Portland Fire

Preseason 1 at Seattle: What the Box Score Actually Said

The Portland Fire lost 91-81 at Climate Pledge Arena on April 29 in the team's first basketball game in 24 years. They trailed 27-19 after one quarter, won the second 23-18, and could not close the gap in the second half. They left the line short (27-of-41 from the stripe, 65.9%), shot 6-of-23 from three (26.1%), and gave up 91 to a Storm team playing its second preseason game with most of its top-eight rotation in uniform. They also did all of this without eight players: Bridget Carleton, Chloe Bibby, and Frieda Bühner not with the team; Maya Caldwell, Teja Oblak, Karlie Samuelson, Kamiah Smalls, and Sug Sutton out for injury or illness. Four likely starters and the entire reserve point-guard rotation sat. The score was a ten-point loss. The result was more interesting than that.

Geiselsöder Looked Like a Stretch Five

Luisa Geiselsöder finished with 15 points in 21 minutes on 60% shooting, including 2-of-4 from three and 7-of-8 from the line. Her true-shooting percentage was 88. She is a 6-foot-4 German center that the Fire took with the second pick of the second round of the expansion draft. She is not supposed to score this efficiently in her first WNBA game. The two threes in particular tell a story about how Sarama wants to play: pace the floor with shooters at five, drag opposing centers out of the paint, run downhill from there. Without Carleton on the floor, Geiselsöder was the clearest read on whether the system has a pulse. Yes.

Sarah Ashlee Barker Was the Two-Way Wing

Sarah Ashlee Barker played 28 minutes (most of any Fire player), scored 14 points on 4-of-10 shooting, grabbed six rebounds, dished three assists, and was the only Fire player on the floor with a positive plus-minus (+3). The 2025 free-agent acquisition from Alabama via Atlanta is a wing who does a little of everything. With Carleton and Samuelson sitting and the perimeter rotation thinned out, she was both the primary scorer and the primary creator from the wing. Per the box score, she initiated half of her own makes (50% AST/UAST), which is what you want from a secondary creator. She is making a real case for a starting role on opening night.

Serah Williams Outplayed Her Draft Slot

Serah Williams, the third-round pick (#33 overall) Portland traded up for, came off the bench and went 3-of-3 from the field for 9 points in 14 minutes. 100% true shooting. Three rebounds. One steal. One block. Plus-zero on the floor against a fully-staffed Storm front line. The 6-foot-4 UConn center is competing for the 12th roster spot against a healthy front court that already includes Megan Gustafson and Geiselsöder. Wednesday night was a downpayment on a roster spot. The eye-test was unanimous on Reddit and on Storm-Fire X spaces: she belongs.

The Foul Discipline Problem

Portland committed 30 fouls in 40 minutes. Jordan Harrison fouled out in 21 minutes (5 PF). Geiselsöder, Leite, Engstler, and Puoch each had four. Barker had three. Some of this is referees calling a tight preseason whistle (the Storm-Fire game produced 61 total fouls, per fan accounts). Some of it is a young, athletic team learning where the WNBA whistle sits. Sarama's defense is built on speed and length, not contact. The fouling has to come down or the rotations get harder to manage. Watch this on May 3.

Carla Leite at the Line

Carla Leite filled up the box score: 12 points, 5 assists, 24:52 minutes. She also went 5-of-11 from the free-throw line (45.5%). Career number is better than that. Preseason number can stay where it is. With Sutton and Oblak out, Leite was the only true point guard on the active roster, which means the offense ran through her and she got to the rim a lot. Getting to the rim is good. Missing six free throws on a night your team loses by 10 is the difference between a competitive loss and a winnable one.

Engstler Brought the Defense

In 17 minutes, Emily Engstler had seven rebounds, three blocks, two steals, and two assists. The defensive box score on Engstler was elite. She also went 2-of-5 with a make from three. The plus-minus (-17) is not flattering, but the on-ball defense and weak-side rim protection were the most encouraging signs that Sarama's defense can hold up against real WNBA possessions. The Williams-Engstler-Geiselsöder front-court rotation is the team's identity moving forward. Wednesday night was the first proof.

What This Says About the Project

Portland was the league's most curious roster going into preseason. After one game and four likely starters out, they were within ten of a fully-staffed Storm. That is not a meaningless number. It tells you the bench has actual talent. It tells you Sarama's system gets organized in a hurry. It tells you the international pipeline (Geiselsöder, Leite, Bühner, Martín, Mühl) is producing real basketball players, not roster filler. This is a project, not a punchline. The 2025 Valkyries went 23-17 in their inaugural season; if the Fire show on May 9 with their full rotation healthy and the same defensive shape they had Wednesday, they are not necessarily a tank job. Reddit's read on the night was unanimous: Portland looked rougher than the score, and the score was a ten-point loss.

What to Watch May 3 vs LA

The preseason home opener is Sunday, May 3 at 4:00 PM PT at Moda Center. Broadcast on Rose City SportsNet. The questions are: does Carleton debut? Does Samuelson? Does Sutton come back from the injury report? Can Williams repeat the efficient minutes? Does Harrison stay on the floor for 25 minutes? Is the foul rate under 25? Sunday is the dress rehearsal for the home opener six days later. May 9 vs Chicago is the real one. Wednesday's box score said the bench is real. Sunday will tell us about the starters.

The Draft: Portland's Bet on What You Can't See Yet

The Moda Center watch party was packed. When pick seven was announced and the name on the screen was a Spanish point guard nobody in the building had seen play, the room got quiet for a second. Then phones came out. EuroLeague highlights started loading. By the time the second pick was in, the confusion had shifted to something closer to curiosity. By the time the Williams trade went through, it was starting to feel like a plan.

Here's the thing Portland fans need to sit with: this draft wasn't for this season. Černivec used the first draft pick in franchise history on a player who won't wear a Portland uniform until 2027. That's a statement. Not the statement most fans wanted on draft night, but a real one. She's telling you what kind of front office this is going to be. Patient. International. Willing to take the pick that makes the room quiet because she's seen the player in person and knows what's coming.

"I've been watching her for years and dreamt last year with the Valkyries that I could get my hands on her." That's Černivec on Iyana Martín. Not draft-night PR. That's a GM who identified her target years ago and finally had the draft capital to get her. Martín is 20 years old. FIBA U19 World Cup MVP at 17. EuroLeague Young Player of the Year at 19. Five assists per game in Europe's best club competition. She's averaging 12.5 PPG in the EuroLeague for Perfumerías Avenida. Those are not "maybe she'll develop" numbers. She's already good. She just needs rest.

And that's the part that matters: Černivec said Martín "knows exactly what she wants and for this summer she just said she needs rest." International players don't get an off-season. EuroLeague runs from fall to spring. National team commitments fill the gaps. WNBA runs May to October. If you play all three, you play basketball 12 months a year. Martín choosing to take a summer off before making the WNBA jump isn't a red flag. It's a 20-year-old being smart about her body. Portland respecting that choice tells you something about the kind of organization they're building.

The Bühner pick at 17 is harder to read without seeing her in an American gym. Černivec called her a "sniper" who can "cause damage around the hoop." The EuroCup numbers back it up: 17.0 PPG and 7.1 RPG across 22 games for Movistar Estudiantes. She's 21, she's already an Olympian for Germany (2024 Paris), and her youth international numbers are absurd (18.6 PPG at U20 EuroBasket). European production doesn't always translate to the WNBA. But the shooting, the rebounding, and the fact that she's been competing against professionals since her teens are all real. On April 16 Portland designated Bühner to the player development pool, one of two such spots the new CBA created. She practices and travels with the team, can be activated for up to 12 games, and doesn't count against the cap. That's a patient way to let her adjust to the American game. Portland fans don't have March Madness memories to latch onto with this pick. They'll have to wait for training camp. That's uncomfortable. It's also what trusting a front office looks like.

The Williams trade was the move that made the most immediate sense, and the one that drew the least confusion. Portland traded pick 37 (Taylor Bigby, TCU guard) and a 2027 third-round pick to Connecticut for the 33rd pick and landed the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. A 6-4 center with 262 career blocks who played at UConn alongside Nika Mühl. Williams will compete for minutes at training camp (April 19). Portland's center rotation of Gustafson, Geiselsöder, and Williams is suddenly three deep with three different skill sets. That's the kind of depth that gets you through a 44-game schedule.

The Training Camp Wave (April 15-16)

Four signings in two days filled the rest of the camp roster. Three (Oblak, Smalls, P. Williams) signed standard contracts as veteran free agents. Harrison signed a rookie-scale standard contract. None of these deals are guaranteed roster spots. All four will fight through training camp and preseason for the final 12. Bühner has the only player development pool spot Portland has used; the second dev-pool slot is open.

Teja Oblak is the one that makes you sit up. Slovenian point guard, 30-ish years old, 2025 EuroLeague champion with ZVVZ USK Praha, 4.4 assists per game playing against the best club competition in Europe. She's never played in the WNBA. Not because she couldn't. Because nobody picked up the phone. Černivec is Slovenian. Černivec has watched Oblak play for years. Now Oblak is in Portland. That is not a coincidence. If Oblak makes the roster, Portland has a backup point guard who has already won at a level most WNBA players haven't. If she doesn't, somebody else is going to sign her this summer and Portland will have given her the audition nobody else would.

Peyton Williams went to Kansas State and finished in the top ten in program history for career points, top three in rebounds, top five in blocks. She has been putting up 12 and 7 in China for two years at 58 percent from the floor because nobody in the WNBA was making a call. She's not 22. She's a grown professional who knows how to play and has been doing it overseas for money the whole time. A rebounding, finishing, high-IQ forward on a training camp contract is a layup bet. Portland took it.

Kamiah Smalls is the four-team WNBA journeyman. James Madison, 2020 #28 overall. Fever, Sun, Lynx, Dream. She played for Galatasaray last year, where she was teammates with Oblak. Same club, same camp invite. If you're wondering whether Černivec scouts Galatasaray games: the answer is yes.

Jordan Harrison is the one the WNBA got wrong. West Virginia. 5-foot-6. 3.2 steals per game as a senior, second-most in a season in WVU history. Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. Big 12 Tournament MVP. First Team All-Big 12. Three games at the Big 12 tournament, three games as the best player on the floor. Then 36 picks went by in the WNBA Draft and nobody took her. Three days later Portland signed her to a rookie-scale standard contract. Same April 16 release added Bühner to the player development pool, but Harrison was a separate, standard signing. She is in training camp competing for an active roster spot. Portland didn't miss. Everybody else did.

Where the Roster Stands (Honestly)

What's good: The defensive potential is real. Engstler, Williams, and Geiselsöder give Portland switchable, active defenders at multiple positions. Carleton is a legitimate floor-spacer who can be an All-Star in the right system. The international pipeline (Martín, Bühner, Leite) gives Portland a scouting advantage most expansion teams don't have. And the coaching staff is genuinely innovative: Sarama's player-development approach, Sylvia Fowles as assistant head coach, a front office that has been in the WNBA ecosystem for years.

What's uncertain: Sug Sutton is still on a qualifying offer, not a signed contract. The April 15-16 signings (Oblak, Harrison) add real point-guard options, but none of them are guaranteed to make the final 12. Martín is overseas until 2027 and Mühl is out with an ACL. The roster also doesn't have a proven go-to scorer. Analysts gave the expansion draft a B+ specifically because there's no clear number-one option. Jones has the upside but hasn't been that player yet. Samuelson is coming back from foot surgery. There are real questions here.

What gives you hope: Every move Černivec has made has had a logic to it, even when it wasn't obvious in the moment. She traded with Chicago before the expansion draft to get pick 17. She signed Gustafson (WNBA champion, Olympian) within 24 hours of the signing period opening. She stashed Martín instead of reaching for a player who would be out of the league in two years. She traded up for Williams instead of keeping a third-round guard Portland didn't need. These aren't random moves. The May 9 home opener will be the first real test. Training camp opened April 19, the preseason opener was April 29 at Seattle (81-91 loss). We're learning fast.