When news first started to spread that the Portland Fire would hire Alex Sarama as the first head coach in franchise history, the initial reaction from most in the basketball world was the same: “Who?”
The 30-year-old Sarama, who hails from England, has a fascinating 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 later spent multiple years as the head coach at College Basket Borgomanero in Italy, before working with Paris Basketball and the London Lions, where he again teamed up with Černivec.
In 2023, Sarama left Europe to become an assistant coach and the director of player development with the Rip City Remix, the Portland Trail Blazers’ G League affiliate. In the same year, he founded Transforming Basketball, a coaching resource now used by multiple international federations. The following year, he wrote a best-selling book by the same name and earned his first NBA job as an assistant with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Portland Fire coaching hire: WNBA expansion team to hire Alex Sarama from Cleveland Cavaliers, per report
Jack Maloney
“Professor Alex,” as the Cavaliers came to call him, helped Kenny Atkinson implement the Constraints-Led Approach (CLA) in Cleveland. The teaching method, which is quickly gaining steam across the sports landscape, was a major factor in the Cavaliers’ terrific 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. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Now, Sarama is set to embark on his latest challenge: coaching an expansion team. Late last month, Sarama held his introductory press conference with the Fire, where he shared a bit about his philosophy and plans for the team.
Notably, Sarama said he wants to create “an environment of psychological safety” for not only the players, but also his staff. Furthermore, he said he will be “utilizing a principles of play approach to offense and defense” so that he can “prepare the team for where basketball is going and the future of how I think the game is going to be played.” Ultimately, he wants to “create a style of play that is unique to the Fire.”
While Sarama’s press conference offered some insight into what he’ll be like as a head coach, he remains a mystery to many in the basketball world. But not to Chicago Bulls swingman Isaac Okoro, who spent the first five seasons of his career with the Cavaliers before being traded this summer.
“I don’t know if people know that I was like the first player [Sarama worked with in the NBA],” Okoro told CBS Sports earlier this month. Sarama was Okoro’s player development coach with the Cavaliers, and the two spent countless hours in the gym during their lone season together in Cleveland.
CBS Sports caught up with Okoro to learn more about CLA, Sarama’s coaching style and what the players who ultimately wind up on the Fire can expect. Note: This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
CBS Sports: It seems as though Alex has a lot of interesting ideas as a coach. What was your experience playing for him?
Isaac Okoro: It was a good experience. I had never heard of CLA before meeting him, but when he came to Cleveland he was like, the guy in charge of running my player development and he was basically teaching me CLA and going through different drills. Basically showing me a different, unorthodox way of training. Not just the simple way of going to the corner and shooting 10 3s, but implementing different situations that will happen in the game while you’re doing it in the drills. For example, drills that me and him would do would be like, I would shoot corner 3s, but I would have a coach contest it running from inside the paint, or a coach standing behind me trying to contest it. Just different things to get in-game situations.
CBS Sports: Did you enjoy that?
Okoro: I enjoyed it. One thing about Alex is he’s good with criticism. There would be certain things that I didn’t like and there would be certain things that I did like and he would accept it. The things I didn’t like, we’d stop doing them and the things I did like, we’d keep doing them.
CBS Sports: One of the things he talked about in his press conference was creating a “player-led environment.” It seems like that was your experience?
Okoro: Yeah, definitely. It’s a player-ran league. But that’s the good thing about him. He doesn’t have a big ego or anything like that. He’s ready to accept anything. He has a lot of ideas, he studies the game of basketball a lot. He’s a basketball junkie. He enjoys coming up with different concepts to help players get better.
CBS Sports: I’ve read that you called him “Professor Alex.”
Okoro: [Laughts]. Yeah, yeah. He’s always coming up with different terminologies for things. I can’t remember all of them but he always had a different terminology for certain ways that we were guarding people or certain things that we were doing.
CBS Sports: Can you explain what CLA is for those who haven’t experienced it?
Okoro: I think CLA is basically a different way of training. Different restraints, basically just not the normal way of training. 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: He really talked up analytics during his press conference. Was that part of your day-to-day experience working with him?
Okoro: Oh yeah, every day. He’s a very big analytics guy. In Cleveland last year we were a big analytics team. It could be about setting screens – what are my percentiles setting screens – or catch-and-shoot shots, or corner shots. Everything was analytical. Like, am I better going left or going right? Everything I was doing was analytical. We were working on the things I was great on every single day and also working on my weaknesses.
CBS Sports: I read that the Grizzlies [another team that utilized CLA] had a game they played called “murderball.” What were some of the other drills or workouts Alex would set up during practice that you remember?
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. Different games like that. Nothing crazy like you’re able to travel or anything like that. I think he’s probably done that with some of the younger guys, but not with me.
CBS Sports: When Alex arrived in Cleveland, you already had an established team that was pretty successful. How do you think he’ll be working with an expansion team that’s a blank slate?
Okoro: I think it will be good for them. In Cleveland, before he came there, we were already a good team. One thing about our team was we didn’t have any egos, we were ready to accept a new way of learning. We knew we needed to get better on the offensive side, so they came in and changed the whole offense. You saw how we did. We started the season 15-0, we were one of the best offensive teams in the league. I think it will be good for the expansion team if they’re able to adapt and buy in. I think that’s the biggest part about it, because at first it’s gonna be weird. It’s gonna be different, because athletes, basketball players, we’re not used to doing those type of drills. You might think it’s dumb or stupid or whatever at first, but once you actually buy into it and you actually start doing it, you’ll see how good it is for you and your team.
CBS Sports: He talked in his press conference about wanting to prepare the Fire for “where basketball is going.” Where do you think basketball is going?
Okoro: Offensively, I think what we’ve been seeing is you’ve gotta be able to shoot. You gotta be able to shoot in a variety of different ways – off the dribble, moving, catch-and-shoot. Being able to move without the ball, being able to space the floor, being versatile, the game is always going to continue to expand that way.
CBS Sports: Finally, what can the players who end up playing for Alex expect from him?
Okoro: You can expect a guy that’s gonna come into the gym with high intensity every single day. Very competitive guy, very competitive. Every drill that you do is going to be competitive. You’re gonna have fun, he’s gonna bring a high level of team chemistry, a high spirit to the team and he’ll bring that CLA environment. So good luck to them.
