responded to a fan comment that it was “Because they only care about Caitlin,” to which the coach replied, “That part.”
Reeve was also the head coach of the U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team and took a lot of flak for Clark’s snub from the Olympic roster.