The Toronto Tempo are playing basketball chess

Right now, it’s all about establishing the team’s culture for general manager Monica Wright Rogers and assistant general manager Eli Horowitz. Both are in the process of settling into Toronto after working as assistant general managers for West Coast WNBA teams — Rogers for the Phoenix Mercury and Horowitz for the Los Angeles Sparks — and have collaborated in the past.

“I’ve known Eli for years, and I really just gained a respect for his viewpoint, his perspective, his body of work,” said Rogers in an exclusive interview with The Next. “I knew I wanted to modernize our front office, ensuring that we were on the cutting edge of analytics and using data to help shape our roster. That’s something Eli is really strong in. … He was the first person I thought of [for the assistant general manager role].”

For Horowitz, the chance to work closely with Rogers was a big selling point for making the jump from the Sparks to the Tempo. The chance to “put their heads together,” as he said to The Next, was a big motivator for him. He wants to create something special that’s both brand new but also comes from two minds that have been invested in the WNBA for years.

The strategy of expansion

The league is already witnessing a triumphant blueprint of expansion as the Golden State Valkyries continue on with their successful first season. The Valkyries have stunned the WNBA with an unbeatable home court atmosphere and better-than-expected first season of basketball. That same innovative approach, bearing unexpected results, is exactly what Rogers and Horowitz are observing from their fellow expansion team. They want to replicate those successes, but with their own unique twists.

Their vision for the Toronto Tempo is simple: build a roster strategically focused on data, analytics and high-quality scouting. Lean into the technology that exists now to track statistics, but also pair that with the use of basketball’s most passionate and knowledgeable minds to make sure that the on-court product is in line with the vision. Mix team-building with a holistic approach to player experience and treatment, and wrap it all up with a great selling point: Toronto, one of North America’s best cities to play and live in. The final result they are hoping for is a team culture where everyone has a deep knowledge and love for the game, knows their role and is proud to represent the city of Toronto, and Canada, as a whole.

“We want to build a basketball strategy department that encompasses scouting, analytics, and all that goes into that side of the business,” said Horowitz, noting that the team has already started hiring for its expansive basketball strategy department. “I’m proud that the Tempo are putting a stake in the ground right away and investing in the strategy staff. Everything from analytics to both college and international scouting, salary cap management, CBA analysis… these are complex structures that ultimately impact building a great team and winning.”

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Searching for the right leader

Of course, one of the most important hires in this building stage will be the franchise’s first head coach. Based on the team’s early focus on scouting and analytics, it would not be shocking to see a coach who comes from that world. Rogers also knows that “the league is very good,” and the team’s head coach will have the great challenge of not only coaching their own team but also navigating the depth of talent in the Tempo’s future competition.

“Being able to strategize throughout the course of postgames, being able to prepare your team after playing a team so many times, figuring out ways to strategize around the best preparation,” are all top qualities for Rogers in her search. Or, as she puts it, “the ability to play chess.” When it comes down to it, the Tempo are searching for a strategic leader above all else.

Rogers also stated the importance of the team’s head coach being community-oriented. “Coaches in our league understand that they do need to champion many causes that our players care about,” she said. “I think our head coach needs to understand that you’re going to be championing what this country cares about.”

Rogers is looking for someone who wants to establish a relationship between the Toronto Tempo and the community and be the bridge between the players and this country that will be excited to cheer them on. As a past player and two-time WNBA Champion (2011 and 2013, both with the Minnesota Lynx) herself, she knows exactly what players need in their leader.

Toronto as a selling point

Location is a huge aspect of this team’s strategy and culture as well, as both Rogers and Horowitz emphasized. As they both begin to establish roots in Toronto, they are learning what makes this city so vibrant to outsiders. That will be an important aspect of recruitment.

“I think the more the WNBA can make its footprint in [Canada], the better,” said Rogers. “We see what it has done for the NBA in 30 years of the [Toronto] Raptors being in existence. Now we have a number of NBA players who are from Canada, including the MVP [Shai Gilgeous-Alexander]. Those are the kinds of things that you can just tangibly see make such a difference when you have this type of exposure in this country. So, the more the better.”

Horowitz hasn’t spent as much time in Toronto as Rogers, but he had high praise for both Toronto and Edmonton, where the Los Angeles Sparks played in the second WNBA Canada Game in 2024. “Toronto has everything to offer on and off the court,” he said, “I think in terms of when the WNBA season is, over the summer, the weather, the environment, the energy of the city, I think this is an amazing time to be in Toronto.” The ability to offer players the perks of a dynamic city will be a selling point, one that they plan to take full advantage of.

Despite neither Rogers nor Horowitz having much experience in Toronto or Canada before joining the Tempo’s staff, they already have a grasp on what they can do to make this franchise special. It’s a tall order, writing a new chapter in the history of a sport for an entire country, but Rogers and Horowitz are determined to make this expansion story a successful one.

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