Sheryl Swoopes Blasts Dallas Wings for Hiring New Head Coach Over Lisa Leslie

The Dallas Wings made waves when they hired former USC Trojans women's basketball assistant Chris Koclanes to be their new head coach last year. While Koclanes has worked as a defensive coordinator for the Connecticut Sun and the Los Angeles Sparks in the past, he didn't have head coaching experience in college or the professional game before the Wings hired him.

And Dallas is currently off to a 1-9 start, and Koclanes has received a lot of criticism for the job he has done so far.

One WNBA icon who's clearly frustrated about Dallas' decision to hire Koclanes is Sheryl Swoopes, which she made very clear during a June 11 episode of The Women's Hoops Show.

"When you have someone like a Lisa Leslie, who said she put her name in the hat for two jobs. Rumor is that one of those jobs was Dallas. I have no idea what jobs they are, because I haven’t talked to her about it. But when you have someone like a Lisa Leslie, who put her name in the hat for two jobs... and I don't know why [the Wings] said no, but you said no," Swoopes said.

As Swoopes alluded to, WNBA legend Lisa Leslie has confirmed she was a finalist for two WNBA head coaching vacancies this past offseason, and many believe one of those two teams was the Dallas Wings. But that last aspect is not confirmed.

Swoopes then continued, "Lisa Leslie is by far one of the best that has ever played the game. When I look at what's going in within the W[NBA] within these teams, players will respond and can relate to a former player on that level a lot better than someone that has never played the game. Maybe you’ve been an assistant coach for 20 years. That doesn’t necessarily mean you will be a better coach than I would be, or than Lisa would be, or someone who did the things that [Lisa] did. That one is such a mind-boggling thought to me. I really wish I knew why [the teams that rejected Leslie] said no."

Swoopes later added, “So, I am not going to put all of the blame on Chris [Koclanes]. No. Because [Wings GM] Curt Miller, this is your hire," Swoopes said. "I mean, if the GM goes to someone and says, ‘Hey, will you come be my head coach?’, if I really want to coach, I’m not going to say no.

“It’s one thing to be buddies, to be friends, to be whatever, and I get it... But this is about wins and losses," Swoopes added. She's alluding to the fact that Miller and Koclanes have worked together at several franchises (the Sun and the Sparks) in the past.

Swoopes then spoke about how the Wings' body language and facial expressions look, "confused," and that this team is way too talented to be 1-9.