The initial reaction of the basketball community was “Who?” When the news spread that Portland Fire had hired Alex Sarama to be the first head-coach in franchise history. Sarama, a 30-year old Englishman, has an impressive resume. He started his career working at the NBA’s office in Madrid, which is where he first crossed paths with Fire general manager Vanja Černivec. He spent many years as head coach of College Basket Borgomanero, an Italian club before moving to Paris Basketball and the London Lions, where he again teamed up with Černivec. Sarama, who left Europe in 2023 to become the Rip City Remix, Portland Trail Blazers G League’s affiliate. Transforming was founded in the same calendar year. BasketballIt is now used as a resource by several international federations. He wrote a bestseller by the same title the following year and was hired as an assistant for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Portland Fire hires Alex Sarama, former Cleveland Cavaliers coach as WNBA expansion coaching team.
Jack Maloney
Kenny Atkinson, or “Professor Alex” as the Cavaliers called him, implemented the Constraints-Led Approach in Cleveland. The teaching method is gaining popularity across sports and was a key factor in the Cavaliers’ stellar regular season. They won 64 games – the second-most in franchise history – finished with the best offense in the league (121 offensive rating) and claimed the No. They claimed the No.
Sarama will now take on his next challenge: coaching a team that is expanding. Sarama’s introductory press conference for the Fire was held late last month. He shared some of his plans and philosophy with the team. Sarama stated that he wanted to create a “safe environment” for his players and staff. He also stated that he’ll “utilize a principles of playing approach to defense and offense” in order to “prepare his team for the direction basketball is taking and the future I think it will be played.” He wants to create a unique style of play for the Fire.While Sarama’s recent press conference provided some insight as to what he will be like in his new role, the man remains a mystery for many people within the basketball community. Isaac Okoro is a Chicago Bulls swingman who played his first five seasons with the Cavaliers.
“I’m not sure if people realize that I was the first player.” [Sarama worked with in the NBA]Okoro spoke to CBS Sports at the beginning of this month. Sarama was Okoro’s player development with the Cavaliers. The two spent many hours together in the Cleveland gym during their one season. CBS Sports caught Okoro up to find out more about CLA’s coaching style, Sarama and what players on the Fire should expect. Note: This interview was lightly edited to improve clarity and length. CBS Sports: Alex seems to have a lot interesting ideas for a coach. What was your experience as a player for him like?
Isaac Okoro: I had a great experience. I’d never heard of CLA until I met him. He was the person in charge of my player development when he arrived in Cleveland. He was teaching me CLA, and showing me different drills. He was basically showing me an unorthodox, different way to train. In the drills, he didn’t just show me how to go to the corner and shoot 10 3s. He also showed me different situations that would happen in a real game. As an example, we would run drills where I would shoot corner threes and a coach would contest them running from the paint. Or a coaching standing behind me would contest it. Different things to simulate game situations. CBS Sports: Did that please you?Okoro : Yes, I did. Alex is good with criticism. Alex would accept certain things that i didn’t like, and other things that i liked. We would stop doing the things that I didn’t enjoy and continue doing those things that I enjoyed. CBS Sports : In his press conference, he spoke about the importance of creating an “environment led by players.” You seem to have had a similar experience.
Okoro: Yeah, definitely. It’s run by players. It’s a good thing. He has no ego. He is willing to accept everything. He is very creative and he has studied basketball extensively. He is a basketball addict. He loves to come up with new ideas that help players improve. CBS Sports : I’ve heard that you call him Professor Alex.”Okoro: [Laughts]. Yeah, yeah. He is always inventing new terminology for different things. I don’t recall all of them, but he had different terms for how we guarded people or what we did. CBS Sports: Could you describe CLA to those who are unfamiliar?Okoro : CLA, I believe, is a new way of training. It’s a different way to train, with different restrictions. Definitely trying to differentiate learning and doing different things to help athletes get better – not the norm of getting into a gym and shooting by yourself, but doing things to help you get in game shape.
CBS Sports: His press conference was full of analytics. Was this a part of your daily experience when you worked with him? Okoro : Oh, yeah. He is a big analytics guy. We were a very big analytics team last year in Cleveland. It could be about setting screens – what are my percentiles setting screens – or catch-and-shoot shots, or corner shots. All of it was analyzed. What if I was to ask myself, “Would it be better for me to go left or right?” Every decision I made was based on analysis. We worked on what I was good at and my weaknesses. CBS Sports: I’ve read that the Grizzlies are a good team. [another team that utilized CLA] They played a game called “murderball.” What are some other drills and workouts that Alex set up in practice?
Okoro: There were some games where we would do 3-on-3 and whoever gets the ball out of the basket after someone scores – doesn’t matter if it’s the same team – it’s their ball. The games were different. You can’t do anything crazy, like travel. I’m sure he has done this with younger players, but not me. CBS Sports: Alex, when you arrived in Cleveland, your team was already established and pretty successful. What do you think of his ability to work with a team that is a blank canvas? Okoro : I believe it will be good. We were already a great team in Cleveland before he arrived. We were a team without egos. We were open to new ways of learning. They came in to change the entire offense because we knew that was what we needed. We did well, you saw. We started the year 15-0 and were one of best offensive teams in league. It will be beneficial for the expansion team to learn and adapt. This is probably the most important thing, because it will be strange to begin with. This is going to be a different experience for basketball players and other athletes because we aren’t used to this type of drill. It might seem stupid at first but you will soon see the benefits for yourself and your team.
CBS Sports: During his presser, he talked about wanting to “prepare the Fire” for “where basketball will be going.” What do you think the future of basketball will be?Okoro : I think that offensively, what we have seen is you need to be able shoot. You gotta be able to shoot in a variety of different ways – off the dribble, moving, catch-and-shoot. The game will always expand if you can move without a ball, if you are able space out the floor and if your versatility is high. CBS Sports: What can players expect from Alex?
Okoro: You can expect a guy that’s gonna come into the gym with high intensity every single day. Very competitive man, very competitive. You will be competing in every drill you do. You’re gonna enjoy yourself, he will bring high levels of team chemistry to the team, and bring that CLA-like environment. They’re in for a lot of fun.
2025-11-18 20:27:58
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