Heading into the 2023 season as the WNBA’s defending champions, the Las Vegas Aces would typically be facing the standard questions about repeating. But with the league’s announcement Tuesday of penalties against the franchise and coach Becky Hammon for dealings with Dearica Hamby before trading her to the Los Angeles Sparks in January, the usual narrative — and the launch of the season Friday — has been overshadowed.
Hamby made her allegations on social media about what she called unethical treatment by the Aces right after the Jan. 21 trade. The league acknowledged on Feb. 8 it was investigating the situation. It should have been the utmost priority to conclude the investigation and announce the outcome a few weeks before the season started, at the very least.
Instead, the announcement was made Tuesday, literally a few minutes into the start of a two-day series of WNBA-scheduled video calls for media with the league’s coaches. One second reporters were asking new Indiana Fever coach Christie Sides about her hopes this year with No. 1 draft pick
