The Los Angeles Sparks named Ariana Andonian general manager on Tuesday, handing her full authority over player personnel and roster construction. The hire is the first structural move since the franchise's $75 million equity sale closed in November, when a group led by Aubrey Falk and Jaime Falk bought the team from previous controlling owners.
Andonian arrives from Sacramento, where she spent four seasons as assistant general manager under Sasha Farasha. The Kings' WNBA affiliate project collapsed in 2023 after Golden 1 Center scheduling conflicts made a Sacramento expansion bid untenable, leaving Andonian without a path to the top chair there. She interviewed for general manager openings in Atlanta and Dallas last summer but withdrew her name before final rounds. The Sparks role is her first as the decision-maker on contracts, draft picks, and trades.
The timing matters because the Sparks face a $2.3 million luxury tax bill if they retain their current roster through training camp. Cameron Brink returns from an ACL tear, Dearica Hamby is owed $185,000 in the final year of her extension, and Rickea Jackson's rookie scale jumps to $78,000. League sources say the new ownership group instructed Andonian to get under the tax line before the season opener, which means at least one rotation player will be moved before May. Hamby's name has circulated in back-channel conversations since December, when her relationship with former coach Curt Miller soured after she accused the organization of pregnancy discrimination in a lawsuit that settled quietly.
The Sparks have not made the playoffs since 2020. Season-ticket renewals for 2025 are running 22 percent behind last year's pace, per a team source who requested anonymity. Crypto.com Arena holds 19,068 for basketball, but the Sparks averaged 7,847 paid attendance last season, fourth-worst in the league. The franchise is negotiating with AEG to reduce its arena rent from $1.1 million annually to a variable-gate model that would lower fixed costs if crowds stay soft. That deal is expected to close before the February 15 renewal deadline for season-ticket deposits.
Andonian inherits a roster with three first-round picks from the last two drafts but no All-WNBA selection since Nneka Ogwumike left for Seattle in 2023. The front office also lost its director of basketball operations in January, when he followed Miller to Dallas. Andonian will hire her own lieutenants. She is expected to target Katie Smith, currently an assistant with the Minnesota Lynx, for a senior advisory role, though Smith has not confirmed interest publicly.
The Sparks hold the No. 2 pick in April's draft. USC's Juju Watkins is the presumptive selection if Dallas takes someone else at one, but Andonian will meet Watkins this week to begin the evaluation process. Watkins grew up 12 miles from Crypto.com Arena, which gives the Sparks a local marketing angle they have not had since Candace Parker's tenure ended.
Andonian's first test comes February 1, when restricted free agency opens. The Sparks have $890,000 in cap space under the luxury tax threshold, which is enough to match an offer sheet on Li Yueru but not enough to keep both Li and Hamby if another team offers Li more than $150,000. Phoenix and New York are both expected to target Li, whose shooting splits improved to 58 percent from two-point range last season after she added a mid-post turnaround.
The hire also closes a 27-year gap. The Sparks are one of the WNBA's original eight franchises but never employed a general manager until now. Previous ownership ran basketball decisions through the team president, who reported directly to ownership and handled sponsorships, ticket sales, and roster moves under one title. The Falk group split the roles in November, installing a new president for business operations and leaving the GM chair open until Andonian's hire.
Watch for Andonian's first trade by February 15, when the Sparks must submit their luxury tax projection to the league office. If Hamby is moved, the likely return is a second-round pick and a non-guaranteed contract that can be waived before camp. Andonian will also interview three assistant coaches this month to replace the two who followed Miller to Dallas.
The takeaway
First GM in Sparks history must cut **$2.3M** in luxury tax before May while rebuilding a roster that hasn't made playoffs since 2020.
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