The first player Bill Laimbeer signed after becoming coach of the Liberty was Katie Smith, then a 14-year veteran. At 38, she was past her prime and an incongruous on-court addition for a team looking to rebuild around youth after a disappointing 15-19 season in 2012.
Laimbeer wasn’t hoping to recapture slivers of the talent that helped Smith win three Olympic gold medals and two W.N.B.A. championships, when she played for him with the Detroit Shock from 2006 to 2009. He was saving a chair for her next to him on the sideline.
“Both of my assistants at the time — it was Taj McWilliams-Franklin and Barbara Farris — I said, You’re both going to be on one-year contracts, because I have a coach coming in next year,” Laimbeer said.