LOS ANGELES — Adding Liz Cambage wasn't just about what she could bring to the court. The increased media and fan attention were also on Derek Fisher's mind when the former Sparks coach and general manager signed the controversial four-time All-Star.
"Is it going to be great?" Fisher asked on the team's preseason media day. "Or is it going to implode?"
It didn't even take a whole season to answer the latter.
Cambage, Fisher's prized free-agent signing who vocally declared that L.A. had always been her ultimate WNBA playing destination, abruptly left the Sparks on Tuesday as the team announced a "contract divorce." The Sparks (12-15) play at Phoenix on Thursday, a game that's critical for postseason seeding with the ninth-place Mercury (12-16) only half a game out of playoff position.
"It is with support that we share Liz Cambage's decision to terminate her contract with the organization," Sparks managing partner Eric Holoman said in a statement. "We want what's best for Liz and have agreed to part ways amicably. The Sparks remain excited about our core group and are focused on our run towards a 2022 playoff berth."
Cambage was averaging 13 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 25 appearances and 24 starts for the sixth-place Sparks with less than three weeks remaining in the regular season. It's the 30-year-old's second-lowest scoring season of her WNBA career, trailing only her rookie year when she averaged 11.5 points a game in 2011 for the Tulsa Shock.
Interim head coach Fred Williams — who replaced Fisher when he was fired on June 7 — said during the season that Cambage was struggling with conditioning and facing double- and triple-teams. Just as she appeared to be rounding into form with five double-digit scoring nights in six games, she was knocked out with COVID-19 on July 14. She missed two games while in health and safety protocols.
This isn't the first time the former Australian national team star has ditched a team suddenly. Instead of rejoining the Shock after the 2012 Olympics, Cambage announced the morning of her scheduled flight to the United States that she would miss the rest of the WNBA season because she was "physically exhausted" from national team duty
In 2021, she withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics less than two weeks before the Games, citing mental health concerns. The sudden move came after Cambage was involved in an incident with members of the Nigerian national team during a closed scrimmage. Cambage was accused of using a racial slur during an outburst after she unintentionally fouled a Nigerian player, who Cambage said "physically assaulted" her in retaliation, sparking an altercation between the teams on the sideline. Cambage denied using the slurs and received support from her Sparks teammates when reports surfaced in May.
