Maybe the name of the team works best now: Toronto Tempo. It’s calm, reasonable sounding. Take a breath, reassuring. And yet, it is part of the sporting meteor that has become the WNBA.
There is so much for the expansion Tempo to do right now and almost no time to do it in.
They have no players. There hasn’t been an expansion draft. That should come in early April. There hasn’t been the annual college draft. That should come in mid April, with the Tempo possibly picking sixth. Free agency starts around April 7 — with the most unique and possibly explosive free agency of any sport at any time.
Two-thirds of the entire WNBA will soon be available in free agency to anyone. That’s free agent frenzy on speed dial.
And that includes A’ja Wilson, Bam Adebayo’s better half, the four-time league MVP, available to anyone now willing to write a cheque big enough. Even if that cheque happens to come from a Canadian bank for the very first time.
“It’s incredible what’s going on,” said Resch, the president of the Tempo and former front office executive with Masai Ujiri’s Toronto Raptors. “We haven’t stopped working since we were awarded the team in May of 2024. But now, all this. It’s always been a race to tipoff.”
Now it’s not so much a race, but a sprint. And almost no time for anyone to catch their breath.
You need to understand the rules of a brand new collective bargaining agreement before you can begin, which had the season in peril before being settled the other night.
You need to have a clear picture of the expansion draft rules — who is available from each team — especially with Toronto coming in along with Portland. Last year, Golden State had an incredible first season in the WNBA. They made the playoffs. They set a league attendance record. They set the bar incredibly high for the franchises coming after them.
Once the Tempo people know the CBA and understand the rules of expansion, there’s a collegiate draft to worry about and the very important period for free agent signings, and then training camp, and with tickets to sell, and finding places to live for new players.
One paragraph later I’m already exhausted.
### Toronto has seen this before
Toronto has lived through this before. This is the 50th season of the Blue Jays. Phil Roof was the first player they ever signed. He played in three games for the Jays.
This is the 31st season of the Raptors. B.J. Armstrong was their first player chosen. He never did play a game for the Raptors.
It should be different for the Tempo. The first player taken from expansion, the first college pick, the first free agent signed are all expected to be part of the team run by general manager Monica Wright Rogers and coached by the veteran Sandy Brondello, who has been around the WNBA for most of the past 34 years as a player and longtime coach.
“We want to be competitive right away,” said Resch. “You don’t go out and get a coach with multiple WNBA championships and not want to be competitive.”
Resch had a front seat with her sleeves rolled up when the Raptors grinded their way to an NBA championship in 2019. If she learned anything from the 11 years she worked alongside Ujiri, it was to never give up on your dreams.
“Think big,” she said when asked what she learned most from Ujiri. “He always had a huge vision for what this could be. Or what he wanted it to be.
“There’s a reason I jumped at this opportunity. It was a chance to think big. This is not a moment in time, this is a movement (in women’s sports). This is not just one thing happening, there’s a ton of momentum behind it and it’s not going backwards. It’s going like a rocket ship. Just to be part of this is incredible.”
I thought Larry Tanenbaum was out of his mind when he paid more than $50 million U.S. to purchase a WNBA expansion franchise. Turns out, Tanenbaum shouldn’t be taking financial advice from me.
### Golden State expansion success
The expansion Golden State Valkyries have been already valued at $500 million by the business publication, Sportico. The least valuable WNBA franchise listed are the Atlanta Dream. Their estimated worth, the poor things, $165 million.
Early financial conclusion: Tanenbaum and partners have already more than tripled their investment in the Tempo before playing a single game. And the team Edward Rogers and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment had no interest in purchasing, is another financial plus for Tanenbaum and this already sports heavy city.
Resch loves the idea of following the path of the Blue Jays and Raptors, not just being a local team, but by being a national team. The Tempo will be the first WNBA franchise in Canada. They will play games in Vancouver and Montreal this season. They will play the majority of their games at Coca-Cola Coliseum but big games, like against Indiana and Caitlin Clark in August, will move to the Scotiabank Arena, where the Raptors play.
“There are WNBA fans in Canada,” said Resch. “Look how they’ve showed up for neutral site games across Canada. Now it will be different. Now they’ll have a team to follow, players to get to know, we have an incredible story to tell. Now we have to build something people believe in. We’re excited about introducing our team, our players, to a whole new community, a whole new fanbase.
“This is awesome,” said president Resch. “Toronto is an awesome sports city. I didn’t know that before I moved here in 2013.”
Awesome until you lose your first game.