Dallas Wings hire Curt Miller as GM and executive vice president of basketball operations

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Dallas Wings hire Curt Miller as GM and executive vice president of basketball operations

2024-11-09 00:06 Last Updated At：00:21

The Dallas Wings hired Curt Miller as their general manager and executive vice president of basketball operations on Friday.

Miller comes to the Wings after spending two years as the head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks. Before that, he was the coach of the Connecticut Sun for seven years and GM of the franchise for six.

“Curt Miller is a proven winner with deep experience building and leading WNBA rosters and staffs,” Dallas Wings President and CEO Greg Bibb said. “I believe Curt’s ability to construct winning teams as well as his success in coaching in the WNBA and beyond will prove invaluable for our organization as we continue our pursuit of a WNBA Championship.”

Bibb held the role of GM before giving it up last month when the team fired coach Latricia Trammell. Miller's first task will be to find a new coach for the franchise. There are currently five head coaching vacancies across the league. Washington, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Connecticut are looking as well.

Miller was a two-time WNBA Coach of the Year and led the Connecticut Sun to the playoffs six consecutive years, including two Finals appearances in 2019 and 2022.

“The potential of the Dallas Wings is immeasurable," Miller said. "With a new arena and practice facility on the horizon, a talented roster which is impactful both on the court and in the community, exciting positioning in the upcoming draft, a passionate and loyal fanbase."

Before joining the WNBA, Miller was a coach in college at Indiana and Bowling Green. He's one of three coaches to win more than 250 college games and 150 WNBA contests, joining Van Chancellor and Lin Dunn.

The Wings will take part in the WNBA draft lottery and will have no worse than the No. 3 pick due to a pick swap with the Chicago Sky.

In addition to the hiring of Miller, Bibb announced the front office promotions of Travis Charles and Jasmine Thomas.

Charles, who previously served as the vice president of basketball operations and assistant general manager, was promoted to senior vice president of basketball operations and assistant general manager. He just concluded his 11th season with the organization, overseeing all logistics and strategy for basketball operations in video, scouting and travel.

Thomas was promoted to vice president of basketball operations and assistant general manager. She reunites with Miller, who she played under in Connecticut.

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

Hungary's leader Orbán predicts Trump will end support for Ukraine in comments before EU summit

2024-11-09 00:19 Last Updated At：00:21

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Donald Trump's biggest European fan, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, predicted on Friday that a new U.S. administration under Trump will cease providing support to Ukraine in its fight against Russia's full-scale invasion.

Orbán's comments were a signal that Trump's recent election could drive a wedge among European Union leaders on the question of the war.

Hungary's leader hosted the second of two days of summits on Friday in the capital, Budapest, just days after Trump's election victory. The war in Ukraine was high on the agenda for the gathering of the EU's 27 leaders, most of whom believe continuing to supply Kyiv with weapons and financial assistance are key elements for the continent's security.

The nationalist Hungarian leader has long sought to undermine EU support for Ukraine, and routinely blocked, delayed or watered down the bloc’s efforts to provide weapons and funding and to sanction Moscow for its invasion. He has sought to use the summits to make his case to other leaders that they should rethink their commitments to the war-ravaged country.

In comments to state radio before Friday's summit, Orbán, who is considered close to both Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, reiterated his long-held position that an immediate cease-fire should be declared, and suggested that Ukraine has already lost its fight.

“The situation on the front is obvious, there’s been a military defeat. The Americans are going to pull out of this war,” Orbán said.

The Hungarian leader has cast himself as the exemplar of some in the EU who are skeptical of providing indefinite support to Ukraine, especially in light of uncertainty over whether U.S. assistance could evaporate under Trump.

He said Friday that Trump's reelection had created a “new situation” for Europe, and that the continent "cannot finance this war alone.”

But numerous EU leaders made a point to downplay the risk of a shift in U.S. policies drifting across the Atlantic into European capitals. Arriving at the summit, the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said a new U.S. administration wouldn't lead Europe to change course.

“We cannot outsource our capacity of action. Whatever happens in the U.S., we have our interests, we have our values,” Borrell said.

Italy’s hard-right leader, Premier Giorgia Meloni, who is aligned with Orbán on many issues but breaks with him sharply on Russia’s war, said: “As long is there is a war, Italy is on the side of Ukraine.”

Western support is crucial for Kyiv to sustain the costly war of attrition, but Trump's repeated statements criticizing U.S. aid, and his claims that he could bring the conflict to a rapid end, have led to uncertainty over how long the help will continue.

At a gathering on Thursday of European leaders in Budapest, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy objected to Trump’s claim that Russia’s war with Ukraine could be ended in a day, something he and his European backers fear would mean peace on terms favorable to Putin and involving the surrender of territory.

“If it is going to be very fast, it will be a loss for Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said.

Despite Orbán's attempts to throttle aid packages, EU leaders have largely found workaround solutions to any obstruction to providing Zelenskyy with assistance, and have been able to signal their commitment to supporting Ukraine in its fight, regardless of who occupies the White House.

Closing out the summit on Friday, European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said the EU would “discuss with our American friends also the fact that Russia is not only a threat to Europe, but a threat to the global security as a whole” in an effort to dissuade a new Trump administration from abandoning aid to Ukraine.

“We see that technology from China and Iran is used by Russia on the battlefield,” she continued. "It shows that the security of the Indo-Pacific and Europe are interconnected, and so are the European and the United States interests in this course.”